Plants for alpine hills: perennial and annual plants for rock garden. Flowers for the Alpine slide

Decor elements 13.06.2019
Decor elements

Even one rose bush in the garden leads to wild delight. And if you dedicate the whole garden to roses? Then it will be the most unique, memorable and most original, because you will choose rose seedlings only according to your taste, and plant them on your site as you wish.

Roses allow you to make many combinations, you can make various compositions from them, they go well with deciduous and coniferous trees, shrubs, and, of course, other flowering or decorative foliage plants. In addition, roses look great with wrought iron, stone or concrete.

rose hedge

No less spectacular is the hedge of roses. For hedges, you need to choose shrub varieties of roses, better park ones, since caring for them is easier than for hybrid tea, and you don’t need to cover them for the winter, and if they freeze after rejuvenating pruning, they quickly recover.

Arched gazebo of roses

To create an arched gazebo, you need to put 2 arches in such a way that they connect at the highest point, and the legs of the arches are equidistant from each other. Bushes of climbing or ground cover roses with flexible long shoots are densely planted along the three sides of the future gazebo. The fourth side of the arch will be the entrance to the gazebo. In the gazebo you can put a bench. I assure you, this will be the most romantic place in your garden.

solitaire rose

Roses are very beautiful as a tapeworm, or in a single planting. For this, the most noticeable places are selected, for example, in the center of the lawn, next to the gazebo, a stone, at a height difference. The center of attention will undoubtedly be a standard rose, and it is better to plant it in the center of the lawn. In other places, other types of roses will look great. Very effective in single landing climbing rose, whose long shoots form a wide crown, covered during flowering with a continuous "pink veil".

Vertical gardening from roses

For vertical gardening you need to use climbing varieties of roses. Supports can be very different: vertical or arched trellises, tunnels, pergolas and all kinds of other structures. To decorate the facades of buildings, buildings, you can use a support made of tension wire, it will be invisible.

The spiral support decorated with roses is very beautiful, it allows you to create columns entwined with roses, moreover, it is very practical and easy to manufacture.

Alpine hill of roses

Ground cover and miniature roses are suitable for an alpine slide. These roses will bring their own flavor to the design of the garden. Here you can use varieties with bright flowers that will contrast with the white gravel slides. But a rock garden from one type of roses is an unusual and beautiful solution.

Rockery with roses

Rockery with roses is no less beautiful. From roses, you can create dry streams, waterfalls, combining planting roses with stones, conifers, bridges, pond. Streams-waterfalls of roses will be extraordinarily beautiful with evening hidden lighting or low lamps of various designs.

There is no limit to fantasy! On a light background of white river pebbles, you can plant the most beautiful varieties roses, decorate every corner with containers with miniature roses. To shade the already unsurpassed beauty of roses, next to them you can plant perennials with silvery or variegated foliage, delphinium, lilies, phloxes, hosts, allium, actinidia.

Image source https://www.flickr.com: T.Kiya, ukgardenphotos, Jason Ballard, Sharon Mollerus, Hamish Foxley

Increasingly popular in summer cottages enjoy the alpine slides. The one who was lucky enough to see how these slides look in the spring - bare stones, and between them small bushes flowering plants, no doubt, wants to repeat such "Alps in miniature" on his garden plot. To do this, you need to choose the right place and plants that will delight the eye and decorate the hill.


The choice of plants for Alpine slide quite large, you can certainly use already ready-made schemes landings, but creative individuals will be very interested in our today's article. Thanks to some tips, we will try to study and understand the features of growing the future inhabitants of the rock garden.



The planting of the slide is carried out from top to bottom, in this order we propose to consider tips on choosing plants.

The top of the Alpine hill

For the upper tiers of the alpine slide, sun-loving and drought-resistant plants are ideal, since moisture practically does not linger at the very top of the rock garden. In such conditions, the following plants feel very comfortable:

  • Iberis evergreen

The leaves are evergreen, oblong, dark green, shiny, up to 7 cm long. The flowers are white up to 1.5 cm in diameter. There are several options for planting Iberis: in the form of seedlings or seeds. If you buy seedlings, then they should have healthy shiny green leaves, as this indicator is a parameter of plant health.


