Do-it-yourself alpine hill from conifers. We select plants for rock garden

Rock gardens cannot be imagined without coniferous plants, but some gardeners go further and create compositions consisting entirely of conifers. The desire to use them is understandable - coniferous for Alpine slide just perfect, they are decorative, unpretentious, retain an attractive appearance all year round and allow you to create a spectacular corner in the garden, even if there is not too much time to care for the plantings. The main thing is to observe the naturalness and imitation of the natural mountain landscape.

Features of the construction of an alpine hill from coniferous plants

The advantages of an alpine hill from conifers include the fact that you do not need to select plants according to the timing of flowering and you can almost immediately make the hill the way you intended. Minus - coniferous seedlings are not cheap. A compromise option is to plant young plants, hoping that they will grow, but for now, decorate voids with stones or ceramic elements.

When planting conifers, you need to remember that they need space

Choosing a place, taking into account the conditions necessary for conifers

In all the photos of the alpine hill of conifers, it can be seen that it looks spectacular if you choose a place that is viewed from different sides, preferably sunny. Some types of spruces, pines and arborvitae tolerate shading well, but junipers will suffer from a lack of light. Plants with colored needles must be in the sun. When creating an alpine hill from conifers in the country, it should be borne in mind that most of these plants:

• photophilous;
• need space for normal development;
• usually grow well on sandy-clay or even stony soils;
• unpretentious, but do not like high level ground water.

Unpretentious thuja will decorate any rock garden

Creating drainage and forming a slide

Since coniferous trees for the alpine slide do not like excess moisture be sure to do drainage. To do this, remove upper layer soil and cover the hill with crushed stone, pebbles, small construction waste. The height of the drainage is from 10 to 20 cm. The soil layer is poured on top and the laying of stones begins. The stones are laid parallel throughout the hill. First, choose a place for larger ones, then put small ones.

So that the hill does not warp, there should not be cases when the stone lies on the lower cobblestone with one end, and presses on the soil with the other. Coniferous trees and shrubs have developed large roots, so pits are made between stones for their planting. The voids are filled with soil. After the construction of the hill, you need to let the soil settle, so it is better to start planting after a while. Ideal option: in the fall - to build, and in the spring - to plant.

Combine different types hvoynikov - real art

What types of conifers are suitable for rock garden

For coniferous rock garden fit trees and shrubs small size or dwarf species. Creeping varieties must be present. Combination different shapes crowns and coloring needles creates interesting solutions. There is a green, bluish and yellowish shade of needles. Some are bright yellow in color.

Miniature cypress ideal for landscape compositions

Names and photos of the most suitable species

For middle lane from conifers for an alpine slide it is worth choosing:

• thuja - plants with a dense crown, which tolerates a haircut well. Most of the varieties common in Russia come from the western thuja: Danica with light spherical crown, Filiformis resembling a cone, Golden Globe with yellow needles. Thuja propagates by cuttings, but it is better for inexperienced gardeners to buy a ready-made seedling;
• cypress trees - fashion idea for rock garden from Europe (hedges from this plant are popular in Britain). Not all varieties are hardy. The easiest way to grow Lawson's cypress and pea. It is better to overwinter low plants that can hide under the snow. Cypress trees love to spray, but the water should not be icy;
• ate - a lot was bred undersized varieties: dwarf - up to 1.5 m, mini-varieties - up to 1 m, micro-specimens - up to 30 cm. For example, the Alberta Globe variety with a crown resembling a ball squeezed from above grows by 50 cm in 10 years. Nidiformis spruce is very beautiful with silvery needles. Attractive varieties canadian spruce with small gray needles and a pyramidal crown;
• pines of all kinds are valued by gardeners. Dwarf and slow-growing varieties have been developed. Fluffy bushes of Scots pine Watereri or mountain pine Cobold with emerald needles fit perfectly into the landscape of rock gardens. The slow-growing dwarf Globosa Viridis reaches a height of only one meter and is suitable for small garden;
• junipers of all kinds. Pyramidal plants are planted both singly and in small groups, creeping ones are arranged so that they have room to grow. They cover the ground and contrast with more high grades. In winter, many junipers need shelter with spruce branches.

