Not everyone comes equipped with a green thumb (I for one, do not). For some, gardening just doesn't come naturally and after letdowns and meltdowns, there's an alternative. Rock gardens are a great way to still work outdoors and toy with landscaping, without having to worry about killing anything.
We've seen Small (Rock) Gardens That Rock from around the web, but we've found some rock garden inspiration from Apartment Therapy archives.
Rock gardens are great for suburbanites and urbanites a like.
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Comments (8)
What was done in that first one, other than pulling the weeds and spreading the rocks around properly? I can't tell.
Terry, I'm wondering the same thing, though I think the after does look much better than the before. Maybe it's just showing what even just a little bit of tidying up can do.
Also, I appreciate a nice rock garden, but can't help but think they're a bit impractical anywhere near deciduous trees and/or bushes or near any kind of plants that shed, drop their blooms, etc.? I'd think in such an environment it would be next to impossible to keep them neat and debris free.
If you live in a desert, these raise the surrounding temperature. I don't think of these as "rock gardens", but rather gravel spread around.
Ditto Terry--
I might add that rock landscapes aren't practical for pets - and they actually add to heat gain in your yard, making your house hotter as a result.
There are lots of carefree groundcovers out there - Wildflowers and Grasses - that take little water, require annual mowing, and help produce oxygen, attract birds & butterflies and help lower the temperature of your landscape.
Just a comment on the last picture - that's my front garden! The picture there is the 'before', and while I haven't dont a whole lot a few things have made a big difference. I laid down some nicer, new gravel and put in a few more plants, as well as some potted plants (which haven't begun to flower yet). We dont' really have much option other than gravel - even the dirt below it is mostly rock!
Here's a link to the updated garden:
http://halindsay.blog.com/2010/06/18/updated-front-garden/
I use shiftable, pretty rocks only as borders around large beds. I use mulch around trees, shrubs, and beds, forming paths and open areas. It's fairly comfortable to walk on, and holds rainwater, so plants can drink longer. Fallen plant debris blends into it. Mulch inhibits weeds, grasshoppers, and fire ants. As it slowly rots underneath, against the dirt, it fertilizes the garden. Mulching trees removed by landscapers and then spreading the mulch "reuses" dead trees and keeps them out of land fills. It usually looks nice. Mulch, like rock, is relatively low maintenance, never has to be mowed, and can't be killed. A good (some are toxic), green (some are harvested unsoundly), cured (to sterilize unwanted seeds) mulch as ground cover around your surviving plants can be an alternative to a rock landscape.
we have a combination of rocks and mulch. and now we have springtails! i read that they like mulch. they are a pain to get rid of. any tips appreciated.
kaya26, I was writing only from my own experience here. Mulch may not be a good alternative for where you are--I don't know. I'd never heard of springtails. Sorry.