Coniferous plants for alpine slides. Peculiarities

Currently, rock gardens have gained immense popularity, which are now used to decorate gardens and plots.

Let's look at which coniferous plants can be used for a home alpine slide. For this purpose, they are just perfect - very spectacular, decorative, retaining an attractive appearance all year round.

A modern alpine slide cannot be imagined without coniferous plants. Some prefer to create compositions that are almost entirely composed of their conifers. This allows you to simulate a unique and natural mountain landscape.

In addition, coniferous plants aromatize the air and make it healing.

The advantage of conifers is also that they do not need to be selected according to the timing of flowering. The slide will turn out as planned, almost immediately and looks bright and fresh almost all year round. But seedlings of coniferous plants are not so cheap. Although you can do it this way - plant young plants, they will grow over time, and decorate empty places, for example, with some kind of ceramic elements or stones.

For the design of rock garden it is best to use small trees and shrubs, perhaps dwarf breeds. Creeping views look impressive. You can combine different shapes of the crown and the color of the needles. There are needles green, bluish and even bright yellow.

Coniferous plant groups

Before buying plants for decorating an alpine slide, it is advisable to carefully consider the future composition. The choice is wide enough.

There is dwarf conifers having various forms of crowns: flat, spherical, ovoid, creeping and conical.

coniferous plants with ovoid or cone-shaped crowns are planted in the middle part or at the base of the alpine hill.

And pillow-shaped or rounded, lower forms fill the space between them.
At the base are creeping plant species.

To achieve the best decorative effect do not overload the composition with a large number of plants. It is also not advisable to plant coniferous plants at a short distance from each other. In this case, the beauty of forms will not be visible, and as a result, individuality may be lost.

It is better to use contrasts of color or shape. In no case should decorative stones be completely obscured by greenery. Only in this case you will get a beautiful and original alpine slide, a real decoration of your garden.

Coniferous plants that are used for decoration should not be higher than 1.5 m in height. If the hill is up to 10 m², the plants should be even lower, up to 80 cm.

Currently, you can find a large list of dwarf conifers that are just perfect for decorating a slide.

Prickly spruce Herman Nau

Most beautiful in spring, summer, autumn. This dwarf Christmas tree reaches a height of only 60-70 cm. It has an amazing bluish-steel color of the needles.

Serbian spruce Karel

Resistant to urban conditions, tolerates air pollution and smoke. This is a small dwarf coniferous shrub with a spherical or cushion-shaped crown.

Fir mountain Compacta

One of the most beautiful varieties of dwarf trees.

Cotoneaster hybrid Coral Beauty

Most beautiful in summer and autumn. A low creeping shrub with numerous small coral-colored berries will strengthen the slopes of the alpine hill.

Cotoneaster Dummer Eicholz

Most beautiful in autumn. A low-growing shrub, perfect for strengthening alpine hills and slopes. It has bright red berries and an indescribable autumn color of leaves in orange and orange-red tones.

Stephanandra incised Crispa

Most beautiful in autumn. It is used due to the graceful crown and decorative foliage. It is especially attractive in autumn, when the leaves are painted in lemon, pink and even red colors.

Barberry thunberg Maria

Charming shrub of a columnar form, characterized by a rich yellow color in summer and intense orange in autumn.

Potentilla shrub Tangerine

Nice shrub with flowers of a very original copper-orange color. Valued for its decorative coloring.

Juniper scaly Honnethorp

The amazing needles of this "dwarf" allows you to decorate any corner of the site and enter interesting element design when creating contrasting landscape compositions from plants of various architecture.

Juniper scaly Blue Carpet

The name of this juniper speaks for itself - it has very beautiful silver-blue needles. Decorative all year round.

Juniper scaly Loderia

A very picturesque strictly vertical juniper, known for its bluish-green color that practically does not lose its color all year round.

Canadian hemlock Nana

A low growing, slow growing shrub. Sheared at any time of the year.

Thuja western Little Champion

Valuable ornamental variety. If you plant thuja along the path, you get a very beautiful border.

The top of the alpine hill can be decorated with spruce or thuja, the middle layer can be covered with various varieties of juniper, and at the foot of the hill, saxifrage and dwarf conifers can be planted. This composition looks very beautiful and elegant from any side.

Creating a rock garden on the site is a very, very exciting activity, in which all your efforts will definitely pay off with a spectacular, bewitching landscape of a natural mountain landscape.

An alpine hill is an artificial or natural mound of earth, a hill where growing evergreens, herbaceous plants and shrubs are formed with stone elements.

This element of garden design got its name due to the fact that alpine plants are planted here, which in their natural state grow in mountainous and foothill areas.
Read a detailed illustrated article on how to make an alpine slide with your own hands.

To learn how to make a palm tree from plastic bottles, read.

Basic rules for plant selection

A flower garden with a rocky garden is increasingly common in modern garden plots. It is not difficult to create an alpine hill or rock garden, it is enough to know the main plants that can be planted on a hill, as well as the principles of their placement.

In addition, the rock garden is easy to care for. The stone composition looks beautiful and original if you add several types of alpine plants to it.

We offer you the basic rules for selecting plants to create a decorative rock garden:

1. When creating a composition, special attention should be paid to undersized plants. It is important that in size they correspond to the size of the slide, look harmonious.

2. Choose plants that will tolerate the local climate well. If the hill will be created in a sunny area, then light-loving plants should be planted, and vice versa.

3. The intensity of tillering and growth of green spaces should also be taken into account. If you plant plants that grow well next to short, small plants that love light, you will deprive them of the opportunity to grow and be pleasing to the eye. For example, beautiful and unpretentious soapwort, yaskolka, obrietta, rezuha will negatively affect plants in the neighborhood.

4. Plants on the hill should be combined with each other in appearance, growing conditions, rates of development and growth, according to the flowering period.

Types of plants to create an alpine slide

Alpine slide is created for a long time. When choosing plants for an alpine slide, give preference to cinquefoil, spirea, conifers, which grow rather slowly, but create a dense layer.

Tall herbaceous and woody plants look best next to large stones, and experienced gardeners it is advised to avoid symmetry when planting such plants.

To eliminate the gaps between perennials, which at first cannot fill the entire space of the rock garden, such places should be planted with annual flowering plants: gazania, large-flowered purslane, marigolds, gypsophila, marine lobularia and others. These plants love the sun and are unpretentious to the constant receipt of moisture, so they will fit perfectly into general form slides.

A properly created alpine slide will turn any site into a small natural wonder.