Juniper Dahurian

Coniferous plants for the alpine slide, the photos and names of which were given above, are suitable if you take specially bred dwarf varieties. To prevent them from growing, you need to pinch new sprouts and pruning in a timely manner. Fertilizers should not be abused. It is also undesirable to allow animals to "mark" the trunks of "babies". If this happens, rinse the affected area with water.

Today it is difficult to imagine a modern garden without an alpine slide. It is the alpine slide (or its other name - the rock garden) that gives the garden originality, completeness, and, where necessary, the feeling of a changed landscape. All this is due to successful combination ornamental plants, flowers, trees and stones.

At the first stage of creating an alpine slide, the location and possible decor should be determined. Next you will need stone boulders various sizes and forms of your choice.

Also, to change the level of the slide, drainage should be prepared, which lies in the very center. Can be used as a drain special materials, and ordinary fallen leaves and small twigs. From above, the drainage is covered with soil and decorated with boulders and stones in the way you like best.

The main thing, do not forget: both the earth and the drainage will settle, so the height of the alpine slide itself will become lower than it was when laying.

After the slide is ready, the process of its "settlement" begins. Here your imagination should not be limited to absolutely nothing. The richness of the flora today has reached its climax, so you will not have any difficulties with choosing plants for the slide.

A good addition to the alpine slide can be paths paved with flat stones, plaster sculptures and the like. However, if you planned to arrange in an alpine slide or a small waterfall resembling a miniature natural mountain river, then you cannot do without expert advice.

Moreover, you should follow the advice during the planning of the slide, and not after its completion, otherwise you will have to destroy part of your own work. Of course, if you created a slide a long time ago, and now you decide to supplement it with bubbling water, this is another matter.

In order for the alpine slide to fulfill its purpose, it must be built taking into account certain rules. Not every plant is suitable for a rock garden, so careful selection is necessary, taking into account the timing of flowering plants, the possibility or inadmissibility of a joint neighborhood, the duration of flowering, and many other factors.

If all the landing conditions are met correctly, then the alpine slide will delight with beautiful and luxurious flowering all summer, and possibly autumn.

For this to happen, it is necessary for planting a slide to choose those plants that begin to bloom in turn. Thanks to this, the rock garden will constantly change and have a picturesque and well-groomed appearance.

To create alpine slides, for the most part, undersized plants are chosen. These are, for example, cinquefoil, salvia, low-growing varieties of nasturtium, spirea, daisies, primroses and many others.

In addition, slowly growing tree-like or, again, undersized coniferous specimens are planted on the hill, but a couple of them are added to create accents. large plants or shrubs.

In order for the alpine slide to become a decoration of the garden not only in summer, but also in winter, among the plants should appear coniferous species. Juniper and dwarf pine are well suited for this.

In addition to ornamental plants, you can plant on an alpine hill medicinal herbs, then she will also become a house doctor. For this, thyme, rosemary, chamomile, sage and other similar plants are very well suited.

In addition, before landing, it is necessary to take into account the cardinal directions. This is done so that all types of plants can take root well and gain strength, since some of them, due to the fact that they need a significant amount of sunlight, prefer to grow only on the south side.

Unpretentious or shade-loving plants grow well in the northern parts of the rock garden. And flowers such as bluebells, crocuses and chrysanthemums do well everywhere.

Thus, if you make very little effort and follow all of the above recommendations, you can create a real creation in your garden.

What plants are needed for rock garden?

Constructing a rock garden on the territory on their own, it is very important to know how to correctly and successfully choose plants that will not only look great, but also long time enjoy your bloom. Plantings should be not only diverse, but also well adapted to the climatic conditions of the suburban area.

When choosing plants for, one should not deprive attention of carpet and undersized plantations, which will become the basis and background of the finished rock garden.

When choosing green spaces, be sure to take into account the weather and climatic conditions to which the site where the alpine slide will be located is exposed. Plants should have enough sunlight, moisture, heat and fertilizer.