  • perennial carnations

Perennial carnations on alpine hills are especially good, firstly, they are unpretentious, and secondly, they do not require careful care - the main thing is that they are not “strangled” by weeds or plants planted nearby. But it is better to choose an open and sunny place for them, the upper tier of the rock garden will be just right.


  • Alyssum rocky

Alyssum rocky is drought-resistant, great for growing on alpine hills. It easily tolerates frosts down to -10 degrees, and if it is well covered with snow for the winter, then in spring it will come out from under the snow green and ready for further growth. Pride this plant- these flowers are bright yellow color, such a carpet "hat" at the hill will not leave anyone indifferent.


  • Edelweiss

This type of flower is a herbaceous perennial with beautiful foliage and beige-white flowers. Alpine edelweiss is somewhat reminiscent of daisies, this type of edelweiss grows well in stony, sandy soil with good drainage, which makes them popular for use in rock gardens.


  • creeping thyme

Creeping thyme is a drought-resistant and winter-hardy plant, and these qualities are the minimum necessary for the plant to take root on an alpine hill. Under it, areas well-lit by the sun, closed from cold winds, with fertile, loose, neutral soil of light or medium mechanical composition, free from weeds, should be allocated.


The middle tier of the Alpine slide

In the middle tier of the “stone garden”, the conditions are slightly different - less light, more humidity, which means that a completely different assortment of plants will take root here.

  • Phlox subulate

The main advantage of the styloid phlox is that from March until the very frosts, its stems and petals retain a bright emerald green color, and during the flowering period, in late May - early June, the carpets of styloid phlox are completely strewn with flowers of the most various shades. Also, it should be noted the excellent winter hardiness of this plant.


  • aubrieta

Another suitable option for an alpine hill - this is a plant with original name obrieta, its main advantage is that it hibernates with leaves. The flowers are small, but because of the profuse flowering, it gives the impression of a colored carpet, it can be purple, purple, rose-red, blue or white. Flowering is abundant and long.


  • Pozharsky's bell

This bluebell forms a lush carpet of lilac flowers in the shape of stars, flowering is so plentiful that there are literally no leaves visible behind it. Pozharsky's bell grows rapidly and winters well. The plant grows up to 20 cm tall with large rounded, serrated basal leaves along the edges. Looks good next to large species cloves and saxifrage.


  • Pulsatilla ordinary (sleep-grass)

The best place for shooting is an alpine hill, a rose garden or a flower bed with low perennials. The best option- areas with light shading, although it grows well on open places, the middle tier of the rock garden has all necessary conditions for favorable growth sleep herbs.


  • Astra alpine

This type of aster is also called alpine chamomile, it is a cold-resistant perennial, herbaceous or less often semi-shrub plant. Reproduction of this plant is possible in several ways: by seeds, dividing the bush, cuttings and shoots.


  • Gentian

Another type of plant that takes root well in rock gardens is gentian, this flower is rather undersized, so that in combination with other plants, it will not stand out from the overall design.



The best place for planting gentian is the western side of the middle tier of the alpine hill.


The foot of the Alpine hill

At the base of the alpine hill, plants are planted that need moist, fertile soil, regardless of their light preferences.

  • Duchenea Indian

Dusheniya is also called ornamental strawberries, the thing is that the flowers of this plant are very easy to confuse with the fruits of strawberries. The foot of the Alpine hill - perfect place for dushenie, partial shade and high level humidity will help this flower become a real decoration of the rock garden.


  • Liatris spikelet

Liatris prefers fertilized soils and bright places, in this regard, the foot of the rock garden is a wonderful place to grow. given flower. It is in such conditions that it is especially luxurious: numerous flower stalks sometimes reach 2 m, and the length of the inflorescence reaches 35 cm.


  • Saxifrage

Cushion-shaped saxifrages are originally inhabitants of mountains, all kinds of crevices, and vertical walls. Their stiffness, hard protrusions, scaly structure, bluish color or powdery coating are all adaptations developed to reduce evaporation and resist mountainous solar insolation. Thanks to all these characteristics, saxifrages perfectly take root at the foot of the rock garden.


  • The edge of the lawn is one of the most suitable places to create an alpine slide;
  • Start filling the slide with various plants should always be from top to bottom;
  • A very important part of the work on filling the alpine slide is the correct layout of the plants, if this part of the work is done correctly, then there will be much less worries with the plants;
  • Another important task is not to overdo it with fertilizers, too fertilized soil will lose winter hardiness;
  • The voids that were formed during the creation of the slide must be filled with clay-soddy soil;
  • Watering is always better to start from the foot.