Each gardener must answer for himself the question: in what colors does he want to see an alpine hill? It is also important to create a slide plan on paper - schematically draw the shape of the slide, mark the location of the stones in the figure, and also paint over the rock garden sections with different colors to see the whole picture.

Dwarf coniferous plants look beautiful on the alpine hill, which will favorably highlight your hill all year round. Popular dwarf spruces can have several shades and favorably emphasize the element of landscape design. The same group includes juniper - an unpretentious plant in care, cypress - a coniferous plant with a golden top, as well as thuja.

Preferring deciduous plants on an alpine hill, exclude species with falling leaves, which will only spoil the overall look. Among the evergreen deciduous plants for the alpine slide, Iberis is often used - a plant with white, purple or pink flowers in umbrella-shaped brushes.

The dryad looks beautiful due to white catchy flowers, as well as horizontal cotoneaster, which begins to blush in autumn and stands out favorably among other inhabitants of the alpine hill.

To make the alpine hill look harmonious and beautiful, it is worth planting shrubs and conifers one at a time, and filling the gaps between them with undersized plants.

Between the stones, along with coniferous plants, carpet plants should be planted, which in a few years will braid the hill with a beautiful canvas. These include rocky beetroot, which is distinguished by gray-green leaves that retain their color all year round. Burachok blooms with small bright yellow flowers in panicle inflorescences.

You can give preference to a short-stemmed carnation, which blooms richly with bright beautiful flowers. Saxifrageforming dense rosettes from their rosettes beautiful pillows, are a mandatory attribute of the alpine slide. Various types of saxifrage can bloom both in the shade and in the sun.

If you want your rock garden already in early spring began to please the eye, and until late autumn retained color, tuber-bulbous and bulbous plants should be planted.

Early color will provide blueberries, snowdrops, chionodoxes. But until late autumn, autumn crocuses, late tulips, birdmen, colchicums will please the eye with their flowering.

The Alpine hill will be perfectly complemented by a small "mountain" waterfall

The principle of tiered planting

To make the alpine slide a real decoration of your garden, you should follow the rules for planting plants, depending on the tiers. So, let's start with the top tier.

top of the hill

The top of your garden decoration is more open to the sun's rays, so it is advisable to place light-loving plants here. In addition, there is practically no moisture left at the top, so the top of the rock garden should be framed by plants that require the least moisture.

To ensure that the top of the alpine hill blooms all year round, choose ground cover plants that will bloom one after another. Browse through various plants for an alpine slide, photos and names of which will help you make your choice.

For example, in May-June, the top of the hill will be covered with fluffy iberis, and throughout the summer and autumn, the upper tier will delight you with the flowering of cushion-like bushes of perennial carnations that live in mountainous areas.

If you want butterflies and bees to always hover over the top of the rock garden, you should plant plants with a pleasant honey aroma, for example, creeping thyme, which forms a carpet on the surface.

Alpine edelweiss is one of the main elements of the top of the hill. This plant loves the sun very much, and in its natural environment it lives on rocky slopes high mountains, however, for excellent plant growth, it will be necessary to prepare the soil mixture.

If you want to grow unpretentious plants on top of an alpine hill, then the best choice will be young.

We form the middle tier

In the middle of the hill should be plants that love the sun, but at the same time tolerate the shade well. In this place of the hill, the soil is more humid, so there will be a lot of variations for planting.

To ensure lush flowering in May, plant styloid phlox, blooming in blue, pink and white flowers. As a background plant for such bright colors three-vein anfalis, woolly chistets, Schmidt's wormwood can act.

If you prefer to decorate the middle tier of the slide not only with flowers, but also with green foliage, then universal choice there will be a brietta. This plant not only blooms beautifully from the end of May, but also has decorative foliage.

In our latitudes, geyhers, alpine aster, armeria bushes, bulbous plants, primroses are perfect for the middle tier.

To learn how to properly lay turf, click .

Create the foot of the hill

The lower tier of the slide serves as its foot, a logical conclusion. This is where the slide should connect with the rest of the garden.

The lower tier of the rock garden should be filled with moisture-loving plants that feel calm in the shade. Shrubs and tree-like plants are well suited for this, which will be an excellent accent.

To make the foot of the hill bright, you can plant lyatris with spike-shaped flowers, as well as saxifrage in the form of bushes. Having planted rhododendrons and dwarf conifers at the foot of the hill, you will be satisfied with the result.

On the choice of plants for the alpine slide, see the video:

Examples of creating an alpine slide

Consider some examples of simple alpine slides.

A small alpine slide, consisting of fragrant plants, looks good.

Plant an oregano at the top to attract insects. Decorate the middle tier with the help of a beautifully growing hyssola, monard and sage. And decorate the lower tier of alipinaria with thyme, basil and nasturtium.

This combination of plants will create beauty in your area, and the combination of fragrant herbs will improve your mood.

Alpine slide scheme will help create beauty on your site

For lovers of a wide variety of plants, an alpine slide is suitable, on top of which coniferous plants, such as thuja, are planted. Near it, the coniferous ensemble can be supplemented with mountain pine and prickly spruce.

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 slide, imagine what size stones should be present on it, whether an artificial waterfall or other body of water will be created. 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, likes acidic soils or neutral, and other 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 spruces 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.

Conifers in the landscape design of the garden

For a coniferous design, you will need much more large stones than if you were creating a classic alpine slide. Also, in our case, it is not necessary to make a foundation, since conifers are not alpine plants, any relief can be used to place them. Plant coniferous plants between rocks, but make sure that taller plants do not obscure the shorter ones. Give preference to miniature and slow growing crops. Fill the free space with pebbles, gravel or crushed bark. To keep the garden always neat, be sure to lay geotextiles under the backfill - this will help get rid of weeds. The conifers themselves, especially the miniature creeping forms, are planted according to the composition like flowering "alpines": so that over time they creep over the stones, form beautiful cascades. For such a "garden" you will need a lot of conifers, but the result is worth it.

Alpine slides are magnificent imitations of mountainous reliefs in which stones different sizes combined with plants characteristic of alpine landscapes. Despite the fact that rock gardens are, first of all, stone gardens, it is very difficult to imagine them without plants. It is the delightful drought-resistant, hardy and undemanding plant species that bring bright colors, touching contrasts, openwork textures to the alpine hills, enliven cold and gloomy landscapes with a unique variety of greenery and flowers. In addition to love for long dry periods, plants for an alpine slide should also take root well on poor stony soils, retain their decorative effect at least during the entire active garden season (and preferably all year). Of the large plants, perhaps most of all these requirements are met by such different, but delightfully decorative representatives of conifers.