It is also very important to pay attention to the intensity of growth and branching of plantings, as this can spoil appearance and flowering of the alpine slide. Plantings should harmonize with each other in size, color, growth rate, flowering time.

Since the rock garden is being built on long term, plants should be selected as annuals and perennials. First of all, you need to take care of planting ground cover plants that will help to densely cover the surface of the earth.

Landscape designers recommend that when choosing plants for a rock garden, take into account the size and color of boulders that will form the basis of a decorative object. In order for the rock garden to look harmonious and not overloaded, the stones should be laid asymmetrically and loosely. You can fill the bare gaps between them with undersized plantings.

In addition, plants should be planted in tiers, the top should be the tallest and most lush species, while with each subsequent circle, the height and size of the plantations should be reduced. In order for the rock garden to function all year round, the hill can be decorated with coniferous and evergreen plantings.

Perennial plants for alpine hills - photos and names

In order to make it easier to choose plants for an alpine slide, we present you the most popular ones with names in two languages ​​and photos.

Anemone - Anemone

Alyssum rocky - Alyssum-saxsatile

Alyssum white

Badan – Bergenia

Periwinkle herbaceous - Vinca-herbacea

Marigolds – Tagetes

White Perfection - Musky Malva - Malva moschata

Cornflower mountain - Centaurea montana

Veronica - Veronica

Monetary loosestrife - Lysimachia nummularia

Carnation - Dianthus

Carnation stunted

Geranium - Geranium

loosestrife - Lythrum salicaria

Dicentra - Dicentra

Tenacious - Ajuga

tenacious creeping

St. John's wort - Hypericum

Iris - Iris

Round-leaved saxifrage - Saxifraga rotundifolia

Kotovnik - Nepeta

Lavender narrow-leaved - Lavandula angustifolia

Potentilla - Potentilla

Potentilla Nepalese - Potentilla nepalensis

Lupine - Lupinus

Rejuvenated - Sempervivum

Euphorbia - Euphorbia

Euphorbia bordered (bride)

Peony - Paeonia

Purslane garden - Portulaca oleracea

Multi-colored purslane on an alpine hill

Primula - Primula

Rudbeckia - Rudbeckia

Sedum - Sedum

Amethyst eryngium - Eryngium amethystinum

Amethyst eryngium

Sleep Grass - Pulsatilla

sleep-grass

Yarrow - Achillea

Thyme - Thymus

Violet - Viola

Phlox subulata - Phlox subulata

Phlox subulate

Chistets - Stachys byzantina

Oenothera Missouri - Oenothera missouriensis

Jaskolka - Cerastium

Yaskolka

Many owners of personal plots know how important it is to keep their territory in order and clean. Everyone tries to bring a little bright colors and greenery that will transform a modest landscape design.

An excellent decorative object is an alpine hill, which is a heap of stones and plants that can become a real pride and decoration of any site.

What is an alpine slide and what plants are suitable for it - expert opinion

Read about everything here.

is a unique composition that repeats the mountain landscape in our gardens and parks. Remember the mountains of the Alps, which beckon with their beauty. A small part of them can be created in any area. You need to study what plants grow in nature in the mountain landscape and plant them in your garden.

It is impossible to imagine an alpine hill without coniferous plants, as well as stones. They are the basis of the composition. You can scatter stones randomly or create several tiers. On each of them certain plants are planted.

It would be appropriate to look at the alpine slide in the country, in a private garden or in a public park.

Alpine slide photo

Do-it-yourself Alpine slide

If you want to decorate your garden with an alpine slide, then you can use the services of a landscape designer or create a rock garden with your own hands. Be prepared for some difficulties, because creating a beautiful mountain landscape can take you a lot of time and effort, but you will save money and be delighted with the resulting beauty.

Alpine slide: how to do it?To begin with, choose a prominent place on your territory, the alpine slide should attract attention, but it looks good in the corner of your garden. Start with a detailed plan. Draw a future hill, imagine what size stones should be present on it, whether it will be created artificial waterfall or other body of water. Choose a size. You also need to decide how high the slide should be. For small gardens, it is better to choose compact compositions. Don't forget the irrigation system. You need to bring the hoses to your slide. Start choosing plants. After that you can buy everything necessary materials. The construction of the slide begins with the installation of stones. They can be large or small. Combine different shapes and sizes. The main thing is to create a landscape close to natural. Plants are planted only after the installation of stones and irrigation systems.