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 of various sizes and shapes, chosen at your discretion.

Also, to change the level of the slide, drainage should be prepared, which lies in the very center. As a drainage, you can use 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, coniferous species should appear among the plants. 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 delight with their flowering for a long time. Plantings should be not only diverse, but also well adapted to climatic conditions 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, it is imperative to take into account the weather and climatic conditions that the site where the alpine hill will be located is exposed to. 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 built for a long time, plants should be selected both annual and perennial. 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 plantings should be reduced. 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 is trying to bring some bright colors and greenery there that will transform the 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.

Many summer residents and lovers of landscape design give their preference to such a fashionable element as an alpine slide. It is ideal for people who do not have much experience in landscape design, but who want to create a beautiful and original flower garden that does not require special care and will look picturesque in the photo.

The ease in the design and care of the rock garden is due to the fact that it is created from unpretentious perennial representatives of the flora, which grow slowly, feel comfortable even on the poorest soil and do not need regular watering.

Alpine slide will be an excellent decoration of the garden

Where to create a rock garden?

An alpine hill can be called a hand-made and ennobled bright spot of wildlife in the garden or in the country, which is sure to become a spectacular decoration in any landscape design. When choosing a place to create a rock garden, the following points should be considered:

  1. Comprehensive review. The place should be clearly visible from all sides.
  2. Sufficient amount of sunlight. It is desirable that the site where the alpine slide will be created is farther from buildings and trees with dense crowns so that a sufficient amount of sunlight falls on it.
  3. South side. In the absence of non-shady areas, it is worth choosing the south side, as it is illuminated by the sun at the most favorable time for plants.

What time of year is ideal for creating an Alpine slide?

By and large, you can equip an alpine slide with your own hands at any time of the year. own will. However, the most convenient and suitable time for this is early autumn.

Firstly, in early autumn, gardeners and summer residents are not busy harvesting and are not involved in preparing plants for the winter season, which means they have some free time. You can, without too much haste, completely plunge into the creation of a rock garden, give free rein to your imagination and embody the most original and unusual ideas. An occupation of this kind allows not only to realize hidden Creative skills to landscape design, but also to expand the boundaries of imagination and spatial vision.

Secondly, the flower garden, which was made in the fall, will have time to give a natural draft during the winter period and comfortably settle in the chosen place, given all its inner life, which is not noticeable to the human eye. As a result, this will make it possible in the spring, before planting the plants, to correct all the flaws that will be visible at a glance. If the landing is planned for autumn, then it is better to start equipping the alpine hill in advance, a few months before the actual landing.

Basic rules for decorating a flower garden



Alpine slide must be located in a well-lit place

Professional designers have long been developed certain typical schemes to create rock gardens. They take into account all the features of the arrangement of the flower garden, starting with its location and ending with the plants that were chosen for planting.

For example, the ideal form for an alpine slide, which will be located in the center of the site and have an all-round view, is a pyramid. Its highest point is usually determined in the center of the flower bed. However, it is not necessary to observe such a geometry, as well as symmetry. The sides of the pyramid do not have to be exactly the same, this will only make the composition more interesting. On the slope, you can create a rock garden either single-level, parallel to the surface of the site, or with several tiers, the height of the constituent elements of which should decrease sequentially from the upper to the lower level.

When creating a rock garden with your own hands, it is important to consider that the effectiveness and originality of the final composition largely depends on the size of the elements of which it consists. The smaller they are, the more unusual and interesting the slide is perceived. Every time you change the angle of the view, you can enjoy a completely new view and constantly come across extraordinary discoveries in the rock garden that looks like a small wild forest.

As for the height of such a composition, it directly depends on the area occupied by the flower garden. The classical version assumes that with a meter in diameter of the base, the height of the mound above the ground should be approximately 20 cm.

Since for these flower beds the most undemanding and unpretentious plants are usually chosen for the composition and nutritional value of the soil, there are no strict requirements for the soil mixture. It is enough to clear the existing land on the site of weeds and debris, and then mix peat and sand with it in equal proportions. Ready mix soil is poured in a hilly manner for drainage. Having laid the stones, it is necessary to fill in the empty spaces that have formed between them. It is also important to get rid of any weeds, as they can interfere with the growth of seedlings.