Landscape design of coniferous plants (with a photo of hedges)

- a winter-hardy shade-tolerant plant with an irregular narrow crown, which can acquire a spiral shape, be in the form of a pyramid or column. Often has multiple tops. He loves loamy soil and grows about 5 cm a year.

: top, middle and bottom. Each of them has its own design features and various conditions flower growth:

Garden design with conifers: border and heather garden

Northeastern parts of the rock garden

to the compositions

"Winter gold" - crown shape - shrubby, spherical; height of an adult plant - 0.5 m; diameter - 1.0 m; color of needles - in summer - bright green, in winter - golden yellow. Winter-hardy variety. Dwarf forms of spruce

Design from coniferous plants: forest corner and alpine landscape

Norway spruce and Canadian;

Fern - looks great at the foot of the alpine hill. After wintering, the rock garden is ready for planting in the spring. Usually, these are plants characteristic of the highlands of the Alps. Shrubs are planted first, then herbaceous plant species, and finally, ground cover "alpines". Plants for the rock garden should be selected in such a way that the hill looks impressive at any time of the year, delighting the eye with the flowering of spring primroses, bright foliage of ground cover flora and evergreen conifers.

Alpine slide in the center of the green lawn will become the dominant element in landscape design your site

Design from coniferous plants: forest and garden

In the design of a garden of conifers on a slope, you can plant: juniper scaly, Chinese, Cossack, common (different varieties), prickly spruce, gray spruce, conic spruce, bird's nest spruce, mountain pine, pea-bearing cypress, yew berry, thuja western , thuja spherical. Most of these plants need to be protected from spring sun lutrasil. The exception is prickly spruce. Mountain pine needs to be covered only in the first three years after planting.

The best conifers for alpine hills include miniature and dwarf forms of Canadian spruce, microbiota, mountain and Weymouth pines, junipers (rocky, Cossack, horizontal, scaly), Canadian hemlock, western thuja, Japanese yew. Let's get to know these 11 beauties better.

Pseudotsuga Menzies

Microclimate

Shade-tolerant and shade-loving types are usually used, such as shade saxifrage, ferns, anemones and corydalis.

European style

Plot design with miniature conifers

"Little Gem" - crown shape - spherical-flattened; height of an adult plant - 0.5 m; diameter - 0.5 - 0.7 m; needle color - light green.

Juniper Cossack, rocky or ordinary.

Primula - spring primrose.

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Types and schemes of the rock garden device

To plant a plant in the ground, a hole is dug between the stones, the bottom of which is strengthened with gravel, where the plant is then placed. After planting, the ground around is rammed and mulched with fine gravel.

The terraced alpine slide will harmoniously fit into the natural relief of the garden

In order to design a site with dwarf-sized conifers, it is not necessary to buy them. You can not only buy original miniature conifers in nurseries, but also prepare them yourself.

Mountain pine has amazing beautiful forms as if flattened airy crown with almost spherical "caps" of long straight needles. Among mountain pine varieties, there are both fast-growing and slow-growing, which are best suited for alpine slides. Mountain pines are selected according to the level of shade tolerance, decorative qualities, and maximum height. They tolerate drought well, do not need fertilizers, watering, shelter for the winter. A lot of varieties of mountain pine seem to be created for an alpine hill. For example, the surprisingly squat, not exceeding half a meter in height variety "Hesse" (Hesse) can boast of an unusual dark color of the needles, and the creeping mountain pine "Mugus" (Mughus), even if it reaches one and a half meters in height, will not overload any ensemble with its light crown . An even higher variety "Columnaris" (Columnaris) loves the bright sun and is absolutely undemanding to the soil, taking root even where it is sorely lacking. Meter "Kobold" (Kobold) is also delightfully good in rock gardens, always looking original thanks to the bright green color of short needles. Of all the mountain pines, Humpy is better than others adapted to the lower tiers of an alpine hill, because this pine tolerates shading very well. - in appearance it is very similar to prickly spruce. However, due to the wax coating, it has a bluish tint and softer needles are somewhat randomly arranged, which gives the plant a unique “shaggy” look. Grows well in both sunny and shady areas. He loves loamy soils and grows by 4-6 cm a year. It requires regular prevention from fungal diseases.
the top of the stone hill For
These include the types of landscapes closest to us, where primacy is given to flowering slow-growing plants. They are selected in such a way as to ensure flowering in rock gardens throughout the garden season, constantly replacing each other and maintaining its unique appearance. "Nidiformis" - the crown shape is nest-shaped, with a deep middle; height of an adult plant - 0.5 - 1.0 m; diameter - 0.8 - 2.0 m; needle color - dark green.
Shrubs that form an intermediate tier between low trees and ground cover crops in rock gardens: Stakhis - unpretentious plant with bluish fluffy leaves.
Proper placement of plants will promote their growth and enhance the aesthetic sound of the alpine slide When laying the alpine slide, it is necessary to avoid places adjacent to buildings and in the shade of massive trees, however, shrubs or trees may be present in the background, at some distance create a background for the spectacular perception of the rock garden. It’s not bad when the rock garden is inscribed in the existing landscape of the land plot, located on a gentle slope or in a ravine, fitting into the natural elevation differences - lowlands and uplands of the site.
They are bred using clusters of branches (they are called "witch's brooms") by grafting onto an ordinary conifer of the same species. Therefore, you need to find several such “witch brooms” in the forest, cut the cuttings. Another type of pine, the weymouth pine, does not exceed 1 meter in height, representing a charming sight due to its rounded crown and the finest silvery needles. It also feels great with light shading.
For the design of the rock garden, it is also good for its abundance of sun, the highest temperature and low moisture content, so for this part it is better to select light-loving, drought-resistant species that do not require special care. In this case, a snow-white carpet of iberis, or a colorful masterpiece of perennial cushion carnations, which will fill your garden with a delicate pleasant smell throughout the summer, can be ideal in this case. watering and adoring the abundance of the sun.

Recently, they have become very popular

"Will" s Zwerg "- crown shape - narrow conical, dense; height of an adult plant - 1.0 - 1.2 m; diameter - 0.4 m; needle color - young - pale green, old - dark green.

Choosing a place to stay

In alpine landscapes, plants of bizarre shapes and shapes are often found. Special place among them are occupied by coniferous plants. For an impromptu mountain landscape, any dwarf conifers are suitable - miniature pines, firs and spruces, as well as creeping, cushion-shaped arborvitae and junipers.

Hostas - grow in the form of rosettes of leaves of various colors - in white, blue, golden veins.

The center of the composition of the rock garden-conifer can be a dwarf weeping tree

Strive for the trees and shrubs in the background of the rock garden to be uniform in color. The motley background will distract from the whole perception of the alpine slide as an accent element of the landscape of the site.

