foliage
L
ong a standard in the arid West and high-desert
regions such as the Rockies, rock gardens have
become increasingly popular throughout the coun-
try. A rock garden, also known as an alpine garden or
rockery, incorporates stones and boulders with dwarf
shrubs and low-growing or creeping plants. Tradi-
tional rock gardens are planted at high altitudes where
they must withstand the rigors of heat, high winds
and drought.
Nowadays, you're just as likely to fi nd a rock garden
in southern Connecticut as in southern California. Both
pretty and practical, rock gardens offer an opportu-
nity to accent underutilized areas of a landscape, add
native plantings and manage trouble spots such as
hillsides.
"One of the most common reasons landscapers in-
stall a rock garden is to eliminate higher-maintenance
planting beds or replace turf," says Jeff Gibson, land-
scape business manager at Ball Horticultural Company.
A rock garden may integrate the entire landscape
or serve as an accent piece. The planting medium
typically is sandy, rocky and almost soilless. While
traditional rock-garden plants are alpine or sub-alpine
species such as columbines or lupines, many other
plants actually do well in rock gardens.
"Common annuals and bedding plants provide
an extra show of color all season long that true rock
gardens usually only offer in spring, fall or after a rain,"
Gibson says.
Plants that work in rock gardens also do well in
other harsh environments such as on hillsides, in the
crevices along a stonewall or path or along curbs. Try
out a few of these hardy plants for your rock gardens
and other tough-to-fi ll spaces.
A P R I L 2 014 To t a l L a n d s c a p e C a r e . c o m 15
Enhance your design with
plants that thrive in harsh
environments
