Unit 62 (062); Rock Gardens

1. What is a rock garden?

In the pure sense, the Japanese rock garden is a method of artistically displaying only

rocks and sand.

Our current English style of rock gardening is an integrated combination of rocks and

plants selected to enhance both the cultural and aesthetic quality of the garden.

In contrast, many rock gardens are actually what some authors call a rockery or a rock

pile. A rockery is a bank or mound studded with stones and planted to Iris or other

herbaceous border plants, intermingled with petunias and other annuals.

To the purist, rock gardens are comprised of alpine and saxatile plants.

Alpine plants are found in high mountains, above treeline, and mostly of dwarf size.

Saxatile or saxicolous plants are those that do best and look most natural growing

among rocks. They are found at lower elevations, in sun or shade. Many grow among

gravel and small rock fragments.

Rock garden plants are low growing, and have a growth habit that complements the

natural effect of the rocks.