You need to graft in the butt: on the grafted branch and on the scion, make an oblique cut, connect the branches to each other, fasten tightly and cover garden pitch. Know that conifers are poorly grafted, in best case this will succeed with half the cuttings. As a result, you will get miniature conifers growing slowly growing - no more than 2 cm per year.

Hemlock is an amazing coniferous plant with a cone-shaped crown and thin hanging shoots, beautiful bark with deep furrows and scales. For alpine slides, representatives of Canadian hemlock are most adapted. In nature, it reaches a height of 60 meters, but decorative species often do not exceed one meter. This evergreen beauty has uniquely beautiful needles, flat, linear-lanceolate, with white veins or double color, creating a very lush twig. Strongly branched dwarf variety "Hussi" with densely set needles along the contours is similar to mountain pine. The inimitable variety "Jeddeloh" is also a dwarf hemlock with a rarely seen spiral arrangement of branches, a rounded crown and light green needles. "Minima" - amazingly openwork, emerald green, absolutely spherical in shape of the hemlock crown with small needles that create a unique pattern. Very similar to compressed into a dense uneven ball and hemlock "Minuta" with larger needles, densely located on lush twigs. Variety "Nana" (Nana), with its horizontal, wide branches, seems to be stretching shoots towards the viewer.

spruce varieties

Middle part of the hill

Sun-loving drought-tolerant plants are best suited. Bathing suit flowers can become a real decoration of the slide.

Czech rocks

"Echiniformis" - crown shape - cushion-shaped, compact; height - 0.2 - 0.6 m; diameter - 0.4 - 0.8 m; the color of the needles is green. Dwarf forms of spruce Canadian or gray

On an alpine hill, it is not necessary to plant coniferous plants too close to each other, otherwise the individuality of their forms is lost. Plants can be arranged into groups in two ways: 1) by contrast in shape or color; 2) by transitional forms, which, as it were, continue each other, creating dynamics of growth or decrease in composition.

An effective solution for a rock garden in the form of a stone fence - a motley flower cover

Preparatory work for laying

It is important to know that a rock garden made of conifers can become a fairly unpretentious landscape design option when the stone composition is diluted with evergreen shrubs and trees.

A staircase leading up the slope can be beautifully complemented by an alpine slide that imitates a rocky landscape

Armed with patience and imagination, you can special work create a rock garden with your own hands. Let's look at how to properly plan and lay an alpine slide without the involvement of specialized specialists. Please note that the main component in the construction of a rock garden is a group of stones of various sizes, the “gray silence” of which is diluted with representatives of the flora characteristic of the alpine area - conifers, cover and saxifrage plants. By creating a rock garden in a country house or near a country house, you form a mountainous fragment of nature that resembles a natural one, therefore both stones and plants must be placed randomly, in a natural way.

More than 60 species of a wide variety of conifers belong to the genus Juniper. All of them are united by light-loving, the need for a thick layer of drainage and watering once a month and leaves collected in whorls of three, resembling needles in young junipers, but scaly in adults. Juniper horizontalis undersized view juniper with needle-shaped needles, absolutely resistant and undemanding. The Adpressa variety with bright green needles grows very quickly, but Wiltonii, Prince of Wales and Glauca, which do not exceed 30 cm in height, differ bluish shade of muted emerald needles and grow more slowly, but do not like drying out. Various varieties of Cossack juniper are distinguished by a beautiful exfoliating crown and widely spread branches. The turquoise-green shade of the needles of the Rockery Gem, Nana, Cupressifolia varieties looks very original in a duet with stones, and the light-loving and drought tolerance of these junipers are combined with absolute winter hardiness. Dwarf forms of rocky juniper have incredibly beautiful lush bluish needles, an elegant ovoid crown shape, looser at the top than at the base. Representatives of this species grow very quickly. But scaly junipers grow more slowly, they have sharp, lanceolate needles with a beautiful grayish color.

(Serbian, Oriental, prickly, common), mountain pine, elfin cedar, Korean fir, larch, microbiota, hemlock, tuevik and many others.

It receives less heat and light, but it is more hydrated and it is best to use ramonda, phlox, lobelia erinus, crocuses and daffodils for its design.

The rock garden will always look great if you correctly agree on the timing of the flowering of the plants planted in it, allowing you to admire the change of colors and shades throughout the warm season, starting in spring, when the Carpathian bluebell, excellent tulip, saxifrage, narcissus, blueberry, Japanese quince, stonecrop, snowdrop, and until late autumn (gentian, cinquefoil, small-petal and yarrow).

, which are also called "layered" or "slotted" rock gardens. Their appearance is closest to natural and is perfectly used in the design of large gardens and estates. This type of design is unmistakable as it uses flat stones of varying sizes and thicknesses with nearly parallel surfaces that are placed under different angles to the ground and to each other, and in between they grow various alpine plants.

Creation of the main composition of stones

"Conica" - crown shape - conical, dense; height of an adult plant - 1.0 - 1.2 m; diameter - 0.5 - 0.7 m; the color of the needles is green. May be damaged by sunburn.

Prepare a substrate for planting conifers on an alpine hill according to their biological features. In addition, the time of planting plants in open ground in different coniferous species may also differ. Not all representatives of conifers prefer sunny places and put up with excessive soil moisture. Many of them prefer shelter for the winter, which is also important to consider when planning an alpine slide.

Periwinkle and carnation - traditional inhabitants of alpine hills

When choosing a stone for a rock garden, you need to pay attention to its size, shape and surface features. Considering that the rock garden imitates a mountain landscape, where the stones are polished by precipitation and winds, have an irregular but natural shape, it is undesirable to use a rounded stone of river origin or stone scrap with sharp edges for an alpine slide.

The starting point for creating a rocky hill can be a rock garden diagram, drawn to scale, where you pre-plan the location of the stones and the planting of plants. If the rock garden is supposed to be placed in the depths of the garden, you need to consider the paths and paths leading to it.

Selection and planting of plants

The rock garden serves as a bright decoration of the garden, standing out against the background of a green lawn

Thuja western with an ovoid or pyramidal crown and scaly small needles grows very slowly. Dwarf forms do not exceed 1 meter in height and often do not have a pyramidal, but a spherical crown, representing one of the most visually massive plants for an alpine hill, resembling boxwood bushes from afar. The charming variety "Globosa Nana" (Globosa Nana) does not grow above 30 cm at all, representing an elegant, lush ball with the smallest needles, resembling long fur with a refreshing green color. Slightly larger "balls" offers a variety of "Danica" (Danica) with a yellow-green color of denser needles. All representatives of the western thuja can grow both in the sun and in partial shade.

