Alpine slide on a flat surface. How to make a rock garden - step by step instructions

rock garden - original flower garden, ahead of the popularity of traditional flower beds. Even a novice landscape designer will be able to clearly express himself in his arrangement, since this work opens up a lot of scope for creativity. Alpine slide with their own hands is created not for one season and does not need special care. It is only important to choose the right stones and perennials, which will take root even on poor soils and are undemanding to watering.

Where to begin

It is believed that a good start is half the battle. When creating an alpine slide in the country preparatory stage has more greater value. The external attractiveness of the flower garden for years to come depends on how competent the first actions will be.

Location selection

Many experts agree that the hill is the main decoration of any site - cultivated or preserved in its original, "natural" form. To accomplish this task, a place downhill:

• should be visible from all corners of the garden;
• be sunny, free from tall trees casting a shadow;
• be located on the south side of the house or fence, if the slide is “tied” to any structure;
• be protected from the winds.

A large alpine slide is best placed in the center of the site

A summer resident can work on a rock garden in any season convenient for him. However, experienced people recommend doing this early autumn until it's harvest time. In addition, during the winter, a flower garden usually settles naturally, and the gardener has a reserve of time to correct the defects found before planting plants on the hill.

Rock garden schemes

Landscape designers have developed many schemes that help the summer resident "see" the future structure, navigate the choice of material and plants, and "attach" the flower garden to the area.

The stones in these schemes are the main actors, depending on their placement, rock gardens are:

• a rock (such slides are the steepest, the stones at their base are large, and the structures at the top are small);
• mountain slope (solid boulders - at the top, below - stone scree);
• terraced slope (arranged in the form of steps);
• "Czech rolling pin" (thin slabs are buried in the ground with the end part);
• a valley in the mountains (the composition is built horizontally, the location of the stones is free);
• a ravine (the rock garden is arranged in a shell-like recess, using moss-covered boulders).

Tall plants can be located on the side of the rock garden

Alpine classics is the shape of the pyramid. Its highest point is most often located in the center of the flower garden, but asymmetry can make the composition more original. The schemes provide for the height of such structures from 1 to 3 m. If the rock garden is small (the base diameter is 1 m), then the height is also small - 20 cm on average.

High varieties of coniferous trees can be planted in the pyramidal center

What plants to choose

The rock garden scheme is usually supplemented with detailed recommendations on the selection of flowers and shrubs for its design.

You can go a more complicated way - choose the plants yourself, taking into account the design of the future slide, the features of the local climate, the type of soil in your area, and, of course, your own preferences. For rock gardens, it is customary to use perennial crops that:

• undemanding to soil fertility and climatic conditions;
• undersized and moderately growing;
• not breeding "aggressively".

Since the emphasis is on slow-growing crops, voids may appear in the composition of "young rock gardens" that can be filled with annuals:

• gypsophila;
• marigolds;
• purslane;
• lobelia.

To fill the upper tier of the slide, the most persistent perennials are selected, since they will get the least amount of water and they will suffer from the wind more than other inhabitants of the rock garden. The famous mountain edelweiss is well suited for this role. It blooms in the second year after planting, and to maintain decorativeness requires regular transplants.

Evergreen iberis can be placed next to edelweiss, the snow-white buds of which bloom from May to June, and different varieties undersized carnations (grass, gray carnations), they delight one after another with their flowering throughout the summer. Purple rugs of creeping thyme look great in the upper part of the composition, attracting butterflies and bees with their aroma.

Endurance record holder - young, original plant from fleshy leaves collected in beautiful rosettes. He, too, will find a place at the top of the composition. Small gaps between stones are enough for the plant to gain a foothold in them for many years.

Young can take root in the most unassuming places

There are a lot of applicants for filling the zone of the middle tier, where representatives of the flora get more moisture, and the sun's rays are less burning:

• styloid phlox - differs in a variety of colors, blooms in May;
• cultural shaving - its buds bloom after the phlox, at the beginning of summer, in addition, the plant can bloom again closer to autumn;
• Carpathian bluebell - blooms beautifully and for a long time, but is somewhat aggressive in reproduction, best suited for the western slope, where it behaves more restrained;
• woolly cleaner - valued for its fluffy leaves with a silvery color;
• Monetary sunflower - evergreen subshrub, white, pink and yellow flowers which bloom throughout the summer;
• aster alpine - with beautiful large buds;
• cotoneaster is an excellent ground cover plant;
• stonecrop (several species) - forms a rich, lingonberry or yellow carpet.

At the foot of the rock garden, on its lower tier, there are plants that are more demanding on the presence of moisture: Indian duchenea (its fruits resemble strawberries), creeping tenacious, saxifrage.

The northern slope of the hill requires special attention, on which only plants that are absolutely not afraid of the shadow can feel comfortable. Experts suggest choosing Pozharsky's bell, Caucasian rezuha, Haller's corydalis.

Of the trees, preference in rock gardens is given to undersized coniferous species:

• juniper;
• mountain pine;
• Canadian spruce.

All types of juniper have an exceptional decorative effect, which any gardener will appreciate.

Deciduous trees for alpine slides are practically not used, and experts recommend growing from shrubs:

• Thunberg barberry - its height does not exceed 30 cm, flowering continues all summer, and red berries look very decorative in autumn;
• evergreen boxwood - tolerates winter well under snow cover;
• Japanese spirea is a spherical miniature bush with elegant foliage.

Selection of stones

Suitable for slide equipment:

• basalt;
• sandstone;
• granite.

These rocks are strong, with little porosity. Tuff and shell rock, which do not have similar advantages, are not suitable for rock gardens - they are easily saturated with water and collapse. Not suitable, already for decorative reasons, imitation of boulders and blocks industrial production devoid of naturalness.