Alpine slide can consist of two or more tiers

How to choose plants for rock garden

There are two possible options selection of plants for the flower garden, which will be equipped with my own hands. The easiest way is to choose one of the available schemes with selected seedling varieties. These schemes are huge number fill the pages of magazines related to gardening or on sites of similar subjects on the Internet. The second method will take more time, since you will have to independently study all the features in the cultivation of future rock garden representatives, taking into account the microclimate and soil on the site. However, the process itself will be more exciting and interesting.

The selection of seedlings for the future alpine flower garden should be done very carefully, due to the fact that they will grow on it for more than one year, such as annual flowers in flower beds that can be easily transplanted or completely changed composition. A negligent attitude in this matter can lead to various alterations and death of seedlings. Selected plants for rock garden should have:

  • unpretentiousness to climatic conditions and soil;
  • short stature;
  • moderate growth;
  • non-aggressive way of reproduction;
  • multi-year development cycle.

Also, due to the fact that this flower garden is designed for year-round flowering, it is necessary to take into account the seasonality of all its inhabitants. Perfect for the spring season bulbous plants, for summer - almost all existing flowers, for the autumn period it is worth planting colchicum, but in winter decorative ones will look perfect coniferous trees.

To design such a flower garden, it is better to stop your choice on:

  • undersized woody plants, which are characterized by slow growth, for example, on spirea, cinquefoil or various conifers;
  • ground cover or cushion-shaped herbaceous perennials that will cover the space between the stones like a picturesque carpet;
  • flowering or ornamental deciduous species.

Due to the fact that the main composition of the alpine slide includes plants that grow slowly, at the first stage of creating a composition, a fairly large number of empty spaces appear between them. To eliminate this problem, you can resort to the help of annuals with minimal self-seeding. You can fill in gaps:

  • purslane large-flowered;
  • undersized marigolds;
  • glazing;
  • gypsophila graceful;
  • marine lobularia;
  • lobelia erinus.

The above annuals love sunlight and tolerate drought conditions. Because of this, they are ideal for creating rock gardens.

In addition, in the process of planting certain varieties of plants nearby, the following nuances must be taken into account:

  1. Combination with each other in the external image. Species must match in height, texture, color of flowering and leaves.
  2. The general rhythm of flowering and growth.
  3. Similarities in growing and care conditions.


Plants for the alpine slide are selected based on the landing site

Upper tier

The features of the upper tier are that, being the highest section in the flower garden, it becomes that part of the composition where the minimum amount of moisture will fall, and where the most strong winds. As a result, plants that are tender and need moisture will not take root here.

Edelweiss is the flower that is best suited for the top tier. Seedlings are sold in stores, but you can also grow them at home. For this purpose, it is necessary to prepare a special box and place the seeds there. Then cover it with glass and leave it on the windowsill, preferably on the south side, then the seeds will be warm and receive enough light. This procedure should be done at the end of winter. Before planting seedlings in the spring, you should start preparing the soil. It is necessary to mix the earth with sand and gravel and pour it into the areas between the stones. This is how natural natural conditions. In the year of planting, Edelweiss will not bloom, but next year it will surely decorate your creation with its flowering. To keep it active annually, it should be repotted every 2 years.

Without a doubt, it makes sense to decorate the top of the composition with Iberis evergreen or Iberis sempervirens. The shortest and most beautiful variety of it is the Weisser Zwerg variety. It reaches a height of 8-10 cm, and flowering is represented by pure white flower beds. It blooms from May to June.



Edelweiss - beautiful and very delicate mountain flower, perfect for decorating the upper tier of an alpine slide

Perennial carnations living in the highlands are the best suited for the upper tier. For example, with the help of grass carnations (Dianthus deltoides), short-stem carnations (Dianthus subacaulis), grayish-blue or gray carnations (Dianthus gratianopolitanus), you can arrange compact bushes with bright small flowers that will take the form of pillows. They bloom throughout the summer and will delight with their sweet aroma. Compositionally, they are in good agreement with Alyssum rocky (Alyssum saxatile).

You can also place creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) on top. Thanks to the honey smell, many insects, including butterflies and bees, will fly to its lush lilac-purple rugs.