Creeping and ground cover plants are excellent decorators for alpine slides, perfectly decorating the gaps between the stones, giving the slide an unimaginably picturesque look. Another plus in favor of these low, but surprisingly beautiful plants is the protection of the composition from drying out and weeds.

The lower tier of the rock garden

At the same time, the basic law of creating a slide is the inadmissibility of planting large plants next to small ones in order to avoid drowning and shading some species by others and hiding the beauty of stones under their lush foliage.

How to choose the right stone?

Plants belonging to the alpine flora are quite rare in garden plots and therefore are of particular interest to connoisseurs of garden art. Such types are practically not used for curbs or lawn plantings, because they require a special position and rarely take root in the wrong place.

"Alberta Globe" - crown shape - cushion-shaped, dense; height - 0.5 - 0.8 m; diameter - 0.7 - 1 m; needle color - green.

Light-loving alpine plants that are planted on the southern slope of the alpine hill:

A good choice for rock garden would be limestone or sandstone. Dolomite is suitable - sedimentary rock, slate with a layered structure, basalt, travertine, calcareous tuff, light gneiss. A particularly valuable specimen for a rock garden will be a forest boulder overgrown with moss and lichen.

A bench lost in the depths of the garden, surrounded by a wild corner of nature from the Alps, can be a great place for a secluded holiday
Depending on the principle by which stones are selected and placed, rock gardens are of the following types:
The dwarf Canadian spruce also seems quite voluminous due to the dense crown, which creates the effect of splendor and massiveness of the plant. The needles are located extremely densely, creating an almost carpet texture of a cone-shaped crown. She is quite unpretentious, but needs protection from strong wind(it can not be planted on the leeward side of the rock garden) and watering during a long drought. On the open sun burns often form on a dense and lush crown, so spruce growing at the foot of an alpine hill will feel better. Gray varieties of Canadian spruce require more active watering than ordinary grassy greens.
These cultures include:
usually highly humid and least sunlit. Light coolness and partial shade reign here, therefore, to decorate the foot of a stone hill, it is best to choose shade-tolerant plants that love abundant watering, such as ferns, bathing suits, shady saxifrages, corydalis. Often, for greater resemblance to the Alpine mountains, the lower part of the hill is planted with coniferous plants.
In a general sense, a rock garden is a collection of undersized and graceful species growing on a flower garden among a well-visible stone composition, and this must be taken into account when planning it.
It is very important to create exactly the right composition that will allow alpine plants to feel comfortable and delight the eye for many years.
Dwarf forms of junipers
JUNIPER

Adonis is a perennial with bright colors.

To form an alpine slide, it is necessary to select a stone of different sizes - from huge boulders to fine gravel

It looks spectacular when a stony winding path or a dry stream of small stones crosses an alpine hill, and nearby there is a bench or a grotto with a bench, from where you can admire the result of your landscape creativity.
rock
The evergreen microbiota is a magnificent tracery ground cover shrub resembling a creeping juniper. Its thin, branched branches are arranged in strict tiers one above the other, creating an amazing pattern of scaly or needle-shaped needles. It grows very slowly and even in the garden will not exceed 2 meters, and on an alpine hill, most likely, it will be limited to a meter height. It can be planted anywhere in the rock garden. Its long, almost horizontal branches, reminiscent of bright green lace, stretching over the stones, echo with fern fronds, linking conifers and other plants of the alpine hill together.
Zvezdovka
If you have a flower bed, then you can organize drip irrigation from plastic bottles with your own hands.
In order to choose the right culture for your rock garden, there are several
Alpine slides are placed, usually focusing on south side and on
Lying juniper "Nana" - crown shape - semi-creeping, dense; height of an adult plant - 1.0 m; diameter - up to 2.5 m; the color of the needles is green or bluish-gray.

Juniper planting on an alpine hill is carried out in early spring or in September. Contrary to the recommendations of using container plants for planting in the ground at any time of the year, it is better to place juniper in a container on an alpine hill during the off-season. So the root system will remain undamaged, and in the fall the plant can be transplanted to permanent place. The distance between junipers and neighboring plants, depending on the form of growth, is from 0.5 to 1 m. The depth of planting depends on the clod of earth and the root system; for junipers, they usually prepare a planting hole 0.7 m deep and pour the earth to the desired volume. Soil mixture for juniper - soddy land, peat and river sand(2:1:1). Fertilizer for juniper is applied in the spring - nitroammofoska - 30 - 40 g / m2. Locations on the hill are open sunny places, green coniferous species are planted on any exposure of the hill, golden and variegated species prefer the western and southern ones, gray ones prefer the northern and eastern ones. Juniper care includes 2-3 times watering per season, and spraying in the evening once a week, mulching the soil with peat.

Atsena - does not lose foliage in winter, and flowers after flowering take the form of red needle balls.

An excellent choice for an alpine slide is sandstone - a layered stone of light beige tones

The rock garden looks great in tandem with a small lake, overgrown with reeds and water lilies
- a steep alpine hill with dominant large boulders at the base, surrounded by medium and small stones located closer to the top.
Yew is one of the most beautiful slow-growing representatives of the coniferous family. For an alpine slide, you can use a dwarf Japanese yew. Its amazing, irregularly shaped crown with strong widely spaced shoots does not exceed a meter in height, and despite the fact that it grows very slowly, long years will not exceed 60 cm. The dark green needles of this yew densely cover the shoots. Yew, unlike many other conifers, will need additional watering.
- decorative beautiful plant with bright toothed leaves and small umbrella-shaped flowers forming a yellow-green carpet. Each flower is framed by an asterisk of five green leaves, which gives the plant a surprisingly attractive look.
Ecowool is an excellent material for warming various buildings, but it also has its drawbacks. Read more here.
rules

most sunny areas

Juniper Chinese "Echiniformis" - crown shape - semicircular; height - 0.7 m; diameter - up to 1.0 m; the color of the needles is green or bluish-gray.
Juniper in rock garden
Decorative bow - large leaves combined with long vertical arrows with a spherical color.
Stone options for rock garden device:
A rock garden with a pond looks very harmonious, especially if it is a slightly swampy reservoir with characteristic moisture-loving plants planted along the shore. An interesting solution to designing a pond can be planting a large tree or bush. conifers on a tiny "patch" of land adjacent to the water. This technique will visually expand the boundaries of the site.
Scree or mountain slope
Coniferous trees in landscape design are used as widely as deciduous trees. They help to create the atmosphere of a real pine or spruce forest, not only decorating the garden plot, but also filling it with an incomparable aroma. In addition, the use of conifers in landscape design also improves the atmosphere of the site, because these trees have useful bactericidal properties.
Dryad
Evergreen conifers always give the rock garden some naturalness, imitating the forests at the foot of the Alpine mountains, surrounding it with lush greenery and emphasizing the beauty flowering species. Alpine hill with coniferous plants looks harmonious and beautiful. At the same time, trees and shrubs retain the attractiveness and style of the slide even in

Which will help in choosing the most successful solutions.

taking into account the long-term prospect of no shadow in the future. Types of masonry can be quite varied and depend on the type chosen, but the most commonly used

Common juniper "Green Carpet" - crown shape - creeping; height - 0.2 - 0.3 m; diameter - 1.0 m; the color of the needles is green. Winter-hardy variety.
FIR

Iris is a perennial bulbous plant with orchid-like flowers.

