The best ideas, tips and hints

What should the rock garden look like?

The choice of plants as well as the concrete design of the rock garden determine the Maintenance effort. Are you short on time or do not want to invest too much effort, it is better to limit yourself to a smaller "mountain", possibly with the option of a later expansion. The maintenance of a larger stone complex can be very time-consuming. Also the Choice of plants determines the amount of care required, because robust and fast-growing cushion plants require less care than more complicated, dwarf species.

The best source of ideas for your "garden mountains" is nature itself. With the appropriate planning, natural rock landscapes can also be recreated in the garden, for which you need different types of stone in different sizes. With different types of rock you create the right habitats for many mountain plants, because not every plant thrives on every stone. There is a whole range of calciferous plants that would sooner or later dwell on limestone such as shell limestone, dolomite or tuff Plants that absolutely need lime for healthy growth and are therefore not an ideal habitat on silicate rocks such as granite or slate Find. But not only the choice of rock type, but also the pleasing distribution of different stone sizes from boulder to gravel to fine

Grit(€ 41.99 at Amazon *) gives the system a natural impression.

Variants of the natural rock garden

There are numerous variants for lifelike rock gardens. The combination of, for example, is particularly pretty to look at water - for example in the form of a stream and / or a small pond - and stone or a rock garden on a slope or one embankment. Such conditions can also be created artificially as so-called sink gardens with the help of dry stone walls. A special form of the lifelike rock garden is also the fascinating one Japanese garden.

Mini rock garden for balcony or terrace

You don't necessarily need a large garden for a lifelike rock garden, because a mini-mountain landscape can also be created in suitable planters on the balcony or the terrace. Suitable vessels are, for example

• (Disused) stone feed troughs
• frost-proof bowls and coasters made of clay
• Wooden boxes and barrels
• conventional (frost-proof!) window boxes
• (self-made) vessels Sandstone or cement etc. a.

In these mini rock gardens, you should pay particular attention to good water drainage, because waterlogging and too much moisture quickly lead to the death of the plants.