As for the shape, stones with sharp corners and rounded ones are not the best option. The variety of breeds and colors within one rock garden is also not welcome (this usually does not happen in nature).

You can not lay the stones too tightly, this will not allow the plants to develop normally, especially those with branched roots.

How to make an alpine slide with your own hands - step by step instructions

On mistakes - learn. The most serious and, alas, common among beginners is that they are too lazy to make a reliable drainage system. As a result, the earth sank, and the hill almost leveled with the surrounding landscape. Water began to stagnate in the flower garden.

Here is what the procedure should be after the place for the rock garden is determined:

1. Make a markup for the pit, outlining its future boundaries with pegs and "enclosing" tapes. The area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe pit should correspond to the size of the proposed flower garden or slightly exceed them. It is necessary to delve into the ground, also focusing on the parameters of the rock garden. If, for example, its length and width are 2.5 m, you should dig to a depth of 1 m.
   

   The minimum depth even for miniature rock gardens is 0.8 m

2. At the bottom, pour drainage from crushed stone, pebbles, brick fragments and construction waste appropriate for the task. The layer (at least 0.3 m thick) should turn out to be even, and not in the form of a slide. It is spilled with water. Then lay another layer of drainage, sand and gravel, its thickness is from 5 to 10 cm. It must also be leveled, spilled with water and rammed.
3. On top of the drainage, pour out the earth taken out during the digging of the pit. But first, clean it of debris, plant roots.
4. Start the installation of stones in 2-3 weeks, waiting until the soil shrinks. The largest specimens are laid first, they must be securely buried in the soil.

   Small stones are placed so that they cannot be washed out of the composition by heavy rains.

5. At the end of the formation of the hill with stones, proceed to landscaping work.

   Plants should be planted according to the season.

small slide

Even a small slide looks decorative, while it takes very little space to arrange it. A one-sided slide is placed near the fence or wall of the house, a round one - in the center of the lawn or plot.

A miniature rock garden can have a stepped design. For its design, you will need stones of an unusual shape and color, very accurately selected plants with a long flowering period.

A small rock garden would be appropriate in a decorative flowerpot, which is installed on the terrace or porch of the house

Landscape designers recommend including a body of water in the composition - even a tiny one, in the form of a small bowl imitating a lake, will make the hill more attractive. creative ideas when creating mini-rock gardens, they are generally welcome - they can, for example, be equipped in an old sink or basin.

In a slide with a waterfall or fountain, everything should look very natural. The most common version of the composition is an elevation created from three combined tiers, supplemented by a stream.

When making such a rock garden, it is important to take into account a number of nuances:

• the place should not be too sunny, otherwise the water will quickly turn green under the influence of bright rays;
• an absolute shadow is also not good, it will adversely affect the growth and flowering of plants;
• close neighbors in the form of trees will not work either - their falling leaves will clog both the drain and the reservoir, and regular cleaning will be required.

Since water constantly flows down the hill, the design must be made reliably. If the height of the rock garden is 0.5 m, upper layer the soil will first have to be removed, replacing it with crushed stone.

It is also desirable to use geotextiles - modern inexpensive material, protecting against water erosion (in this case, heat-sealed, with a density of 250-400 g / m2, is suitable).

It is important not to overdo it with the choice of plants - if there are too many of them, they will cover the entire surface of the reservoir with leaves.

Under the waterfall 1 m high, prepare the foundation. Fill the hole dug to a depth of 20 cm with crushed stone to half its volume, lay reinforcement from iron rods (the parameters of the “windows” are 20x20 cm). Pull the intersections with clamps, then fill the contents of the pit with concrete - in 2 weeks the structure will turn into a monolith.

To create the effect of a waterfall, you need a pump (submersible model). Power is selected depending on the height of the waterfall.

A rock garden of this kind expands the choice of plants. It can be arrowhead, sedge, water chestnut, water lily.

Hill with a decorative pond

The depth of the reservoir, equipped near the alpine slide, averages from 0.8 to 1.5 m. The main tasks when creating a pond are to isolate its bottom and ensure water circulation.

To prevent the water in the pond from stagnating, a pump is installed at the bottom of the reservoir.

First, pour a 5-centimeter layer of sand into the dug pit, pour it with water and tamp it down. Lay a special insulating film along the bottom of the pond or purchase and install a ready-made form, carefully sealing all the resulting gaps. Place stones near such reservoirs in the form of beads (sometimes in 2 rows), which will strengthen the banks and hide the edges of the insulating material. Of the plants for decorating the coastal zone, delphiniums, swamp irises, junipers, thujas are suitable.

One of simple ways creating a pond for an alpine slide - using a conventional tire.

Such a pond will not take up much space, but will become a central element landscape design

Features of care

A year after the arrangement of the rock garden, you may have to strengthen the stones on the hill. What needs to be done is to add soil, which will be regularly washed out by rains and during irrigation, until after a year or two it is completely compacted.

Plants will also require care: they will need treatment with Epin when planting seedlings (to relieve stress and better rooting), and in the future - pruning, removal of faded buds and dried leaves and top dressing (without using nitrogen fertilizers, provoking an active build-up of green mass). Watering is carried out using sprayers to protect the soil from erosion. Pest control may be required.

To save yourself from unnecessary weeding, before planting the plants, treat with some kind of herbicide (for example, Glyfor) and repeat it after a few weeks.

If the plant is seriously ill, it will have to be removed so that the infection does not spread to other inhabitants of the rock garden

Moss, often used in alpine compositions, requires special care. By the way, it is fixed on stones with the help of a mixture consisting of earth, kefir and sugar, mixed in a blender. It is applied to the stones with a brush. In order for the moss to take root, it is watered for the first 20 days.