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Coniferous plants for the Alpine slide

White-green quartz - a fragmented stone, smoothed in fragments, ranging in size from 20 to 60 centimeters, mined in the Orenburg region;

Emphasis on form

Rock garden, created from huge boulders in combination with a small waterfall, will truly decorate your garden

Agricultural technology for growing conifers on an alpine hill

- a rock garden with one slope, where the overall stones are closer to the top, and a small stone scattering at the base.

You will receive photos of coniferous plants in landscape design, as well as recommendations on how to design a garden with conifers, on this page.

- the most beautiful alpine woody plant. It has small (2-3 cm) dark green leathery leaves on top and covered with light gray villi on the bottom leaves on low petioles, which gives it a particularly decorative look. The stems of the dryad are creeping, and this allows it to penetrate into the most inaccessible places and decorate them with its presence. Cold season

For the harmonious design of the slide are best suited: vertical installation Juniper Cossack "Tamariscifolia" - crown shape - cushion-shaped; height - 0.5 - 0.8 m; diameter - 1.5 m; the color of the needles is dark green or bluish-green. Winter-hardy variety.

Dwarf firs are planted in a permanent place in an alpine hill in April before the shoots begin to grow or in September after the formation of apical buds. The recommended distance to a neighboring plant is 0.5 m. Depth landing pit should be such that the root is in the hole in a straight state, and the root collar is at ground level. The landing pit is filled up with a soil mixture - leaf earth, peat and sand (3: 1: 1). If the plant is planted in the spring, then top dressing with complex fertilizer is necessary. Locations on the hill - penumbra, northern or eastern exposure. Fir care includes regular watering, providing air humidity, and mulching the soil with peat. In winter, it requires shelter not so much from frost damage as from burns from the winter sun. Lavender - evergreen shrub with a small purple color. Milk quartz - a stone with an uneven rough surface from 30 to 70 cm, mined in the Urals;

An effective accent of an alpine slide combined with a pond can be a small waterfall falling from an artificial gorge or stone wall. mountain valley Conifers in landscape design are beautiful in themselves and perfectly complement compositions with other plants, besides, taking them as a basis, you can create wonderful groups in which they and only they will be the main characters.

Assortment of conifers for alpine hills

Diascia

, making it a green island against the backdrop of an empty garden. Thus, the design

retail different types l

Flat stones maximally rotated by the larger surface to the south.

Juniper scaly "Blue Carpet" - crown shape - creeping; height - 0.3 - 0.8 m; diameter - 1.5 m; the color of the needles is intense blue. Winter-hardy variety.

Korean fir "Cis"

Rejuvenated - small rosettes of fleshy leaves of light green color.

Sirpantenite - a stone of silver or green color, 25-45 cm in size, mined in the Caucasus, 15 rubles / kg;

Using a pre-created rock garden device plan, start laying it out by marking the selected site - determine the diameter of the slide, its height and the location of the accent stones big size. The height of the slide is calculated based on the diameter of its base - 1 m of the base is equal to 10-20 cm in height. The height of the rock garden is optimally within 0.5-1.5 meters.

- horizontal rock garden composition with boulders, medium and small stones located in a free manner.

Pay attention above to the photo of the design of coniferous plants: you can form a picturesque hedge from them, which will play the role of a garden partition - to separate garden areas.

- A magnificent creeping plant, which is very popular among gardeners due to its green foliage, creating a dense juicy carpet decorated with an abundance of arcuately drooping bright orange open small flowers collected in inflorescences.

The lower part of the rock garden

tuber and tuber crops
In this arrangement, the stones store heat and the plants have minimal competition for root development and sunlight.
Juniper scaly "Blue Star" - crown shape - cushion-shaped, compact; height - 0.5 - 0.1 m; diameter - 1.5 m; color of needles - bright, silver-blue. Winter-hardy variety. Natalia Vysotskaya, dendrologist, Ph.D. -X. Sciences. Source: Planting a Garden
FIR
The combination of cover plants with saxifrage and primroses creates a harmonious plant composition of rock garden
Elbrus - gray or beige stone 20-90 cm in size, 11 rubles / kg;
Create a diagram of an alpine slide, indicating its dimensions and placement of the main elements of the composition
Terraced slope
Miniature conifers will allow you to create a border along the path. Creeping varieties will become the basis for an alpine garden, which will only need to be supplemented with stones, gravel and individual flowering "alpines".

How to choose plants for an alpine slide: useful tips

The variety of creeping and ground cover plants for rock gardens is so great that it will take several volumes just to list them. Among them are such plants as brunner, rezuha (arabis), succession, daisy, tenacious, cat's foot (antennaria), anafalis, cuff, etionema (winged stalk), arundinaria (bamboo), acena, bergenia, periwinkle, euonymus, budra (glechoma ), bukharnik (cholkus), viola, pansies, gentian, gentian, ramonda, saxifrage, sapling, soapwort, styloid phlox, iberis and many others.