Rejuvenated (Sempervivum) - the most unpretentious plant requiring minimal maintenance. It is as if specially designed for the top of the flower garden, as it is able to survive in any conditions, occupying the least comfortable places, such as gaps between stones. It is a rosette, which consists of fleshy leaves, different in shape, size and color.



There are many varieties of youth for every taste and color.

middle tier

Color options for the middle tier

As we move to the middle tier, we observe an increase in humidity and a decrease in the amount of light. The soil used at this level is a turf-sand mixture. As a result of changing living conditions, it is necessary to consider which species are suitable for the middle of the hill:

  1. Phlox subulate (Phlox subulata). Possesses lush bloom, which is represented by many large bright flowers of blue, white or pink color. Phlox blooms in May.
  2. Aubrieta cultural (Aubrieta x cultorum). It replaces the styloid phlox, blooming in early summer, and continues to delight with colorful flowers until July. Its flowering can be described as streams of flowers of purple, raspberry or pink color. plant with beautiful name also has a second flowering, although it is no longer as abundant compared to spring-summer. This usually happens closer to autumn. In addition to colorful flowering, cultural obrieta boasts wintering leaves, thanks to which it belongs to decorative species for any time of the year. In care, she needs regular and plentiful watering, but at the same time, an excess of moisture should be avoided.
  3. Carpathian bell (Campanula carpatica). Unlike gentian, he is no longer picky, but he is distinguished by particular aggressiveness. If left unchecked, it can spread in all directions. At the first hint of ousting his neighbors, he must be "restricted in his rights." For such a plant, the western side is more suitable, since in such a situation the degree of its activity decreases.
  4. Woolly Chistets (Stachys lanata). Its distinctive feature is fluffy leaves with an elegant silver color. unusual leaves will go great with purple, blue and pink flowers the same phlox. Also, the cleaner loves the light and does not need in large numbers water.
  5. Monetary Sunflower (Helianthemum nummularium). Prefers dry air and bright sun. The flowering of this evergreen subshrub consists of white, pink, red and yellow flowers. Pleases with its activity during the summer.


Woolly Chistets - unpretentious perennial for an alpine hill

There are a number of colors that are sure to decorate any composition:

  1. Alpine aster (Aster alpinus). She will bring bright saturated colors to the rock garden with her large-sized multi-colored daisies.
  2. Armeria maritime (Armeria maritima). From its dense curtains, formed by narrow leaves, inflorescences of pink balls grow on long thin stems. Flowering time is June.
  3. Stonecrops (Sedum). They are very fond of light and absolutely cannot stand when moisture stagnates, so only the southern slope is suitable for them. Otherwise, they are quite unpretentious. Famous flowers are famous for their wide variety of species. The most popular of them are Evers stonecrops (S.ewersii) and recurved stonecrops (S. reflexum). The first variety is gray-blue pillow-shaped bushes that appear in spring, and by the end of summer they are covered with a continuous floral carpet lingonberry color. The second variety has long curly shoots with narrow leaves, which have a golden yellow bloom in July.
  4. Common lumbago (Rulsatilla vulgaris). It is characterized by pubescence of a silvery color and purple flowers quite large in size, but you can find its seeds with red and white flowering, sometimes there are terry shoots. It blooms in April. A transplant for this plant is fraught with illness, and sometimes death, so it should be planted immediately in a permanent place.
  5. Geuchera (Heuchera). They are represented by a mass of varieties with modest flowering, but leaves of various outlandish shades.
  6. Gentian (Gentiana). Being quite a finicky plant that adds a lot of care to care, it will give amazingly beautiful blooms of pure blue color. If we want the gentian to take root without problems, we can dig a large stone next to it, which will take excess heat from the ground and help retain moisture.


Geichera has many shades of leaves

Other types of plants

In addition to the chistets or the shoot, the middle tier of the alpine slide can be decorated with other types of silver-colored plants common in the alpine mountains. For example, Schmidt's lush wormwood (Artemisia schmidtiana) and three-vein anafalis (Anaphalis triplinervis).

If you want to create a dense plant carpet, then the subulate bryozoan (Sagina subulata) is ideal for this. In early and mid-summer, she will delight with white star-shaped flowers. Bryozoan is a moisture-loving plant, as a result of which it should be planted at the bottom, where moisture is retained.