In winter, plants, especially from the upper tier of the hill, need protection from bright sun, therefore, trees and shrubs in rock gardens are covered in advance with special agrofiber or ordinary burlap.

from frost and excess moisture ornamental cultures are protected by boxes or structures such as huts. So that the ground cover does not suffer from decay, remove fallen leaves from the hill in the fall. It does not hurt to install a shield near the alpine hill, which will protect it from penetrating winds.

Each modern well-maintained dacha is sure to be decorated with either a garden or various kinds of flower beds. At the same time, the size of the country allotment does not have to be huge at all in order to realize even the most daring ideas. Nothing interferes with small plot create something beautiful, unusual and elegant. For example, a miniature alpine slide, which is easy to make with your own hands when using available materials even beginner gardeners.

Such a compact rock garden has several advantages over a conventional flower garden. First, it looks much more original. Secondly, it takes up little space, and, thirdly, it does not require complex care. For those who seek to master the arrangement of alpine slides, creating a miniature version will be a great practice.

Anyone can build an alpine slide with their own hands, even on small area

What is the difference between rock garden and rockery?

Rock garden and rockery are two different ways flower bed designs that have a lot in common. Due to the large number of identical characteristics, sometimes even gardeners with extensive experience get confused in these concepts. Both are a flower garden, for the arrangement of which flowers and stones are used. What is the main difference between them?

Rockery is called a rock garden in its purest form. When creating it, only one type of stone is used. They are laid in two ways: randomly, without observing any order, or in parallel rows. It helps to create a visual effect. wildlife. The secondary element of the composition are plants and flowers, which in this case serve only as a natural floral background.

It is the role of plants in the flower garden that is the main hallmark between the alpine hill and the rockery. In this type of stone garden, like a rock garden or a mini-rock garden, the main focus is on plants. Its composition is made up of various types of colorful, unusual flowers and their combinations, turning the flower garden into a small magical world, from which it is impossible to take your eyes off.

A rockery differs from an alpine slide by focusing on the natural beauty of the stones, flowers in this case serve only as an addition.

An ideal place to create a small rock garden

Having planned to create a small alpine slide with your own hands, it is important to choose the right place. For example, a one-sided mini-slide is best placed next to the wall of the house or near the fence, as an addition to the general flower garden or as separate element garden. A round flower garden will look great in the center of the lawn. Thus, all its sides will become available for review. The ideal place for a mini-rock garden in a flowerpot is a porch or terrace.

An interesting idea: the roof of the cellar gradually turns into an alpine hill

Also, when choosing a place for a rock garden, it is important to consider not only how it will look, but also pay attention to other points related to its placement:

1. Illumination. The place must be sunny so that the plants receive required amount Sveta. A shady spot will cause the flowers to fade and stretch out.
2. The lack of nearby trees and downpipes. When the flower garden is under a tree, the leaves from it will crumble and spoil the appearance of the entire composition. Rainwater from drainage system can cause soil erosion.
3. In the flower garden should be placed "neighbors" who get along with each other and have similar conditions for care and cultivation.

An open, well-lit clearing will be a great place to build a rock garden.

Variants of execution of small alpine slides

Getting to work on a miniature rock garden with your own hands, you need to consider the choice of style in which it will be decorated, it completely depends on the desires and imagination of its creator. Photos of the most spectacular and colorful mini-rock gardens can help you choose a specific option, for example:

1. A common alpine slide in miniature. It is a stepped structure that is installed directly on the ground. It can become a wonderful decoration of the entire flower garden as a whole.
2. Mini rock garden, combined with a pond. An amazing effect is achieved due to the presence of even a small bowl at the base of the stones, which will imitate a pond. Such an element of the composition will make it even more charming and attractive. An addition in the form of a mini-waterfall or a fountain will make this place the most attractive in the entire summer cottage.
3. A small alpine slide in a flowerpot. The perfect solution if there is no free land. You can always find many photos of such mini-rock gardens, and not only in flowerpots, but also in various other containers.

A rock garden can be completely different - from a mini composition in a pot to a large slide with waterfalls and a fountain

Materials for the design of the slide

To create a small, the simplest alpine slide, even beginner gardeners do not need a lot of skills and a lot of effort. The main thing is to get creative. The process itself will not take much time, since the mini-rock garden is a completely small and labor-intensive project.

Organic stone laying creates the impression of a natural landscape

As soon as you decide to equip a small rock garden with your own hands, you will need quite a bit of material, which is definitely in any country house:

• several large stones;
• gravel;
• ceramic shards.

Sometimes even old sinks or leaky basins can act as improvised materials. They, too, can really be transformed into a genuine floral masterpiece.

To make the composition more interesting and original even with a minimum of vegetation, preference should be given to stones with unusual shape and coloring. It is advisable to surround cobblestones of a common gray color with gravel of other shades or bushes with bright flowering.

Choosing plants for a small alpine slide

Which plants will make up the composition of the mini-alpine slide is determined by the area that the latter will occupy. In the case of small areas, it is also required miniature views plants. The most suitable are dwarf-sized conifers, as well as rock species that grow slowly. Among them you can choose:

• boxwood;
• juniper;
• erica grassy;
• saxifrage;
• Phlox subulate.

If we want to dilute the composition bright colors, you should plant low-growing plants that have small flowering, for example:

• creeping thyme;
• aubrieta;
• lobular.

In the case when the mini-garden of stones will not remain for the winter, then it is permissible to include cacti and succulents in its composition, for example, a fat woman or an agave. With the advent of autumn, it is enough to remove a miniature rock garden in a flowerpot from the street into the room.

Plants for slides should be unpretentious to environmental conditions

The sequence of creating a mini-rock garden for beginner gardeners

In various sources, you can find a lot of diagrams and step-by-step instructions with photos for creating mini-rock gardens. The simplest sequence of actions, which is easy to translate into reality even for a beginner in gardening, is as follows:

• site marking for a mini-alpine slide;
• placing stones and fixing them in the ground;
• planting plants between stones.