Undersized coniferous crops are always very advantageous. (galanthus, crocuses, scillas, irises); The disadvantage of this type of flower garden

See also: Coniferous plants for the garden, Coniferous plants for the garden: composition rules and Coniferous plants for the garden: protection measures in spring and winter Spruce trees are planted in a permanent place in April or September. The recommended distance to a neighboring plant is 0.5 - 0.7 m. The depth of the planting hole is 0.5 m. The soil mixture for spruce is leafy soil, acid peat and river sand (3: 2: 1). When boarding, it is entered complex fertilizer. Locations on the hill - sun, partial shade, any exposure. Spruce care includes watering once a week, 10-12 liters per plant, soil mulching with peat. In winter, it requires shelter from sunburn. Arabis is a perennial ground cover plant that blooms in May and late autumn.
“Petrified tree” made of oblong yellow-beige quartzite with veins, size 20-50 cm, 16 rubles / kg; Form the slopes of the alpine hill so that one of them is flatter and oriented to the south - this type of rock garden is organized on a gentle slope in the form of small steps supported by large boulders.
Plant several types of pines (it is better to choose miniature forms), and heathers and ericas next to them. In this case, you get a new form of design with coniferous plants - a heather garden. Perennial plants are most often grown in rock gardens, which makes it easier to care for them and makes it possible to enjoy the beautiful alpine landscape almost all year round, and flowering from early spring to late autumn. In rock gardens practically
rosette crops is a large consumption of stones and the need to use stone mulch to retain moisture and better development the underground part of plants, as well as to prevent the germination of weeds. Recently, the so-called alpine hills or rock gardens have become very popular in landscape design - a rocky design site, as close as possible in appearance to the mountain and planted with mountain slow-growing (no more than 2 cm in year) representatives of vegetation.

Gray spruce "Nana"

Bluebell - has a rich color from July to October.

Jasper green and red, size 20-60 cm, 12 rubles / kg; Many are wondering how to make a rock garden resistant to natural processes of destruction under the influence of wind, groundwater and precipitation? It is best to start arranging the rock garden in the fall and carefully prepare the foundation for it. Soil preparation, prior to the creation of an alpine hill, consists in clearing the site and removing the top layer of soil to a depth of 20-30 cm. Forest ravine If you grow edible mushrooms, for example, oyster mushrooms, then its “plantation” can be made decorative, supplemented with snags, wild forest flowers and plantings of coniferous trees. They should be classic "forest", without exotic forms. The choice of perennials is very large. You can note such masterpieces of nature as:

never use leafy plants (rejuvenated, cuffs, orostachis); The range of colors for stone slides is very wide and allows you to combine alpine and subalpine species with their counterparts from forests and steppes, for example, bulbous, low coniferous and fern. In this case, special attention must be paid

There are several PINE Crocus - corm plant, primrose.

Green serpentine - a stone 20-80 cm in size, 19 rubles / kg; Before laying the rock garden, form a drainage layer to drain water- such a rock garden is located in a shell-like recess, decorated with massive boulders overgrown with moss.

Conifers in the design of the garden are the best fit for creating a forest corner: in the center of the lawn or a large "module" in the paving, plant a classic spruce or pine, as an option - blue spruce or mountain pine. Around make a "carpet" planting of garden or wild lilies of the valley.Ramonda

, because the foliage falling in autumn pollutes the hill, and it is almost impossible to clean it from the space between the stones. Moreover, this situation contributes to the processes of decay and the development of various diseases in a humid microclimate at the bottom of the hill, which will lead to the death of other "inhabitants" of the rock garden. Based on this, coniferous crops are always in priority, receiving in addition favorable conditions growth. bud-covering flowers harmonious relationship

Types of rock gardens Planted in a permanent place in March, planting depth - 0.8 m. The root collar remains at ground level. In no case should the root be bent during planting. Soil mixture for pine - sod land and river sand (2: 1). If necessary, add 250 g of lime to the pit. Locations on the hill - the sun, any exposure. Pine care includes watering 2 - 3 times per season in the amount of 15 liters per tree. You can slow down the growth of shoots and increase the density of the crown by pinching the buds. Muscari is a bulbous plant resembling a hyacinth.

Quartz "Rainbow" - a yellow-brown stone, 10-70 cm in size, 11 rubles / kg;

This deepening is necessary for the drainage device - the removal of water from the rock garden, for which it is covered with gravel, expanded clay, crushed brick or construction waste to a height of 10 cm. A 5-centimeter layer of coarse-grained sand is poured on top, then a 15-centimeter layer of soil, on which, subsequently, stones are laid and plants are planted.

rocky wall

Look at the photo: - incredibly similar to violet. Delicate and delicately smelling, it will perfectly enliven any rock garden. It is very unpretentious, loves slightly shaded areas, therefore it is preferable on the northwestern slopes, coloring them from May to early July in a light lilac color.Today there is a huge variety of different conifers, for any size and illumination of a rock garden from dwarf sun-loving pines , firs, larches and junipers to shade-loving fir, cypress and thuja. And for very shaded places, you can choose hemlock and yew.

Design harmoniously

(cloves, thyme, sedums, daisies, bluebells, periwinkle, St. John's wort);

Their size and speed of growth, placing accordingly, determining its shape (horizontal, located on a slope or resembling a small mountain or hill), style and choice of vegetation: The height of coniferous plants for an alpine hill should not exceed for small rocky areas (5 - 6 m2) - 0.5 - 0.7 m, for large (more than 40 m2) - 1.5 m. Therefore, when selecting coniferous assortment for alpine slides, the estimated height of an adult plant must be taken into account. Below is a list of decorative forms that do not exceed 1.5 m. Dwarf forms of western arborvitae
Mylnyanka - grows in limestone rocks, alpine perennial. Sandstone - a stone of an arbitrary rounded shape of sand or gray color, with a size of 30-90 cm.
When arranging a terraced rock garden, a large stone is laid at the base of each tier- This is a rock garden, formed mainly from a flat-shaped stone, folded in the form of a low curb.
Conifers in landscape design are ideal for imitating a high-mountain landscape. To create this composition, add several mountain pines of different heights with spirea, erica, veronica, make a backfill of white pebbles.

Consider the external features of plants

Another important feature of evergreen conifers is the variety of various crown shapes, its color and appearance. They can be in the form of narrow pyramids or balls, they can spread along the ground, have an arrow-shaped or candle-like shape, and color shades from dark green to blue and yellow provide the landscape designer with a huge field for creative flight of fancy.

Pay attention to climate change

Low and creeping conifers

Consider the size of plants and rock garden

For example, such mountain species as antenaria, obrieta, awl-shaped phlox, grains are preferably cultivated on

The structure of the rock garden

In "Danica" - crown shape - spherical; height of an adult plant - 0.8 m; diameter - 0.8 m; needle color - dark green. Sedum (sedum) - rosettes of succulent leaves with lemon color.

If limestone is used to create a rock garden, then the soil poured between the stones will have an alkaline reaction unsuitable for some plants, so the soil will have to be acidified. When preparing the site for the rock garden, pay special attention to weeding to get rid of perennial weeds such as wheat grass which, when germinating, can destroy the slide from the inside. It is advisable to additionally treat the site for laying the rock garden with herbicides.
Or a group of junipers and thujas at some distance from each other and complement the composition with large boulders. - during the flowering period, it fills the air with a sweet honey smell and turns its place of growth into a bright yellow carpet. It goes well with other colors and allows you to create picturesque paintings in rock gardens.
In rock gardens use(junipers, boxwood, mountain pine).

top tiers

Japanese style

What plants to choose?