What plants to choose for an alpine slide

Before you create an alpine slide, you need to decide what exactly will grow on it. Study the needs of plants: do they like light or grow in the shade, does the plant tolerate waterlogging or drought, does it like acidic soils or neutral, as well as others important factors for plant growth.

Alpine hill: what to plant?The alpine hill of coniferous plants always looks impressive. You simply cannot do without them. Choose dwarf pines and firs for the lower tier, as well as beautiful junipers. Cone-shaped coniferous trees complement such a hill well. Do not plant plants close to each other, because each tree should be clearly visible. You can combine trees with different crowns on your alpine hill. For example, try to match cushion-shaped conifers with cone-shaped ones.

On the lower tier always look spectacular flowering plants. Do not forget about succulents, these plants are unpretentious, and some of them grow well on stones. choose winter-hardy varieties echeveria(or dig them up for the winter). rejuvenated And saxifrage- These are the most popular plants for rock garden. Burachok rocky, perennial carnations, iberis, edelweiss can be planted on top, as well as decorate the bottom of your slide. Remember, for the upper tier it is better to choose sun-loving and undemanding plants.

Planting scheme for an alpine slide

Alpine hill in the shade: what to plant?If you decide to create an alpine slide in the shade of the house or in the corner of the site, which is often in the shade of buildings, then you should choose shade-loving plants. pay attention to host. This ornamental deciduous plant grows well in the shade. Its leaves are very beautiful, have unique patterns and colors, look good with stones. Can be planted nearby ferns. You can't do without astilbe. It blooms incredibly beautifully and loves shaded areas very much. But choose better low-growing varieties. Compact junipers with blue needles also grow well in the shade. Some varieties of blue spruce are suitable for a shady area.

Popular types of conifers for alpine slides

Which conifers are suitable for alpine slides- this is the main question that arises before the designer. It is impossible to imagine an alpine hill without juniper. These compact coniferous shrubs- an integral attribute of such a composition. Juniper needles can be green, blue and even golden. You can play with color to create contrasts. Pine and spruce also look perfect in combination with stones. The main thing is to choose compact varieties. pay attention toPine MagnusThis plant is compact and attractive. Very compactpine - Pug, maximum height - 50 cm. Attractive plant - spruceNidiformis.the shape of the crown is nest-shaped.

If your alpine slide has dimensions up to 10 square meters, then you can choose plants up to 100 cm in height, but not higher, because then a visual imbalance will be felt. Plants up to one and a half meters in height are suitable for a large slide.

Now you know what plants can be planted on your alpine hill. Show your imagination, you will definitely succeed!

Creating an alpine slide is a fascinating process that requires not only imagination, but also attentiveness. Even one incorrectly selected plant can spoil the whole impression, breaking the harmony between the other inhabitants of the rocky garden. Therefore, you need to do right choice from an extensive list of plants suitable for composing an alpine slide.

To make the alpine slide look attractive throughout the season, you should select a place for planting plants, taking into account their flowering time and the principle of layering:

1. The top of the hill. It is more open to the sun's rays than the tiers below; therefore, it is rational to plant plants here that love sunlight and not in need of in large numbers moisture.
2. middle tier- a place for plants that feel good in partial shade. Here, the average soil moisture, so the middle of the alpine hill can be called universal: milking most flowers here ideal conditions which gives you a wide range of choices.
3. The foot of the hill- logical ending landscape composition. The plants planted here should be combined with the rest of the rock garden and choose those that love moisture and tolerate shade. After all, most of the sun's rays will go to the neighbors from above.

To provide continuous flowering from early spring to late autumn, flowering plants should be selected according to the principle of rotation. Evergreen shrubs and dwarf trees will look great in winter, looking out from under the snow.