Site preparation

Starting the arrangement of the flower garden, all weeds and roots should be removed from the site intended for it. This will save time and effort in the future.

Since the mini-rock garden occupies a site small size, a pit about 50 cm deep is enough. A similar hole should be dug in the place where it is planned to place most of the stones and filled with drainage. As the latter, ordinary construction waste, which is not toxic, may be suitable. After compaction, it is covered with earth. It is important to produce intermediate watering of the earth, which is added in layers. Such a measure contributes to better compaction and will prevent your creation from sagging in the future. To mark the tiers of the rock garden, twine and stakes are used.

When placing stones, you can focus on your own taste and the general appearance of the resulting rock garden

Quite often, one of the most impressive stones is located in the middle of the flower garden. It is installed on a special substrate, which is buried in the ground so that its base is flush with the ground. A plaster bowl or a substrate made of cement mortar can serve as a support. First you need to install a support in the right place, drowning it in the ground, and then laying a stone on it. You can make the placement of the stone reliable by resorting to cement mortar or gypsum.

Further, according to a similar principle, one should deal with the arrangement and fixing of smaller stones. When creating an alpine mini-slide, the most commonly used are: shell rock, dolomite and tuff. Samples with natural colors and structure look especially elegant, although modern methods landscape design allow the coloring of stones, the appearance of which does not fit well with the overall composition. Usually, when designing miniature rock gardens, they try to use small samples of stones of one colors, but it is quite possible to use bright colors, creating contrast to the main background. This will give gloss and elegance to the flower garden.

When installing stones, it is necessary to adhere to the descending rule, that is, place them in height decreasing downwards. The lower stones should act as a reliable and stable support for the upper ones. There is also the option of tiered placement of stones, which also looks very impressive.

Stones with a smooth and flat shape, should be laid out in layers, round ones should be placed in addition one or more together. The main thing is that the number of stones in the group is odd, and it is imperative to focus on one of them.

disembarkation

Before planting plants on a hill, flowers can be laid out directly in pots and see the general view of the composition, planting should be done after all the amendments

In the process of placing and installing stones, it is important to leave a place between them, which will later be occupied by the plants chosen for the mini-rock garden. These interstone gaps must be filled with fertile soil. You can plant plants and flowers not only between, but also around the stones. First of all, the largest plants should be placed. As for dwarf trees, which have a fairly powerful root system, then they must be planted when the first stones are still being laid. At the end, medium and small plants are planted. At the end of all work, the flower garden should be watered. After that, it remains to apply the final design touches. To do this, you will need sand, small pebbles and any elements of garden decor.

How to install a miniature pond

A miniature pond in the composition of a small rock garden will give it a special appeal. To create it, you need a regular container designed for artificial reservoirs. You can buy such a device at any store specializing in goods for the garden.

However, you can build such a container yourself from improvised materials, for example, an old basin. First you need to knead a cement mortar with a consistency similar to thin sour cream, and add medium-sized crushed stone to it. The inverted basin should be covered with a uniformly obtained mixture with a layer with a thickness of 1-2.5 cm.

When creating a rock garden with a pond, it is not at all necessary to purchase expensive designs, you can use unnecessary containers, such as a bath or basin

It will not be superfluous to create additional decor. It may be a pattern scratched on the outside, or a laid out mosaic. Ceramic shards are suitable for mosaics, broken glass, shells and pieces of tiles. Decoration should be done when cement mortar still remains wet. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to add crushed stone to the solution.

The beauty of the mountains fascinates us so much that we want to have a small part of it even in a small area near the house. Because, probably, rock gardens and rockeries are becoming more widespread. These are plantings in which stones are combined with plants, and they differ from one another in the ratio of these components. Stones predominate in rockeries - they are the absolute majority. Plants are present only in very small quantities. In alpine slides - rock gardens - there can be a significant number of plants. They imitate alpine meadows with characteristic vegetation. Moreover, making an alpine slide with your own hands is not so difficult: you need to know its characteristic features and construction rules, which you can then put into practice. About all the intricacies of the dispensation of the rock garden and will be discussed further.

What are

Since alpine slides copy real mountains, they can differ greatly in the shape, quantity, size and type of stones, the way they are laid, and also in relief. For example, there are layered rock slides, which are also called "Czech rolling pins". They differ in the vertical arrangement of layered rocks.

Czech rolling pin - a prime example layered alpine slide

Rocky hills - the most common type of rock garden in our area. This is a small earthen mound on which stones are laid out. Stones are layered or boulders, the space between them is filled with crushed stone, pellets, pebbles or smaller boulders. This will be the rocky hill.

Rocky slide - easy to do with your own hands

But there are those in which the fertile layer occupies a significant area. In this case, single stone blocks stick out from the greenery, flowers and small flowers stand out as bright spots. coniferous plants. Such landings imitate alpine lawns.

There are alpine ravines. If the site has a similar relief, you can equip it by making an artificial stream. To do this, lay out the bottom and edges with stones, make a small one at the bottom from which water is pumped to the top of your “cliff”.

Scheme of the device of the alpine slide with a waterfall and a pond and a waterfall

Plant moisture-loving plants along the banks of the stream and pond, suitable plants on the stones alpine herbs, flowers and perennials. Such a structure, of course, is technically more difficult, it requires more and costs - a pond, a stream, a hill - everything requires investments. Such complex systems are already considered landscape slides, as they partially change the appearance of the entire site.

And another type of rock gardens - terraces. Dividing the site into terraces is necessary if it is located on a slope. Then a multi-level device is the best way out. Retaining walls are laid to level the ground. They are often made of reinforced concrete, and then decorated with boulders. On these retaining walls Ground cover plants also do well.