Coniferous cultures for a stone slide

"Little Dorrit" - crown shape - spherical; height of an adult plant - 0.8 m; diameter - 0.6 m; the color of the needles is dark green. Winter-hardy variety. Scylla - primrose with blue inflorescences. Shade-tolerant alpine plants that are planted on the northern slope of the rock garden: Start creating a composition of stones by laying large blocks at the base of an alpine hill Czech rock

Composition " coniferous forest» make it easy. Tall conifers of various types can be planted as an "island" at the border of the site, near the fence, and at their foot they can be filled with gray pebbles. Orieta Undersized and dwarf species of conifers

When choosing the type of rock garden and flower crops, it is necessary to take into account color scheme, flowering time and texture of plants and combine them with selected stones, their shape, location and shades.

Having the name "plateau", and it is good to plant the slopes with a variety of sedums, stonecrops and ground cover species of flora (survival, sapling, carnation, ground cover phlox), which helps to preserve the shape of the hill from erosion.

The main attention is paid to the beauty of the stones (usually rounded), while the vegetation itself fades into the background and occupies the minimum possible space. “Hoseri” - the shape of the crown is spherical; height of an adult plant - 0.5 m; diameter - 0.6 m; the color of the needles is dark green. Winter-hardy variety. Dwarf forms of mountain pine Violet is an unpretentious plant that blooms almost the entire warm season.

Astilba - blooms in July, has small pink flowers collected in pyramidal inflorescences. A composition of stones is the basis of any rock garden. It is important to choose stones of the same type for the entire slide, but of different sizes - several large boulders, stones of medium and small size. Provide flat stones - they will serve as a kind of steps for movement when caring for an alpine slide. You need to start laying stones from the bottom up - from large to small, grouping and distributing them. It will be erroneous to lay the stones in a regular way with equal distances between them. Rock garden stones should be placed randomly, as close as possible to the natural mountain landscape.
“. We wrote a separate article about him - you can read it here. Finally, you can create a whole coniferous garden. To do this, use as many conifers of different types, shapes, heights, with different shades of foliage as possible. Combine cultures according to the classical laws of garden compositions.
- an evergreen perennial blooming with magnificent flowers of lilac, purple and pale pink. This is a rather capricious culture and requires special treatment and care for it. He likes a temperate hot climate and fertile land, often with curved trunks, close to species growing in the natural Alps:
It is necessary to take into account the climatic features of the region and the soil, and select plants in accordance with these conditions, however, visually resembling a mountain landscape. The foot of the hill K

Creeping and ground cover species

"Mughus" - crown shape - shrubby, spreading, sometimes creeping; height of an adult plant - 1.5 m; diameter - 0.6 m; needle color - dark green.

Phlox is a carpet plant with a small pink color.

Badan is a perennial from the saxifrage family with bright green fleshy leaves and raspberry inflorescences. When arranging an alpine hill, the stones need to be buried a little into the soil
Sometimes an alpine hill is called a rockery. In fact, rockery differs from rock garden in the selection of stones - when laying it, not only rocks are used, but also rounded river boulders or large pebbles. Apply special effects - for example, bouquet planting, or plant plants close to each other. Such a composition will be perfectly complemented by ceramic figurines, stones - boulders and pebbles, and decorative bark dumping. But such gardens are usually not decorated with flowers. However, it is acceptable to place some spring bulbs here to revive the "garden" in the spring. Bushes will look good remontant strawberries. You can also lay a dry gravel stream, decorating it with a decorative bridge.
Among the perennials for the rock garden, one can also list spring adonis, aquilegia (catchment), armeria, alpine aster, prostrate veronica, thyme-leaved veronica, wolfberry, or daphne, carnations, Dalmatian and Dalmatian geraniums, creeping gypsophila, gentian, dwarf iris, saxifrage, bluebells , cat's paw, cotoneaster, cypress, crocuses, euphorbia, forget-me-not, different kinds ferns, wormwood, primrose, and many others. Juniper medium

The size of the plants should be proportional to the rock garden being created. That is, it is necessary to choose low, compact plant species. For example, for a small stone slide, herbaceous flowers and low shrubs such as heather, gentians, cereals. Tall arborvitae, dwarf pines and junipers look great when creating large alpine compositions, which most often have a tiered structure.

Perennial plants for rock gardens

You can beautifully decorate with ephemeroid bulbs - muscari, chinodox, crocuses, tulips. Low shrub and wood species (Japanese quince, creeping cotoneaster, junipers and dwarf varieties of pines) are perfect as background species.

English style

"Gnom" - crown shape - shrubby, dense, spherical; height of an adult plant - 1.5 m; diameter - 1.5 m; the color of the needles is dark green. An interesting move in the design of the rocky path is the combination of wooden steps and rock garden
Periwinkle - the owner of shiny dark green foliage and blue 5-petal flowers. When laying an alpine hill, the stones are buried to 1/2 or 1/3 of their height, and then, additionally fall asleep fertile soil, which consists in equal parts of sod land, peat, humus and sand. After the sinuses between the stones are sprinkled, the earth is rammed and watered with a spray stream so that the soil is not washed out. It is not recommended to plant plants immediately after arranging the composition of stones - the hill should be given time for about 2-3 weeks so that it settles down and sinks a little. It is best if the hill survives the winter, and in the spring it is already time to start planting.
An original solution for decorating a fence can be a rock garden in the form of a rocky wall made of layered stone As you can see in the photo, conifers in landscape design can be located not only in groups, but also turn the entire territory into a coniferous garden - this is a great alternative to the usual alpine slides. Arrange plantings on both sides of the garden stairs. Make its steps from natural stone - sandstone - or strengthen them with wooden bars treated with an antiseptic, and inside make an embankment of fine gravel. A garden staircase can lead to a house, a gazebo, a recreation area, or simply to a picturesque bench on a hill. On both sides of the stairs, picturesquely lay out large stones - boulders - and smaller stones according to the same principle as in the case of alpine slides.

Rock gardens cannot be imagined without conifers, but some gardeners go further and create compositions entirely consisting 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 the alpine hill of 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 from the conifers, it can be seen that it looks impressive 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 the alpine slide do not like excess moisture be sure to do 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 coniferous rock garden small trees and shrubs or dwarf species are suitable. 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 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;
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;
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 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 Scotch 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.

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