Rockery Plants in a Rock Box

A note caught my eye the other day that now is a good time to think about adding nest boxes to your garden, if you want to offer accommodation to garden birds this year! Ryan and I were doing a bit of bird watching in the garden today and it’s clear that the blackbirds and the robins are starting to defend their territory against incomers, so nesting season is definitely on their minds.

In this teaser episodes, join Emma the Space Gardener for a trip into the astrobotany archives. In 2006, researchers published their work attempting to grow marigolds on simulated lunar regolith. But there’s more to it than that….

Undeservingly overlooked when it comes to hardscaping, the old window box is a fantastic exterior design feature that can add a unique touch to your home and make heads turn. It really is a thing to consider if the best-looking house on the block is what you’re going for. Here’s why:

For generations, gardening has been a popular pastime in the UK. Regardless of whether it is an ornamental or vegetable garden, the act of sculpting the land around us to create our very own oasis of tranquillity provides a sense of comforting accomplishment, as well as a great way to express creativity and individuality.

It is often said that beauty lies in simplicity. Rock gardens are the very embodiment of that saying. With a bit of thoughtful planning, what initially may seem like a bland mixture of rocks and plants can, in skilled hands, quickly turn into the peaceful retreat that any home needs.

Interior designer Stephanie Hunt’s seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom Park City, Utah, home is a grown-up, glammed-up, sophisticated version of a funhouse—it’s got so many surprises and delights at every turn. And believe it or not, she got the inspiration for the home on a freezing winter trip to Reykjavík, Iceland. “We were there for a quick weekend trip and I was struck by how the simple barn structures—very close together—looked like one unit. Because we’re art collectors I wondered what it would feel like to have each pod or pavilion, if you will, developed in a simple, honest architectural style, connected by halls and glass elements, with the halls serving sort of in-home art galleries,” she explains.

Think before you allow poppies to proliferate. Poppies rob a lot of goodness from your soil.

A rock garden is a grand place to display your alpine plants. You can shade them with rocks, provide deep root runs and provide rain cover with perspex roofs

Your own rock garden does not have to be as large as that at Kew. You do not need to demonstrate every regional zone on the planet. Nor do you need specimen plants that grow in all the range of soil conditions and climates. Better to concentrate on doing one or two things well.

Crevice gardens are all the rage at the moment. The careful alignment of rocks can create some interesting locations for alpine and rockery plants. They are also very good for helping wild life to thrive. See pictures of the Alpine Garden society rock supplier.

One of the smaller varieties of Campanula should ring a bell for rockery or alpine gardeners.

For over 25 years I have gardened a rockery or rock garden on a triangular patch of poor soil. I progressively scrounged and collected a range of granite, limestone and sandstone rocks and added them piecemeal. I aspired to growing alpine plants and recognised good drainage and shelter from winter wet weather would be key but that is as far as my planning would go. For the first couple of decades I was busy at work and wasn’t able to put in the effort of looking after small but hardy alpines.