September Gardenjournal: the latest rockery in progress
I haven't posted a gardenjournal in ages because I wasn't feeling very inspired by my vegetables but I got started on major earthworks this winter. Why winter? It's cold enough to work outside and the soil is dry enough to be able to sieve and there has been lots of sieving required to take out all the broken glass, old shoes and builder's rubble in the soil. This picture is actually one side of the site once I made some progress in the sieving and demarcating of the area. Building a garden here is actually very tricky because there's a thin layer of soil and then you hit rock formations. Previous gardeners had tried and failed and I found plenty of nursery tags for roses and ferns and other plants totally unsuited to the heat and intense sunlight here.
Before: I had planted some aloes against the rock but wasn't very happy with the overall look of the place
I decided to go for raised beds with low rock walls, firstly because I love rustic stone walling and secondly because there's so much stone everywhere. All the stone you see comes from the soil.
There's something oddly satisfying about stacking rocks into low walls
And of course I had to add in my favourite large rock I found in the yard, there are many such conglomerate boulders because the area was a seashore many millions of years ago, before there was life on earth so no fossil animals but beatiful fossilised estuary.
In some places, there are channels and cracks that can simply be filled with soil and planted.
I'm still far from finished but this is how the area in the first picture looks now. All the small stone serve 2 purposes: the white colour reflects sunlight and keeps soil cool and retaining moisture and to do something more with all the stones in the soil.
Making a garden that works for these conditions requires selecting the right plants and everything I've planted is native to my country and well-suited to heat and intense sunlight - Aloes, Euphorbias, Crassula, Cotyledon and Mesembs. They were mostly struggling in pots and longed to be able to spread their roots and they are absolutely loving this. I'm watering them at the moment so that they can settle in during our hot, dry spring but once the plants are established, the garden will be able to survive on seasonal rainwater. Quite a few are flowering wildly in ways they didn't before
As for my hands, there's been a couple of times when I had to stop for a while so that the skin could recover. Because I dislike gloves...
I'm still quite far from finished as I have changed my mind a lot and changed shapes and contours of the planted areas because it's really a matter of standing back and studying how it looks and seeing which plants are best suited to which spots. I'll post it again in a few months time once its finalised and the plants have settled in and grown a bit.
Wow, great.
Thanks!
I think a lot of gardeners miss this - those observations mean everything. I'm sure had the planter of roses observed more keenly, they would have understood a rose does not grow in rocks.
Whilst I'm keen for soil, I can see the appeal of rocks too, and I'm sure you'll make an amazing garden there. ..
Yeah I'm not keen on gloves either!
Thank you! I love garden design.
Surprisingly, there were 2 roses that somehow survived: a climber that I rescued early on and is doing ok in a planter and a miniature climber which is practically invasive and I'm struggling to eradicate.
I'm keen for soil too but I recently learned something interesting about native plants and these poor soils of ours: I'll say something about that on the garden question. It's also true that entire ecosystems are built around the rocks here.
Your rockery is very creative. The plants will grow well there. It’s a nice idea to use the stones for the garden and the plants you chose are strong and perfect for hot weather. Great job!
Thanks and thanks for stopping by!
I love what you are doing with that area.
I love your dedication to it as it looks like an immense amount of hard work to make it all happen. I realize sometimes that makes it feel extra good, once you can see some progress.
The flowering plants sure look happy about where they are.
Thank you! To me a good garden is a giant living sculpture and the best place ever to burn off nerves and bad moods
Safety should be your priority. It is a big and time consuming job, hope all end up well .
It's going well so far thank you
Even with the ouchy hands, that will become a stunning garden milady.
!PIZZA
Thanks! The ouchy hands are all part of the fun! It's really hard to go wrong with those rocks in the background
!PIZZA
Well, I can see that it will be worth all of your efforts.
!PIZZA
$PIZZA slices delivered:
nikv tipped papilloncharity
@papilloncharity(2/15) tipped @nikv (x2)
Come get MOONed!
The result is very beautiful, unfortunately this wonderful flower does not grow here, nice combination with the stones.
Thank you! I tried to make it similar to natural conditions here. I wouldn't mind trying with flowers you have where you live but it's just not possible
Your rockery project is both inspiring and impressive.
The way you’re working with the natural stones and adapting the garden design to the environment instead of forcing unsuitable plants shows real creativity and patience.
I especially like how you see it as a “living sculpture”, that perspective makes the hard work feel more rewarding.
Can’t wait to see how it all transforms once the plants are fully settled in.
Thank you @nikv for sharing
Thank you
You're welcome
That's a striking and beautiful garden ! So different to what we get over here 😀
Have you got a corner where you could build a stone wall and hide a compost heap in it ? You'd need to put some water on to keep it damp, but any plant matter that won't grow into weeds, kitchen vegetable scraps, a few coffee grounds and eggshells could all go into it and give you good soil a few months later.
Thank you! The other big difference between us and you is that our native plants are adapted to poor soil. Excess nitrogen causes fast growth and a corresponding loss of internal structure and vulnerability to pests and disease. They need to be left to do their thing slowly
Hi 👋 @nikv, long time no see! I see you've had some busy days at home with moving earth and planting in the back garden.
I have to tell you, you have a huge Aloe Marlothii—I had no idea they could get that big! You have so many beautiful wild plants, NiKV, like the purple-flowered Drosanthemum, and the Euphorbia with those pretty little yellow flowers—that one is really lovely, and it's covered in blooms 😍. Blessings.
And even though you don’t plant columnar cacti, Ferocactus, or Echinocactus grusonii, the rocky area is perfect, friend—they would look spectacular there!! 👏🤗
You know, I’ve never spoken up before, but what is this one?? 🤔👇
Hehe the Marlothii is just a baby of about 7 years old and they can grow long stems and turn into trees
I know cacti would look good but so many become invaders here, especially if it has cereus in the name, so I keep mine in pots.
The yellow-flowered euphorbia is cactiformis
The little one is Euphorbia trichadenia, it's a grassland caudiciform native to my area. I had it in a pot in the greenhouse but it kept getting spider mites so I put it where it will be happy
Oohhh!! 😱 Oh my goodness, I want one for my garden! I'm going to get in touch with the collectors in Cuba 🇨🇺 to see if they have any and buy one from them. It's super beautiful @nikv.
But hey, some of the large cactus plants 🌵 must look really cute there, friend!! 😊
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This plant is beautiful and huge!
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For now it looks like an arid land and maybe even difficult, but it is all a matter of perseverance and commitment. In a few months I will like to see the progress. You will have to do hard work, but surely very fruitful. Best regards.
It is arid, the desert begins about 600km from my house but I love the beauty of arid places and that's what I wanted to recreate
You have beautiful slabs of stones there, accumulated, I like them.
It is a very beautiful white rock. A fossil.
I think the plants you are placing are more resistant to heat, some of them confirm this with their beautiful flowers.
It gave me strange pain to see your hands. I don't cut my hands when planting, but my hands do get completely covered in thorns, even though I wear gloves.
This environment is looking great on you, I congratulate you!