DIY alpine slide

What plants should you choose for an alpine slide?

When choosing plants for an alpine slide, the following factors must be considered:

The alpine slide should delight with its flora all year round,
Plants must be suitable for the climate of the territory, otherwise the care of the alpine slide will become confused,
Plants should create a harmonious composition,
The general appearance of plants should not overwhelm the appearance of stones, so keep a balance,
When creating an alpine slide, stop at low-growing plants,
If the slide will be on the south side of the site, choose drought-resistant flowers and shrubs, if on the north (or east), opt for moisture-loving and shade-tolerant plants.

The photo shows saffron. Flowers for an alpine slide must be selected carefully, for all seasons.

Some of the most popular plants for the alpine slide are decorative spruces and thuja, which will delight with their emerald green color all year round.

It is also recommended to choose flowers that have an original color and shape - this design technique will make the design of the alpine slide even more attractive.

In order not to bother with the choice of plants suitable for the climate of the site, it is recommended to use wild plants located in a nearby forest or meadow.

A very good option would be to use a suitable lawn as the vegetation of an alpine slide.

Among the most popular flowers for an alpine slide are saxifrage, saffron, poppy, violet, primrose, forget-me-not, edelweiss, phlox and others.

Plants such as barberry, stonecrop, juniper and even cactus will complement the decor of the alpine slide!

Once again, we draw your attention to the fact that the alpine slide should bloom all year round, therefore, the following seasonal plants are:

In the spring - bulbous plants,
In the summer - most of the existing colors,
In the autumn - croplands,
In winter, decorative conifers.

You should also pay attention to the fact that the growth of all plants can be impeded by such ill-wishers as weeds, so they must be removed in advance by weeding the soil. Plants should be placed on an alpine slide as follows: dwarf conifers are planted in the background, and space is left in front for low-growing bright flowers

Plants should be placed on an alpine slide as follows: dwarf conifers are planted in the background, and space is left in front for undersized bright flowers.

And, finally, we turn to the step-by-step instructions for creating an alpine slide with your own hands!

Interesting landscape design options

Park areas rarely do without the dazzling beauty of a rock garden or rockery. It is not surprising that many people want to have such beauty in front of their eyes all the time. It is unlikely that something can be fresh, prettier and more charming than such a composition on a personal plot.

Below are interesting examples of rock gardens and rockeries for inspiration, because the work on each site will require a unique project.

An example of a classic rockery in japanese style... A minimum of plants in a lifeless stone landscape.

Rock garden staircase formed from flat stone rocks.

An inspiring example of a rock garden with a waterfall.

Alpine slide with coniferous shrubs and a decorative embankment of multi-colored gravel.

Portable mini-rockery in a self-cast concrete flower bed. The plant part of the composition is made up of succulents.

A miniature copy of a mountain landscape.

Rock garden-lawn during the flowering period.

An option for using ceramic products to mask the water supply pipe. Fern, as a moisture-loving plant, pleases the owners with luscious greenery.

Breathtaking groundcover rockery.

Mini pond from a car tire.

See the next video for more on this.

Basic rules for placing stones

Much depends on the location of the stones. Do not pile up stones and plant plants between them. The design should be harmonious. If there is no harmony, then the structure can be considered useless, because eyes will run up from the abundance of flowers and stones.

To make the design beautiful, the following rules must be observed: Each type of stone must be of the same size. But you shouldn't choose more than 3 types;

There is no definite place where the stones should stand. It all depends on your imagination. You can make simple patterns or creative inscriptions from stones. Large stones can be placed in the middle or at the edges.

The huge stones that are placed throughout the entire area of the rock garden look very unusual. The slide, which is crowned with a huge granite boulder, looks unusual. Beautiful green plants can be planted near it.

What are

Since the alpine slides copy real mountains, they can differ greatly in the shape, quantity, size and type of stones, the way they are laid, and in relief too. For example, there are layered stone slides, which are also called "Czech rolling pins". They differ in the vertical arrangement of layered rocks.

The Czech rolling pin is a prime example of a layered alpine slide

Rocky slides are the most common type of rock garden in our area. This is a small earthen embankment, along which stones are laid out. Stones are layered or boulders, the space between them is filled with rubble, pellets, pebbles or smaller boulders. This will be the rocky slide.

Rocky slide - easy to do with your own hands

But there are those in which the fertile layer occupies a significant area. In this case, single boulders stick out from the greenery of the lawn, flowers and small conifers stand out as bright spots. Such plantings imitate alpine lawns.

There are alpine slides with a large proportion of fertile soil

There are alpine ravines. If the site has a similar relief, you can equip it by making an artificial stream. To do this, lay out the bottom and edges with stones, make a small pond below, from which water is pumped to the top of your "cliff".

