ROCK-AND WALL-GARDEN DESIGN
“Cemetery,” “penitentiary rock pile,” “collection of geological specimens”—these and other unflattering phrases have been used to describe what a rock garden should not be. This eliminates the artificial rock-studded circle in the center of a lawn, rocky slopes with nothing to back them up, isolated paths and steps that have nowhere to go, stone-stuffed piles of loam with no conceivable excuse for being where they are.
What a rock garden should be, is an integral part of the landscape, completely at home and in harmony with its surroundings, and having a sound reason for its existence. Except for a few functional affairs such as walls that retain terraces and steps that climb banks, their purpose is mainly ornamental. Neither rocks nor plants are featured at the expense of the other. Both work together to create the picture—the plants to add brightness, vitality, and life; the rocks to help provide favorable growing conditions and a naturally suitable background for their display.
Designs for these gardens can be, as for others in the landscape, formal or informal. The fixed geometry of walks, walls, and raised beds in formal pattern are seen less frequently. But this is a type of rock garden that might be placed advantageously in even the flattest, barest suburban lot where naturalistic plantings and rocks look out of place. If you long for a rock garden, try something like this in either classic or contemporary style.
Informal rock gardens must, above all else, look convincingly natural, as if the glaciers might have placed them. This is equally important to a cluster of bulbs at the base of a single, half-sunken boulder; the arrangement of rocks and plants on a small slope; or the series of rocks that line a winding path. Builders of ambitious rock gardens are often advised to study the nearby countryside and use it as a guide.
Designs for Naturally Uneven, Rocky Land
This type of terrain makes a natural setting for rock and wall gardens of all sizes, shapes, and contours. Generally, the design is informal and naturalistic. I don’t know whether it’s really easier to work out such designs in miniature, or whether I merely think it’s easier because that’s the kind of land I have to work with. So far, we’ve never disagreed with Nature about the placement of a rock outcropping, for example. The few we’ve uncovered and cleaned up have almost told us what and how to plant.
A small existing slope or bank is a perfect site for a composition of rocks and rockery plants, or, if you prefer, a retaining wall between the two levels with plants grouped at the bottom or top, or planted horizontally in the cracks. Or consider a series of ledges that create small, irregular terraces.
A slope or grade may be the perfect place for informal stone steps, with, of course, a path leading up to them and away. Colonies of small plants look well on either side, with, perhaps, very miniature evergreens at both sides at the top. Cracks in the steps and a walk can be planted with small carpeters.
If you possess a small stream, gulch, or ravine, by all means consider a little rock garden along either side. If you’re fond of a gnarled old stump, see what a few rocks and plants might do at its foot. Where your driveway curves, try a small rock garden. Before you fill in and flatten out a small depression, or level off a small knoll, find out how it would look as a small “island” rock garden.
Corners like those formed by an old-fashioned “stoop” of a country cottage sometimes make effective frames for miniature rock gardens. But in general, informal designs usually fit best out in the grounds, away from angular architectural lines.
Raised flower bed copied from an old English garden
Designs for Level, Rockless Grounds
Here there are fewer existing, desirable locations for rock and wall gardens. But for the sake of enjoying the dainty plants, and of marking your garden with originality, you may want to create a site. It is possible to dig out a “natural” depression or build up a slope, if it’s skillfully designed—and if you can get rocks that don’t look foreign and far away from home. Or dig down a foot or two to make a formal or semiformal sunken garden, the beds raised and held in place by a dry wall with crevices to plant in, and flagstone walks.
Corners sometimes offer possibilities—a far corner, where there is a background of trees, fence, or wall; or a front corner where the lawn slopes slightly down to the sidewalk. Or there may be a place near the patio for a tiny pool in a rocky setting.
A birdbath, sundial, or shrine that’s a focal point in a small garden can sometimes be embellished with a small rock garden at the base. So can the edge or corner of a raised patio. Terrace pavements with cushions of thyme rooted in the crevices are enriched with color, fragrance, and texture. The lines of stark steps are softened and the appearance mellowed by crowded clumps of fat sempervivums. Wherever you can find reason for a rock wall, or even a row of rocks laid horizontally and only a few inches high, you can plant it with rockery plants at top, bottom, or in between. In the artificial settings of many suburban lots, semiformal walls separating two levels of lawn or supporting the edge of the family living area are very suitable substitutes for rock gardens.