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How NOT to build a rock garden The last thing you want to do is dump a great big pile of topsoil and stick rocks on the surface. This isn’t a rock garden, it’s a plum pudding. Besides looking a bit lame, it’s not going to offer the kind of environment where Rock Stars® can set their roots down in cool and moist crevices.
Rocks: What a Pain! Let’s face it, when you’re using large rocks to build a garden, you want to do it right the first time. Moving big rocks around is sort of like moving a piano – it may require the help of professionals with the proper equipment, or at least willing friends and relatives with strong backs. Then that leaves you with the fun part of planting the plants! But you can still grow Rock Stars® without even touching a big rock. Before reading about how to actually grow these plants, we recommend taking a look at our page called All About Rock Gardens to get a sense of the basic styles of rock gardens that exist and what is involved in their construction. Just how simple or complicated to make your rock garden is entirely your choice. When it Comes to Soil
If you decide to use your own garden soil as a base, we strongly advise adding additional peat moss, coarse sand or gravel to improve the drainage. Alpine plants like a lean soil (i.e. not too rich) that drains freely, particularly during extended wet periods. Here’s an example of a lean and well-drained soil blend to consider: |
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