Diagram of an alpine slide with a waterfall and a pond and a waterfall

Plant moisture-loving plants along the banks of the stream and pond, on the stones - suitable alpine grasses, flowers and perennials. Such a structure, of course, is more complicated in technical terms, it also requires more costs - a pond, a stream, a slide - all require investments. Such complex systems are already considered landscape slides, since they partially change the appearance of the entire site.

And another type of rock gardens - terraces. Dividing the site into terraces is necessary if it is located on a slope. Then a layered device is the best way out. Retaining walls are laid to level the ground. They are often made of reinforced concrete, and then decorated with boulders. Ground cover plants also thrive on these retaining walls.

Retaining walls can also be decorated with plants

The same principle - the organization of terraces - is used on flat areas, but with a different purpose: to make it more picturesque. In this case, the height difference is created artificially, and this is a large amount of land work.

DIY alpine slide - step by step instructions

What materials and tools do you need to buy under the alpine slide?

stones of the same breed, river sand, crushed stone, gravel, turf, humus, peat, limestone, earth and planting material;

tape measure, cord, pegs, bayonet shovel, scrap metal, garden trowel with a long handle, wheelbarrow, scissors, ladle (in order to scoop the earth out of the wide slides of the hill), garden watering can.

Is everything at hand? Then get down to business!

Any project of an alpine slide begins with a breakdown of the site and drawing the outline of the future flower garden (this is where you need a tape measure, pegs and a cord). The area for the flower garden is cleared, a layer of soil is removed to a depth of 30-40 cm, carefully weeded and weeds are removed.

When the clearing is completely finished on the deepened area, it is necessary to make a gravel cushion - fill in a layer of gravel, slag and construction waste (broken brick, limestone or granite crushed stone is suitable), 10 cm thick.This kind of drainage will protect the plant roots from waterlogging, preventing stagnation of groundwater, and will provide normal aeration.

The water-permeable layer should be made thicker where the soil is very dense, structureless, silty and poorly permeable to water. Swampy land - the first enemy of alpine plants - ascetics are used to growing on slopes in light, rocky-sandy, acidic soils.

On top of the drainage layer (the base of the rock garden), it is necessary to make a sand cushion - pour a layer of river sand (5 cm thick), tamp well and water.

Next, mix in equal proportions turf soil (it can be prepared in advance or bought in any nursery) perlite, sand, pine bark, wood chips, fine gravel, crushed peat, humus and sphagnum.

You don't need to add too much fertilizer to this layer. Over-enrichment of the land can lead to the fact that the trees and flowers on the hill grow too large or, conversely, die altogether. It is recommended to feed only some tuberous and bulbous ones, and then as rarely and carefully as possible.

The ready-made soil mixture is poured over the entire surface of the hill, at the same time modeling the relief of the rock garden on the model of the natural landscape. The embankment from the earth does not need to be made even and accurate. Both on a large and on a small alpine slide in the garden, it is necessary to manually form "cliffs" and "valleys", "peaks" and "plateaus", paths and passages.

After the residual filling of the site with a ball of earth, you can start laying stones, "spreading" under them "pillows" of river sand.

What shape should the stones in the rock garden be and how should they be properly arranged?

Care rules

To care for an alpine slide, it is enough to follow a number of simple rules:

weed weeds in time;
watering infrequently;
remove dried flowers.

Before winter, the most delicate plants need to be covered with spruce branches, for the rest there is enough snow cover. The thickness of the snow layer on the slide needs to be regulated, this will help it overwinter. If the winter is not too snowy, you need to additionally cover the entire structure with burlap or wood shavings.

Caring for plants on a hill is no different from caring for an ordinary garden - treatment with pests, timely watering, removal of damaged leaves and dried inflorescences. Water the slide very carefully so as not to erode the soil. It is better to do this with a weak pressure of water, a hose or watering can should be with a spray. The soil must absorb water, it must not run off. During the season, as needed, fertilizing is done with fertilizers, preferably potash or phosphate fertilizers.

When deciduous shrubs grow in the rock garden, they need to be looked after in a special way:

they need to be transplanted either in early spring or in late summer - early autumn;
the easiest way is vegetative propagation by horizontal layers;
most shrub species propagate by cuttings. Best of all, cuttings are the growth of the current year;
to form a crown and perform sanitary pruning, preferably in early spring and autumn.

For planting highly growing plant species, you can use containers, for example, pots of the same color as the stones.Some part of the plants needs to be mulched, they do it with gravel or rubble. The color of the mulch should also match the color of the stones. Behind the lawn, located along the perimeter of the slide, the best type of care would be to dig in the curb tape. This means that dense polyethylene is placed under the gravel, which is the border of the hill. This will prevent weeds from growing into the rock garden.

List of required materials

Since the alpine slide is a miniature copy of real mountains with their vegetation, the arrangement of rocks, flowers, and so on, most of the materials will be of natural origin.