Creating an alpine slide is a fascinating process that requires not only imagination, but also attentiveness

Plant layouts in rock gardens

Before you start creating an alpine slide, you need to create a graphic scheme. It will reflect the general idea of ​​​​the composition, help to generate new ideas and even before planting the plants to find possible errors.

First of all, stones are designated. The largest should be at the base, and the rest should create a gentle slope so that there is room for soil and plant roots. You can experiment by coming up with terraces, sharp cliffs, a pond and other interesting solutions.

Here are a couple of examples of circuits:

1. spicy hill, on which fragrant flowers are located: oregano will occupy the top, heather, hyssop, monarda and medicinal sage will feel good on the middle tier, and basil, bright nasturtium and fragrant thyme will sit at the very base.
2. Coniferous hill: thuja, planted at the top, looks great in the environment creeping juniper middle tier (you can use different types) and weeping cypress. The rock garden is completed by dwarf spruces or pines, the soil under which is disguised by a saxifrage carpet.

Each site owner has the opportunity to create a unique design landscape slide. After drawing up the scheme, you can start laying stones and soil, and then planting plants.

Gallery: plants for the alpine slide (25 photos)

What plants are suitable for an alpine slide (video)

Names and descriptions of perennial flowers for alpine hills

Perennials form the basis of the alpine slide. Therefore, their choice must be approached responsibly: the appearance of the composition depends on which plants will be chosen. You can introduce new colors and accents annually by planting annual plants.

Armeria maritime

A compact plant whose bushes form fluffy green cushions narrow leaves. Above them rise numerous inflorescences (about 10), which are lilac balls. Outwardly, the armeria looks like a decorative bow. hardy plant, unresponsive to high humidity soil. Therefore, the armeria will feel good at the top of the hill or on the slope of the middle tier.

Dicentra exceptional

This plant is popularly called broken hearted" behind original form flowers. Usually dicentres are a large bush, but the Exceptional does not exceed 25 cm in height. It goes well with coniferous and creeping plants, so it will be an excellent highlight of the rock garden. The green-gray foliage of the dicentra is exceptionally similar to the leaves of a fern, and flowers in the form of disconnected halves of the heart can be white or pink.

Dicentra exceptional

gypsophila

The plant belongs to the clove family. It has an erect or creeping stem with a small number of small lanceolate leaves, crowned with panicle inflorescences with small white (rarely pink) flowers.

bulbous flowers

These are crocuses, daffodils, snowdrops and blueberries. They appear immediately after the descent of the tender cover, reviving the landscape in a spring way. For a change, you can plant varietal Greig tulips with flowers beautiful shape, reaching 30 cm in height, and Kaufman tulips.

gypsophila

rejuvenated

stone rose, as it is also called young, is distinguished by excellent endurance. At the same time, the plant is very beautiful: its fleshy angular leaves are collected in rosettes. They can be both quite miniature and up to 10 cm in diameter. The color of the leaves varies from gray-green to burgundy. A stone rose is suitable for decorating the slopes of an alpine hill. Looks spectacular young, growing in the cracks between the boulders.

Primrose

Primrose (popular name of primrose) is a perennial herbaceous plant. Its advantages: early flowering, variety of shapes and colors of flowers, pleasant smell. Primrose is undersized (height 10–30 cm), with single landing forms a small shrub with leathery leaves and bright inflorescences that attract bees. If you plant primroses close to each other, you get a motley carpet.

Edelweiss

In the people, the plant is also called the mountaineer. It loves the sun and grows wild on the well-lit sides of mountains. Therefore, it will adequately take a central place on the hill - its top. In summer, edelweiss will surprise you with beautiful star-shaped flowers.

How to make an alpine slide with your own hands (video)

Creeping and ground cover plants for an alpine slide

Ground cover plants are an integral component of the alpine landscape on the site. They decorate the soil and make the slopes of the hill truly alive.

