Garden Care

Rockeries should look as natural as possible.  This can be achieved in three ways:

Position: Most rockeries are best situated in a corner or against a background or a part of the garden that has an existing level change or soil pile.

Rock material: Visit your local supplier and choose rocks that show good stratification and will blend in with the garden, e.g. Westmoreland stone shows good stratification but initially is quite light in colour. This colour, with time, will fade and moss, etc. will grow (depending on where the rocks are situated). York stone is much darker in colour but does not show good stratification but is commonly used.  Purbeck rockery stone shows good stratification and is a yellow/white colour. Probably the best way of deciding which stone is right for you is to look at existing rockeries in other gardens.

Planting: Choose plants that are in proportion to the size of your rockery.  Large plants in a small rockery will overgrow and hide the stones, whereas small plants in a large rockery will be dwarfed by the rocks.

BUILDING A ROCKERY:

Points to remember:

If you choose a rockery stone that has stratification lines they must face outwards and be in line with each other.

All rocks generally have a flat top, this surface should be level  all the way up the rockery.

The rocks should be graded up the rockery with larger ones to the bottom going up to the smaller ones.

Each stone should be set well in and angled back into the soil so water runs off.