Few gardens transport visitors to remote and rugged landscapes as well as rock gardens. It is rather extraordinary, yet nevertheless true, that if one talks to the amateur gardener about a rock garden he realizes at once what is meant. Attempt, however, to broach the subject of alpine flowers and he confesses immediately to bewilderment.
Rock Gardens
He seems to be unaware that the object of a rock garden is, or should be, to enable one to grow the flowers that have their homes on the fringe of ceaseless snow, where hills the Alps flood the lush mountain meadows and rock crevices with exquisite blossoms at the first sign of spring. It is true that all the flowers grown in rock gardens are not dwellers of the high alpine zone; nevertheless that is the home of the great majority. The list of mountain flowers is so extensive, their classification seems so complex, and their names are so strange that the beginner gardener is apt to be alarmed when he first attempts to design a rock garden.
Perennials for a Rock Garden
Perennials form one of the most interesting phases of rock garden development. The following perennials are either heavy in their texture of foliage, or very dwarf in their habit of growth. They will adapt themselves to cultivation in the congested spaces so often found in rock gardens.
Ball of Snow [Achillea boule de neige]
Dwarf Alpine Rock Cress [Arabis alpina nana compacta]
Silvery Madwort [Alyssum argenteum]
Sandwort [Arenaria Montana]
Golden Tuft [Alyssum saxatile compactum]
Carpathian Harebell [Campanula carpatica]
Canadian Windflower [Anemone pennsylvanica]
Mountain Bluet [Centaurea Montana]
American Columbine [Aquilegia Canadensis]
Snow-in-summer [Cerastium tomentosum]
Leadwort [Ceratostigma plumbaginoides]
Catmint [Nepeta mussini]
Dwarf Tickseed [Coreopsis verticillata]
Creeping Phlox [Phlox stolonifera]
Maiden Pink [Dianthus deltoids]
Scotch Pink [Dianthus plumarius]
Mossy Stonecrop [Sedum acre]
White Stonecrop [Sedum album]
Dark Green Stonecrop [Sedum sexangulare]
Small-leaved English Ivy [Hedera helix conglomerate]
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Evergreens, Plants and Foliage for Rock Gardens
In designing a rock garden, a touch of evergreen foliage, the texture of which is peculiar to evergreen plantings, is essential to lend the desired interest to the garden. Selecting from a list of evergreens and plants for rock gardens that are dwarf in character and limited in their growth pattern is the first step in creating a rock garden feature.
Evergreens, Plants and Foliage for Rock Gardens