Retaining walls can also be decorated with plants

The same principle - the organization of terraces - is used on flat areas, but with a different goal: to make it more picturesque. In this case, the height difference is created artificially, and this is a large amount of land work.

Stones: what and where to get

The basis of a slide of any type is stones and it will take a lot of them - several tons, and of different sizes. Choose from those breeds that are more common in your area. Chopped blocks look best, but already stale, with dark edges. You can use pellets with smooth sides, but creating a natural composition from them is not easy. It will take about one-fourth of a large size, about the same amount of medium - the rest is small stones.

Granite looks great. But it is hard and “cold”, even the most tenacious saxifrages can rarely grow on it, and the soil next to it quickly acidifies. This, too, must be borne in mind and periodically adjust the acidity (or plant plants that love acidic soil).

It is best to use tuff. It drains water well, water flows well through it, and more importantly, plants grow well right on it. More importantly, it neutralizes acidity, which is what Alpines like.

Limestone slabs are also good, but they go exactly with slabs, they are good for decorating alpine plains or very low and gently sloping hills.

How to make an alpine slide

First, select the area where the rock garden will be laid out. Depending on the conditions on it, they choose the type of slide and the plants that can be planted on it.

Experts recommend not making a "grave" - ​​a mound in the middle of a flat area looks just like that. If there is even a slight natural or artificial "foundation" better slide start from it. It can be a well, a large old tree, even a wall of some structure, from which a rock garden descends in ledges. On the flat surface rockery is more appropriate - a flat structure made of stones and plants.

How to choose the type of rock garden

If the site is swampy and located in a lowland, you can equip small pond or a swamp, the edges of which are decorated with stones. But even on stones, in this case, moisture-loving plants are planted - they will successfully drain the adjacent area. If, however, drought-resistant rocks are planted in such a place, they will wither until they die - they require different conditions.

Alpine valley looks no worse than a hill, but on flat areas so definitely better than "a pimple out of the blue"

For a sunny or shady, but dry area, it is possible to organize a slide of any type. It is difficult to create a large elevation difference on a flat area - it is more appropriate and easier to do something like a mountain valley, an alpine meadow or a low hill. If there is a height difference, you can arrange it in the form of a rockery or increase the existing height difference by arranging a hill on one side, from which the rock garden will “run away” with terraces or a covered slope.

When to start

Unless you beat the existing terrain, you will have to shift and pour soil and stones, sometimes they pour into the base of the hill broken bricks and other similar construction debris. All this is sprinkled with soil and rammed, then earth is poured on top, which is interspersed with stones. And so from the foot, to the very top, stones with earth. It is clear that the whole structure will shrink. And decent - up to 1/4 height. For this reason, a do-it-yourself alpine slide is often created in two stages: the first - earthworks- carried out in the fall, the Second - planting - in the spring.

Stones, flowers, water - beauty ...

So that during wintering with or without plants, rains and melting snow do not wash the soil very much, the most problematic areas are fixed with a mesh, burlap. You will see where the water drains the most after the first rain. You can speed up the process by watering your slide with water. In those places where the water drains the most, lay a net, sprinkle with small stones. In the following winters, the roots of plants will gradually hold the ground together, but they will finally grow only after a few years, so the soil will need to be covered with stones for the next winters, only this time carefully.

Do-it-yourself Alpine slide: a sequence of actions

Regardless of the type of landing chosen, the sequence of actions during the arrangement will be almost the same. It all starts with simple, but voluminous earthworks, then exercises with weights follow, and only then - landing.

STEP 1. We mark the contours. In the selected place, outline the contours of the future slide. They don't have to be symmetrical - they have to look natural. In any case, this is worth striving for. Therefore, it is better if the shape consists of different broken and rounded lines. First, you can develop it on a piece of paper, then transfer it to the ground using a colored rope or cord (you can outline the contours with a path of sand, for example, etc.).

Marking - the first thing in the arrangement of the site

STEP 2. We remove the fertile layer, organize drainage. In the outlined area, the soil is removed, the roots of the plants are removed. If the soils do not drain water very well, crushed stone is added and rammed. This is a drain to drain water and maintain normal humidity. Plants growing on stones do not tolerate stagnant water and waterlogging. They are accustomed to a minimum of moisture. And it is necessary to create similar conditions for them. More sand is poured on top of the rubble, with a layer of 10-15 cm, and on top there is already a fertile layer or a special substrate for selected plants.

If the soils drain water normally, it is not necessary to pour crushed stone, but it is necessary to remove the vegetable soil: the plants will make their way through the stones and it is difficult to deal with them. Therefore, clean everything qualitatively.

There may be another problem with sandy soil: it may be too loose (silty sands). Then the stones on it will “float away” all the time. You can solve the problem if you fill in crushed stone and drive it well into the ground, if this is not possible, spread it in a pit (used in road construction and landscape design) and fix it along the edges of the pit. In this case, it is desirable to take dense, so that it can withstand the mass of soil and stones. He will not allow the stones to change their location and will hold the entire structure. In particularly severe cases, it may be necessary to pour a concrete base - a reinforced slab.

Step 3. Formation of a relief. A layer of soil about 20 cm thick is poured onto the sand. Arrange the first, largest stones. They partially need to be "drowned". This will look more natural. For a traditional slide, the stones are stacked, not placed upright. When organizing the Czech rolling pin, on the contrary, all the plates are placed upright. But these are fundamentally different formations and we will talk about the manufacture of a rolling pin a little lower - there is a different principle of formation.

The heaviest stones are laid in the first row. The gaps between them are filled with soil, which can be interspersed with smaller "non-format" stones that will not look good in open form. Having laid the stones, they check their stability: you need to jump on them. If it stands, does not move, you can continue to work. Spread the second tier - the boulders are slightly smaller. And in the same way they fill the distance between them with smaller stones and soil.

