Rock stars put on a show
ROCKERIES are having a little moment. Dan Pearson’s 2015 Chelsea Flower Show recreation of Paxton’s rockery at Chatsworth House received the highest accolade of Best Show Garden.
Originally rockeries were places for grand gardens and great estates to display alpines which had been sourced during intrepid explorations of Europe’s mountain range.
They soon became show-off features in manor houses such as Friar Park in Henley, which was later to become the home of Beatles legend George Harrison.
As with many of these garden features it filtered down to become a staple of country and suburban houses and our love affair with alpine gardening was cemented. What also emerged were a number of star performers that became staples of the British garden. Think carpet-forming alpines such as alyssum and aubrietia which create immensely pleasing pillows of colour when planted between rocks, or emerging from cracks in stone walls.
Every spring I drive past a garden that makes me smile.
The granite walls of the driveway are covered in waterfalls of colour with red, purple and pink flowers cascading down, like precious carpets hung out for display on the walls of a Moroccan medina.
So what are the best plants to grow to create such a dazzling display?
Aubrietia, or purple rock cress, is the most widely grown and with good reason. It’s a low-maintenance perennial that almost thrives on neglect.
It likes very good drainage which makes it happy to hang out of a stone wall. You can also create lovely containers with flowers cascading over the sides.
To do this, you need a free-draining compost – you can get alpine compost or make your own with equal quantities of regular compost and grit.
It’s also a good idea to top dress with grit which allows rainwater to drain freely.
Alpines in general don’t mind the cold – they’re used to snow and freezing temperatures – but they have no appetite for sitting soggily in water. A good shearing after flowering will help maintain your aubrietia but they can develop bare patches as they age. Cuttings in summer will root easily to produce new plants. The most familiar variety is blue such as ‘Royal Blue’, but it is also available in white, pink, purple and lilac and even red.
If you can’t find these varieties in your local garden centre, think about growing from seed this spring. Creeping phlox is another great moundforming perennial. Traditionally it is a rockery plant but it can also be grown as a colourful ground cover, in pots or at the edge of paving.
Often in very bright reds and pinks, it’s attractive to bees and butterflies.
‘Bavaria’ is a gorgeous variety which has purple eye white flowers.
As with aubrietia, trim well after flowering.
Good companions include Aurinia saxatilis which produces tonnes of yellow flowers in spring. Also known as ‘gold basket’ it’s an evergreen perennial which will form a low mound.
Arabis, known as wall cress, has fragrant white flowers and will complement the brighter colours.
All of these plants have moved with the times and left the traditional rockery.
They suit anywhere dry and sunny so will do well in gravel gardens, dry slopes or tucked in cracks in the paving which is a great way to soften hard landscaping.