For example, this:

1. Antennaria(). undersized plant, whose peduncles do not rise above 15 cm. It has small leaves with a silvery tint and pubescence create a dense carpet on the ground up to 5 cm thick. Basket inflorescences white color, so the cat's paw cannot be called a bright plant that attracts glances. But it is very durable!
2. periwinkle. Forms an evergreen rug that blooms from May to September with delicate blue flowers scattered among leathery small leaves. Suitable for growing under the sun and on a shady slope: the plant is unpretentious to light.
3. Alpine dwarf low plant, forming a decorative turf, which does not exceed a height of 3 cm. In May and June, inflorescences up to 15 cm appear on it, which are brushes with numerous white flowers.
4. Saxifrage. One of the most popular ground cover plants. The time of their flowering falls on the middle of summer, and the color of different species varies: from snow-white to maroon. He loves light, so you need to plant on the western or southern slope of the alpine hill or closer to its top.
5. Aubrieta. Covers the ground with a lush carpet. It blooms profusely throughout the spring, and during this period it is covered with pink and purple flowers. It loves sun and loamy soils, although it grows well in any soil.
6. Awl-shaped phlox. A plant 15–17 cm tall, named for its narrow and pointed leaves at the ends. The shoots are densely covered with numerous inflorescences of pink, white or lilac color. Flowering begins in May-June, and it continues in early September.

On the same hill, several types of ground cover plants coexist if they are in harmony with each other. Given their flowering time, you can make sure that the soil is covered with a bright carpet from spring to autumn.

Ground cover plants are an integral component of the alpine landscape on the site

Shrubs for alpine slides

It is not recommended to use deciduous shrubs in landscaping alpine slides, because their leaves, stuck in the cracks between the stones, are difficult to remove, and the composition will look untidy. It is better to opt for small evergreen bushes.

For example, cotoneaster horizontal whose branches grow parallel to the ground. They are decorated with small leathery leaves, which acquire a crimson color with the onset of autumn. After flowering, small red berries appear, remaining on the branches all winter and giving the cotoneaster a special charm.

An interesting solution would be to use boxwood barberry. Its bush grows no higher than 50 cm, it represents a spreading crown of numerous branches. Very unpretentious plant well tolerated by frost and drought. Loves the light, but when grown in the shade retains its decorative properties.

In landscaping alpine slides, it is better to opt for small evergreen bushes

Dwarf plants for rock garden

Alpine hill is a repetition of a mountain landscape in miniature, so for naturalness you need to use small plants. large bushes will occupy half of the composition and divert attention from other inhabitants of the rocky garden.

You can use dwarf varieties herbaceous plants (for example, annual marigolds or alpine aster). It is desirable that their height does not exceed 30 cm. And, of course, dwarf conifers are the regulars of rock gardens: spruce, pine, etc. Thanks to them, the hill really looks like a reduced copy of the alpine relief.

Ephedra for alpine hills

To create an alpine landscape, use undersized species and varieties of conifers:

1. dwarf firs, whose height does not exceed 60 cm. They lend themselves well to shaping and require almost no maintenance. The shape of the crown different varieties may be sprawling or pyramidal.
2. Juniper. Species look spectacular, the branches of which grow parallel to the ground. The needles of the plant often have yellow tint, and the branches are decorated with small cones. Juniper in the wild can be seen on the slopes of the mountains, therefore it is undemanding to the soil and grows well on stones.
3. thuja- a shrub or tree of a pyramidal shape, less often it is cut in the form of a ball.
4. Mountain pine "Pug" grows very slowly and by the age of 10 has a crown with a diameter of up to 50 cm, which allows planting a tree on an alpine hill. Green needles have a pleasant blue tint.
5. cypress: its decorative dwarf varieties will effectively decorate the rock garden slope. You can choose a bush with golden, silver or traditional dark green needles. And the Philifera cypress has hanging branches, which looks like a coniferous cascade.

Rock gardens cannot be imagined without coniferous plants, but some gardeners go further and create compositions made entirely of conifers. The desire to use them is understandable - conifers for an alpine slide are simply ideal, they are decorative, unpretentious, retain an attractive appearance all year round and allow you to create a spectacular corner in the garden, even if there is not too much time to take care of the plantings. The main thing is to observe the naturalness and imitation of the natural mountain landscape.