The third tier is formed according to the same principle - small stones are already laid here, which can be interspersed with very small ones.

Step 4. Planting the plants. As already mentioned, this stage can begin six months after the formation of the relief. Since the conditions are different for everyone, the plants are selected based on them. But if we talk about an alpine hill, then, in theory, only those plantations that grow in the Alps should live on it. Basically, they are not very bright, and they feel bad in our latitudes. They are planted by true connoisseurs of mountains. And the vast majority in dachas and household plots plants plants that they personally like best. Strictly speaking, this is already a flower garden or a composition with stones ... But, no matter how the structure is called, it has the right to exist if it brings pleasure to the owner.

What is the difference between the device of the Czech rolling pin

As already mentioned, the Czech rolling pin is made up of vertically placed plates. Such plates in our market can be bought from sandstone or limestone. Find more or less one color, but different shapes and thickness - from one centimeter to tens. And look for those in which at least one face was dark - weathered. They are put outside. Some more will be needed with two "tanned" edges. When compiling a slide, they are put outside - it’s more beautiful and “more natural.

It all starts the same way: marking the site and excavating the soil, backfilling the drainage layer. This is where the differences begin. “ridges” are formed from large plates and they are placed along the edge with a slight slope - about 5 °.

We lay out smaller layers between the dominant ridges, fill the gaps between them with a substrate or soil. If you are going to plant alpine plants, they do not require too nutrient medium. They may even die in it. They need to create conditions close to natural, so you have to adapt to them and make up your own soil mixture for each type. The basis can be considered as follows: in equal parts, mix light meadow land, river sand with coarse grain and stone chips. In order for the soil to better hold the water of brick chips: the temperatures in summer are higher than in the Alps and it dries faster and faster. With this soil mixture, fill in the gaps between the plates.

Plants are planted in these "rocky outcrops". Then the remaining gaps are covered with a layer of fine stone chips of the same color with a layer of about 2-3 cm. This, firstly, will add naturalness, and secondly, it will protect it from drying out. The problem with the outflow of water is solved automatically - it goes perfectly into vertical slots. And since the soil mixture is loose, no stagnation is formed.

Plants for an alpine slide: landing rules, names and photos

To receive decorative effect more important not only and not so much flowering plants, how many are those that have beautiful and lush foliage that retains its decorative effect throughout the entire period: from spring to late autumn.

The planting of shrubs and trees must be approached very carefully: they grow, still decent in height, attempts to cut them only harm appearance. Look for dwarf varieties if you like, but specify their height. We can recommend horizontal junipers - they grow to the sides, and almost do not grow up. You can use mountain pine or nesting spruce. But this is at a sufficient height of the relief. Trees and shrubs are planted in any case in the "lowland", and so that it does not block the view.

Plants are planted in groups, but so that between them there is a solid free space filled with stones or small crumbs. Solid carpet is not for rock garden. Here, each plant is a soloist and there should be a separate stage for each. Therefore, in the foreground - the shortest, behind them - the average height and the highest - in the background.

Alpine hill (rock garden or rockery) is one of the popular and fashionable areas of landscape design that can embellish and transform your backyard or summer cottage. The arrangement of a rock garden is a structure in which elements of various living or non-living components are organically combined, interpreting a corner of a mountainous area.

Creating an alpine slide on your own is a rather interesting process that requires creativity. Having shown all his imagination and given a few key points at independent creation rock garden, you can really create a unique, man-made miracle, which will undoubtedly be the main "highlight" of your site.

When arranging rockeries, you can use the help of professional landscape designers, but even novice gardeners can easily make an alpine slide with their own hands, at low financial costs and time. Alpine slides are easy to care for, while there are a lot of opportunities and styles for designing rock gardens. When creating flower arrangements, it is necessary to take into account the basic rules for designing a rock garden in your area.

And so, if you are inspired by the idea of ​​​​creating a rock garden on your site, of course, the question arises - how to create an alpine slide with your own hands?

To do this, first of all, it is necessary to correctly select the appropriate materials and plan everything correctly, so that in the future you do not have to redo the masterpiece created by great difficulty.

One of the important factors when creating an alpine slide with your own hands is the availability of free space on the site that you have. You should also take into account the fact that, depending on the further location of the rock garden, you should choose the right plants, taking into account their species characteristics. When choosing a rock garden project, do not forget about the climatic features of your region.

On a large flat plane, you can safely organize an extended stone garden, which can be compared with a corner of wildlife. If there is not enough space on your site, in this case you can equip a compact, round shape rock garden. In order to make an alpine slide on your own, you can use many ideas and options.

As natural materials will need stones various breeds having a variety of shapes and sizes. When choosing stones for rock garden, please note that all natural materials used do not have sharp corners. Apart from natural stones, as natural materials, you can choose crushed stone, pebbles, river sand, but it is better not to use granite when arranging an alpine hill. For example, fragments of sandstone in red shades will successfully emphasize the style and shape, thereby the outlines of the slide will be clearer and more realistic. The soil can be mixed with peat and limestone. Such a mixture will contribute to a better removal of excess water.

At proper creation do-it-yourself alpine slide, you also need to decide what will be the main color solution your rock garden, and, based on this, select the necessary varieties and types of plants, as well as materials.

Video - How to make a rock garden with your own hands

The arrangement of the rock garden includes several stages. Next, the process will be described creating an alpine slide step by step.

Step-by-step photo instructions for creating an alpine slide

• When choosing a place for a rock garden, it must be borne in mind that the most ideal option are well-lit, sunny and windless areas of your garden. Small details of the design of the slide and most types of plants are sensitive to gusts of strong winds and feel uncomfortable in areas that are not too lit. At this stage, with pegs, you can mark the future territory of the rock garden with pegs.

