ALPINE ROCKERY MAINTENANCE
Ruth tidies her rockery and adds some spring colour
OUR ‘rockery’ – I use inverted commas because it is basically a hastily-thrown together, inherited mish-mash of stones plonked above the patio – is one of the most neglected areas of the garden.
Plans for its renovation have been in the pipeline for ages, but never seem to reach the top of the
‘to do’ list so it only gets an occasional tidying up.
Autumn is a key time for rockery maintenance. Most alpine plants do best in the summer when the weather is warm and dry and their long, questing roots can spread far and wide to access all the moisture and nutrients they need.
Alpines are tough plants, perfectly suited to the poor, thin soils and punishing climates of high altitudes.
However, they are not so well suited to our wet and sunless winters and often need extra care to keep them alive.
Start in autumn by weeding your rockery well and removing any dead or damaged plant material and flowers from your alpines. Don’t let fallen deciduous leaves smother them as they will collect moisture, cause rotting and harbour pests and disease. Autumn is also a key time for adding to your collection of alpines as the soil is warm and damp and if kept protected and pest-free there is time for their roots to develop before spring arrives. Popular matforming alpines include aubrietia, saxifrage, gentians and sedum. The herb creeping thyme is excellent ground cover, while sempervivum or houseleeks create stunning cushions of rosettes and will tolerate almost everything the elements can throw at them. Alternatively, plant alpine bulbs now. Crocus, snowdrops, Chionodoxa (or ‘glory of the snow’), miniature daffs and tulips, Iris reticulata, muscari – you are spoilt for choice if you want to herald next spring with a fanfare of colour.