Primroses - primroses (Primula vulgaris) have a wide time range of flowering, and also tend to differ in different colors. It depends entirely on the variety of seedlings. Mass planting of beautiful colchicum (Colchicum speciosum) will decorate the autumn composition with pink, purple and light lilac flowers.

Plants for the northern slope

Vegetation on the northern slopes most time is in the shade, which is why there are not so many options for plants for planting on them, especially flowering ones. Among them:

  1. Bell Pozharsky (Campanula poscharskyana). Pleases us with blue and purple flowering.
  2. Caucasian rezuha (Arabis caucasica). Blooms in spring with white flowers.
  3. Alpine (Arabis alpina). White flowering will decorate the rock garden in spring.
  4. Corydalis Haller (Corydalis halleri). Starting in May, light purple, white or pink inflorescences bloom on it. In addition, it is decorative in other seasons. Lacy leaves are located in wonderful bluish-green thickets.


Pozharsky's bell can be planted on the north side of the alpine hill

For the northern slopes, the usual garden soil. As for the slopes on the western and eastern sides, due to less sun exposure, planting niches there should be filled with a sod-gravel mixture and a decent amount of humus added to it.

The lower tier or foot of the rock garden

At the foot of the alpine slides, such representatives of the flora are usually planted that require the most moisture, in accordance with their relationship to light. For example, Indian dushenia (Potentilla indica) is suitable for planting on the north side. In addition to yellow flowers, it will complement the composition with berries that resemble strawberries. Abundant flowering creeping tenacity (Ajuga reptans), which calmly tolerates shade and will feel comfortable on the lower tier of the northern slopes.

Perhaps there is a right to say that different kinds saxifrage (Saxifraga) - the most versatile flowers in relation to light. Forming small bushes resembling silvery small pillows, the panicled saxifrage (Saxifraga paniculata) releases a white-pink flowering from them in June, which is located on long stems. After the first autumn frosts hit, the shadow saxifrage has an unusual red tint. In spring, a dense carpet of white and pink inflorescences of saxifrage soddy (Saxifraga umbrosa) covers dense light green flower beds.

One of the elegant and eye-catching decorations at the foot of the southern slope can be spikelet liatris (Liatris spicata). In July, he will attract attention, thanks to the shaggy spike-shaped inflorescences.



Saxifrage Arends "Peter Pan"

Nuances in the placement of bushes, conifers and dwarf trees

You need to start planting an alpine hill with woody and tallest herbaceous plants. The background or the foot of the rock garden is best suited for them. They will also look great next to massive boulders. It is advisable to plant bushes and conifers without adhering to any symmetry.

Low-growing perennials that form beautiful curtains can be allocated places, both below and closer to the upper tier. For their visual separation, stones or taller plants can be used.

Properly planted deciduous shrubs and conifers usually do not need special care. The only thing that may be required is sheltering and tying some of them for the winter. This can be done using burlap or a special cover. Representatives of the flora, which grow slowly, are undemanding to the soil and the presence of moisture, and molding pruning is well tolerated by them.

Among the most popular and often found shrubs in rock garden compositions, the ground cover cotoneaster is the leader. It remains decorative even in winter - and all due to its rich red berries. Also, some evergreen and deciduous species can boast of their decorative effect. Their dark green, glossy foliage will brighten up your flower garden even after a frost. One of these evergreen decorations can be Fortune's euonymus. Creeping along the surface of the earth, it will picturesquely frame the stones with its leaves, which have a white or yellow border. Dark green conifers serve as an ideal background for it. And it does not require much effort to grow.

However, not all conifers fit into the rock garden composition. It is advisable to give your preference to the following dwarf slowly growing representatives of the flora:

  • juniper horizontal, virgin or Cossack;
  • mountain pine;
  • ate prickly;
  • spruce ordinary, for example, its well-known variety "Little Jam";
  • spruce Canadian Konik;
  • weeping and small-sized varieties that resemble pseudo-hemlock blue spruce;
  • ephedra tuevik for its picky and decorative effect, which is achieved through variegated twigs.

A good option for a do-it-yourself stone slide with flowers in the country can be already familiar varieties of firs and pines that grow in an ordinary forest. It is important to pinch them in a timely manner, cut and remove young shoots. Such care procedures lead to an increase in growth, which, in turn, turns the conifer into a dense ball. In addition, it will not be difficult for conifers to give the desired shape.

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