• Along the entire perimeter of the location of the future slide, it is initially necessary to place the largest elements - large stones and boulders, so that they make up a V-like structure. After that, it is necessary to mix the top layer of the earth with limestone, sand and peat.

• .The next step in the step-by-step creation of an alpine slide is the installation of drainage, which will protect the entire structure in case of excessive precipitation and the preparation of recesses. The drainage device depends on the composition of the soil on the site, especially if the site is dominated by oily and clay soil. In the event that sand fractions predominate in the composition of the soil in large quantities, the drainage system can be omitted.

Broken brick, crushed stone, small pebbles, sand or expanded clay are used as drainage. To lay the drainage, you need to dig a hole, 30-40 cm deep, on the bottom of which a dense ball of drainage is laid. After that, the pit is completely covered with a ball of earth and well spilled.

• The next step is laying stones around the perimeter of the second tier. The height of the stones decreases with height.

• Most milestone is the planting of selected forms of plants in special pockets, which are located between the stones at a distance from each other. It should be borne in mind that no more than two plants should fit in one pocket, which will help the plants grow and develop normally.
• When planting plants, their species characteristics should be taken into account. Tall plants - conifers, dwarf shrubs and trees are planted at the base of the hill. On the upper tiers, undersized and ampelous forms of plants of various colors will look original. It can be both annual and perennial decorative forms of plants. For example - lavender, edelweiss, alpine forget-me-not, decorative varieties wormwood, arabis, seaside armeria, perennial carnation, lemon thyme, etc. If you plan to plant plants together with a flower container, then the planting hole should be much larger in diameter than the diameter of the container. The optimal planting time for most plant species is mid or late spring.

• The second and third tiers are created by analogy with the first.
• Making the top of the rock garden. The top is decorated with an ensemble of several large stones, and the open surface between the stones is filled with pebbles, colored gravel or crushed stone. This composition will provide a well-groomed and beautiful view rock garden, and will also prevent the appearance of weeds.

Following simple rules and advice, you can easily create an alpine slide with your own hands, which will not only decorate your site, but will also be a small corner of wildlife on the territory of the garden plot.

Quick navigation through the material

A beautiful, well-groomed territory is the hallmark of any site. It is good when among all kinds of plantings in the garden there is central element standing out from the general background.

This element can be a rock garden - a rocky elevation, decorated with flowers and plants and imitating a fragment of a mountain landscape.

Often summer residents confuse two similar concepts - rock garden and rockery. In fact, they are not too wrong, because rockery is common name rocky gardens, and the alpine slide is one of its varieties. At the same time, many landscape designers are accustomed to defining rockeries only as a flat composition.

A rock garden, unlike a rockery, is an elevated composition, necessarily tiered, with slopes and a peak.

Alpine slide in the background log house

Compared with rockeries, it is more difficult to make an alpine slide with your own hands, but it has a more pronounced relief, attracts more attention due to its height, and makes the landscape noticeably more picturesque not only in summer, but also in winter.

And you can also zone a summer cottage with a rock garden, for example, visually separate working area from the front. In addition, a rocky hill will allow you to beautifully beat embankments unsuitable for planting.

From this article you will learn how to make an alpine slide with your own hands and draw landscape design ideas from 50 photos of rock gardens.

Planning the composition and design of the alpine slide

So, how to compose a composition, how to choose and arrange plants and stones? Full answers to these questions will not fit within the framework of one article, but in short, here are a few main rules and principles that must be followed:

• According to the canons, an alpine slide should not consist of boulders and run-in stones (with the exception of rock gardens near water bodies), but of rough and broken ones. For example, it can be: tuff, sandstone, limestone, granite or slate.
• In one composition, it is desirable to combine no more than 2 breeds, otherwise the rock garden will look unnatural.
• As a rule, the height of the alpine slide is 3-5 tiers (it is better that the number of tiers be odd). It is better not to make country rock gardens too high - their optimal height is 50-80 cm.

In choosing the design of an alpine slide, be guided by a sense of proportion - the composition should look natural and fit organically into the landscape. Cliffs and rocks (see photo below) in summer cottages most often seem foreign. But simple imitations of a slope or a mountain valley without a pronounced peak are appropriate everywhere.

On a small dacha high views rock gardens as in this photo are not very appropriate

Now let's talk about the choice of plants for the alpine slide. If you build a rock garden strictly according to the rules, then the flora for it must be selected strictly of alpine origin: miniature conifers, shrubs, ground cover, bulbous and herbaceous perennials.

However, real "Alpines" are not so easy to find and grow in the middle lane, so you can choose any plants that are characterized by squat (height up to 60 cm), unpretentiousness and, of course, decorative. On the northern slope it is better to plant shade tolerant plants: tenacious, periwinkle, fern, bergenia and others. On the southern slope, respectively, grow better light-loving plants: lavender, barberry, adonis, iris, acena and others. Very harmoniously fit into the "mountain ensemble" evergreens, such as mountain pine, Canadian spruce, juniper and others.

It is desirable that the plants of your rock garden remain decorative all season, otherwise the withered leaves will spoil the whole composition, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to hide them behind the flowering "neighbors". For this reason, it is good to use flyers in the design of an alpine slide. Although they are not quite “canonical”, they will decorate rocky garden for a long time.

Step by step instruction of 8 steps

Having roughly imagined what our rock garden will be like, we can begin to create an alpine slide with our own hands.

The technology for creating an alpine slide consists of the following steps:

1. Choose a place, determine the size;
2. We draw a rock garden scheme;
3. We designate the contour, remove the sod;
4. We make a drainage layer;
5. We prepare fertile soil and fill it up;
6. We erect the core of the hill, pour the soil;
7. Planting plants;
8. Let's put the finishing touches on.

And now let's talk about each stage in more detail.