Features of the construction of an alpine hill from coniferous plants

The advantages of an alpine hill from conifers include the fact that you do not need to select plants according to the timing of flowering and you can almost immediately make the hill the way you intended. Minus - coniferous seedlings are not cheap. A compromise option is to plant young plants, hoping that they will grow, but for now, decorate voids with stones or ceramic elements.

When planting conifers, you need to remember that they need space

Choosing a place, taking into account the conditions necessary for conifers

In all the photos of the alpine hill of conifers, it can be seen that it looks spectacular if you choose a place that is viewed from different sides, preferably sunny. Some types of spruces, pines and arborvitae tolerate shading well, but junipers will suffer from a lack of light. Plants with colored needles must be in the sun. When creating an alpine hill from conifers in the country, it should be borne in mind that most of these plants:

• photophilous;
• need space for normal development;
• usually grow well on sandy-clay or even stony soils;
• unpretentious, but do not like the high level of groundwater.

Unpretentious thuja will decorate any rock garden

Creating drainage and forming a slide

Since coniferous trees for an alpine slide do not like excessive moisture, they must make drainage. To do this, remove the top layer of soil and cover the hill with crushed stone, pebbles, small construction waste. The height of the drainage is from 10 to 20 cm. The soil layer is poured on top and the laying of stones begins. The stones are laid parallel throughout the hill. First, choose a place for larger ones, then put small ones.

So that the hill does not warp, there should not be cases when the stone lies on the lower cobblestone with one end, and presses on the soil with the other. Coniferous trees and shrubs have developed large roots, so pits are made between stones for their planting. The voids are filled with soil. After the construction of the hill, you need to let the soil settle, so it is better to start planting after a while. Ideal option: in the fall - to build, and in the spring - to plant.

Combining different types of conifers is a real art

What types of conifers are suitable for rock garden

For a coniferous rock garden, small trees and shrubs or dwarf species are suitable. Creeping varieties must be present. The combination of different crown shapes and needle colors creates interesting solutions. There is a green, bluish and yellowish shade of needles. Some are bright yellow in color.

Miniature cypress ideal for landscape compositions

Names and photos of the most suitable species

For the middle strip of conifers for an alpine slide, you should choose:

• thuja - plants with a dense crown, which tolerates a haircut well. Most of the varieties common in Russia come from the western thuja: Danica with a light spherical crown, Filiformis, resembling a cone, Golden Globe with yellow needles. Thuja propagates by cuttings, but it is better for inexperienced gardeners to buy a ready-made seedling;
• cypresses are a fashionable idea for rock gardens from Europe (hedges from this plant are popular in Britain). Not all varieties are hardy. The easiest way to grow Lawson's cypress and pea. It is better to overwinter low plants that can hide under the snow. Cypress trees love to spray, but the water should not be icy;
• spruces - many undersized varieties have been bred: dwarf - up to 1.5 m, mini-varieties - up to 1 m, micro-specimens - up to 30 cm. For example, the Albert Globe variety with a crown resembling a ball squeezed from above grows by 50 cm in 10 years. Very beautiful spruce Nidiformis with silvery needles. Attractive varieties of Canadian spruce with small gray needles and a pyramidal crown;
• pines of all kinds are valued by gardeners. Dwarf and slow-growing varieties have been developed. Fluffy bushes of Scots pine Watereri or mountain pine Cobold with emerald needles fit perfectly into the landscape of rock gardens. The slow-growing dwarf Globosa Viridis reaches a height of only one meter and is suitable for a small garden;
• junipers of all kinds. Pyramidal plants are planted both singly and in small groups, creeping ones are arranged so that they have room to grow. They cover the soil and contrast with higher varieties. In winter, many junipers need shelter with spruce branches.

Juniper Dahurian

Coniferous plants for the alpine slide, the photos and names of which were given above, are suitable if you take specially bred dwarf varieties. To prevent them from growing, you need to pinch new sprouts and pruning in a timely manner. Fertilizers should not be abused. It is also undesirable to allow animals to "mark" the trunks of "babies". If this happens, rinse the affected area with water.