How to Design a Rock Garden
Rock gardens can be striking, and with a little planning, you can make a rock garden that's relatively low maintenance. Choosing the colors for rocks and plant accents will create a cohesive rock garden design that can also reduce invasive weed development with the addition of stone mulch. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Prepare Your Area
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1
Lay down a layer of newspapers in the area of your choice. This will smother the grass and promote decomposition over time. Medium-sized rock gardens can have a diameter of about four feet.
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2
Lay out a circle of stones as a base. For a medium-sized garden, use rocks under 12 inches in any direction.
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3
Select a sandy soil to add to your rock garden. Most rock gardens require some drainage in garden soil.
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4
Mix 25 percent compost in with 75 percent sandy soil.
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5
Use smaller rocks to create a second circle within the inside of the larger rock circle. Make the circle small enough to accommodate plants between the first and second circles.
Choose Your Plants
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6
Know that, when choosing plants for your rock garden, you will need to choose plants with similar soil requirements.
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Consider the light requirements of your selected plants. Finding plants that thrive in full sun will work well in a sunny garden.
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8
Develop a color scheme for your rock garden, which will help you narrow down your choices.
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9
Determine your ideal height for the foliage in your rock garden.
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10
Bring your plant requirements to a nursery or garden shop to make your selections. Ask a professional to help you select the correct plants.
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Consider plant size and leaf texture when selecting your plants, and aim for about two plants per chosen color.
Plant Your Rock Garden
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12
Use a garden trowel to dig the holes where your plants will go. Insert the plant into the hole and cover the indentation with dirt.
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13
Plant the rest of your rock garden plants with space around them.
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14
Add extra rocks between the plants to complete the rock garden effect.
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15
Sprinkle a layer of stone mulch between the cracks to suppress weed growth.
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16
Water your freshly planted rock garden plants.
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Tips & Warnings
Skip the first step if you have already cleared an area for your rock garden.
Set aside your most attractive rocks for the center circle, which will be more noticeable.
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Comments
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lilaclady
Jan 25, 2008
Now this is something I really would like to do with my front garden, I am very intested in your How to as you say you can do it over the lawn, i thought i would have to have that all dug up I guess i better start saving my newspapers, thanks for this, sounds great.... -
lilaclady
Jan 25, 2008
Now this is something I really would like to do with my front garden, I am very intested in your How to as you say you can do it over the lawn, i thought i would have to have that all dug up I guess i better start saving my newspapers, thanks for this, sounds great....