Step 1. Draw a plan for an alpine slide

Creating even the simplest alpine slide is best to start with the development of the project. The simplest option is a schematic sketch, observing the approximate sizes of stones and plants relative to each other. For example, it could be something like this.

1 - Mountain pine, 2 - Creeping thyme, 3 - Canadian phlox, 4 - Evers stonecrop, 5 - Gray fescue, 6 - Rocky alissum, 7 - Angustifolia lavender, 8 - Stonecrop prominent, 9 - Fragrant rue, 10 - Steller's wormwood. Note: the scheme of the alpine slide is shown without taking into account the flowering time of plants

Ideally, a slide, especially a large and multi-tiered one, should be designed on a scale of, say, 1:50 or 1:25 (1 cm on paper corresponds to 50 or 25 "natural" centimeters) and with a grid with 2 × 2 cm cells (that is, with transferring the grid to nature, the cells will correspond to cells of 50 × 50 cm at a scale of 1:25).

Step 2. Choose a place

Here are some tips for choosing a place for an alpine slide:

• It is desirable that the rock garden is located in a sunny place, and the slope is oriented to the east and south. Of course, you can choose a shaded place, but then the choice of flora will be limited - you will have to plant only shade-tolerant plants.
• Well, if the composition was placed so that it could be seen from different sides.
• The arrangement of an alpine slide near a house or other buildings is undesirable, since from the melting of snow or drops, the flower garden can sag and be damaged.
• A rock garden against the background of a fence is not the best idea, but if you can’t find another place, then bushes planted along the fence, or lianas, as in the photo below, will help to ennoble the background of the slide.

An example of an alpine hill against the backdrop of a fence. By the way, here the rock garden is designed to hide water communications This small alpine slide would look much better if the fence was wrapped in vines or planted with shrubs.

• You should not build an alpine slide under the trees (deciduous and flower), otherwise every autumn you will have to clear the rocky garden from fallen leaves.
• If the site has uneven terrain created by nature, then this the best option for rock climbing.

Suitable places:

• Front area of ​​the site;
• Entrance area;
• Recreation area (in the barbecue area, at the gazebo, pool, pond);
• Backyard;
• Near any rocky retaining walls.

Step 3. Remove the sod

In accordance with the plan, we designate the contour of the future slide in the selected area: we drive in the pegs and stretch the twine through them.

Next, we remove the sod to a depth of just over 30 cm and leave it aside for a while. Later, on its basis, we will prepare the soil substrate. Pursuing land works, do not forget to remove the rhizomes of weeds.

Step 4. Prepare the base

So, we got a "pit" rock garden. Now we need to fill it with a "sandwich" of drainage and soil. Broken bricks, pebbles, crushed stone or medium-sized gravel can be used as the first layer of drainage. We fill it with a thickness of 10-15 cm, depending on the size of the stones. Next, we fill up a layer of sand 5-10 cm thick, ram it well and fill it with water to achieve maximum density.

• To prevent the destruction of the composition from the raids of moles and shrews (if they are found in the vicinity of your dacha), you need to lay a fine metal mesh on the bottom of the pit.
• If you arrange a rock garden on a slope with dry and loose sandy soil, then drainage can be omitted.

Step 5. Prepare the soil

When the laying of the drainage layer is completed, you can start cooking fertile soil. We will mix it equal parts: previously dug turf, peat, humus and sand.

• Soddy land before preparing the soil substrate must be thoroughly cleaned of weeds and their rhizomes.

Step 6. We erect a hill

The construction of an alpine slide begins with the laying of the most beautiful and largest boulders around the perimeter of the future rock garden.

Stones should lie as stable as possible. To do this, they must, firstly, be placed on the ground with the largest side, and secondly, if necessary, place smaller supporting stones under them or add gravel or soil. The bottom row of boulders needs to be completely dug a third or two thirds into the ground - this way you will achieve not only stability, but also the desired effect of naturalness.

Having folded the first row of large stones, we fill the prepared soil in the center of the composition and at the same time lay out the medium stones, forming the second tier.

Finally, small cobblestones are placed at the top of the hill and on the slopes where voids need to be filled. At the top of the hill, you can put one large or two medium stones. When erecting an alpine slide, do not forget to refer to your scheme and leave enough space for planting. At the end of the construction of the alpine slide, it must be watered abundantly and left for a couple of weeks to shrink.

• Try to lay the stones so that the planting pockets are horizontal, not sloping, as plantings on a slope are not very easy to water.
• Before laying each new stone, the soil under it is pre-tamped.
• Remember that the rock garden should have as little geometry and symmetry as possible, because it is rare in nature.

Some experts recommend that the core of the hill be formed not from fertile soil, but from sand mixed with a small fraction of crushed stone (the soil is only poured into the planting holes, and then the entire embankment is covered with it to hide light sand). So the elevation will be more reliable and durable. High slides require a core of three layers: gravel (or other rocky placer), sand and soil (see diagram below).

Step 7 Planting the Plants

When the composition of stones suits you, proceed to the most pleasant stage - planting the flora. To do this, first arrange pots with seedlings on the slopes according to your project, starting with large ones and ending with small ones. Planting plants should start from the top, gradually going down. The depth of the planting holes depends on the size of the root systems of specific species. Finally, the finished slide needs to be poured with water, washing the earth off the stones.

• Do not overdo it with fertilizers to avoid unwanted growth of plants in breadth and height.
• The soil substrate (acidity and alkalinity) can be adjusted for each species.

Step 8: Adding the Finishing Touches

Hurray, the alpine slide is ready! Now you can add backfill (pebbles, gravel or crushed stone) where necessary, or install decor ( garden figures, lights, etc.)
Finally, we suggest you watch a visual master class on how to make a simple alpine slide with your own hands.

See also the gallery of rock garden ideas in the country.