V first of all it is necessary get a lot of large stones, which will imitate the mountain landscape. Better to use rocks or similar. Limestone or sand stones, slate and others are perfect. Stones of warm colors will look great: from honey to red. Of course, if it is not possible to get them, ordinary stones of large sizes will do.

You will also need plants to decorate the slide. Their choice must be approached carefully, depending on the location of the arrangement. If the rock garden will be in a sunny place, you should choose plant varieties that are well resistant to drought. Everything here is quite individual, experienced gardeners will easily select suitable vegetation.

The most favorable are lavender, rocky beetroot, Iberis, geranium, fescue, sedum, rejuvenated, they also take root well if planted in a group, scilla, hazel grouses, undersized tulips, crocuses and others.

You can also include various decorations in the composition. and decorations to your taste

But it is important to remember that such an element of landscape design imitates natural natural conditions, which is very easy to violate with just one inappropriate detail.

Location

The best place to place an alpine slide will be the eastern or western slope - this is what landscape designers advise. But this does not mean that it cannot be built on the northern side of the site. Just then you have to choose shade-tolerant plants that love moisture. But you can act cunningly and create a slide oriented to different directions of the world, making the southeast and south slopes more gentle than the north and northwest.

When choosing a place for a future alpine slide, it is important to take into account a number of conditions:

If the garden has natural natural unevenness in the relief, they are perfect for decorating a rock garden, saving the owner time and effort.
The composition should be visible from every corner of the site, so it would be correct to place it in an open area. The presence of trees next to the rock garden is undesirable, since, firstly, in the fall there will be problems with clearing the hill from fallen leaves, and secondly, a tall tree near the hill can suppress it, distorting the real size.
It is better if the alpine slide is illuminated by the sun, because alpine plants are photophilous. It is especially good if the sun's rays are directed up the hill before noon

It is important to consider that the area that will be in the shade will dry out longer after rains and downpours. But this can be prevented by simply planting fern plants.

The soil should not be wet and, if possible, stony. Alpine plants do not tolerate moisture well.
Avoid placing a rock garden near a wall or fence, it is correct if the background is of a vegetative nature. It is also undesirable to place it too close to the house, since in winter there is a possibility of snow melting from the roof.
In the garden, the rock garden will also look inappropriate. The very idea of an alpine slide is to create an atmosphere of comfort and tranquility for the owner, which is unattainable among the beds and greenhouses. Against the background of outbuildings (garage, chicken coop, barn), the alpine slide will look ridiculous.For its placement, the area of the garden in which the owners intend to rest is ideal.
A flat area is not suitable for creating an alpine slide, because the name itself suggests an unevenness of the relief, even a small one.

Styling options

There are several options for building a rock garden. Work should begin with the fact that a mixture of earth, sand, humus and peat is carefully distributed onto the prepared foundation with drainage. There should be no clay in this mixture. At the same time, it is necessary to form the relief of the future rock garden. The embankment should be neither flat nor smooth. You need to strive for maximum natural naturalness.

Any irregularities in the relief, be it depressions or peaks, paths, terraces are formed manually. Next, you need to lay out the stones in accordance with the selected slide model. Different sources highlight different models.

You can use this list:

stepped mountain slope;
mesas;
plateau;
terraces;
cliff;
gorge.

Each species has its own sequence of actions. However, one must not forget that even acting according to the same scheme, two different people will create rock gardens that are different from each other. Each the rocky garden is the only one in its kind.

The easiest alpine slide to perform is the classic highlands. It imitates a typical high-altitude terrain and is done with boulders and stones. Edelweiss and gentian grow well on it. As for the gorge, ravine or swamp - the creation of such types of landscape is much more laborious. It is best to equip them in areas with natural breaks in the relief. But building a mini-copy of an alpine lawn with a lot of flowering plants is not difficult at all.

After completing the layout of the rock garden, you can think about what its framing will be - a lawn or several flower beds. It is better if the plants in the flower beds are partially the same as on the slide.

How to properly care for a rock garden?

In the first year, it will be necessary to fill up the soil several times, which is washed out during irrigation and precipitation, and also to strengthen the stones, if necessary. Viewing various videos and photos taken by professional landscape designers will help you get these jobs done correctly. The soil is poured neatly and compacted.

The soil should be evenly distributed between the stones.

Plant care consists in timely watering, removing faded flowers, damaged leaves, and pruning. During the season, plants should be fed with appropriate fertilizers several times. You should not use nitrogen fertilizers, they cause rapid plant growth, which should be avoided when planting on a hill.

Watering the plants is carried out carefully from a hose or a watering can with a spray, while making sure that the soil does not erode. Loose and falling stones should be strengthened

Loose and falling stones should be strengthened.

Different small reservoirs will look very nice on an alpine slide

If necessary, plants are treated with pest control agents. Diseased plants that cannot be cured must be removed with the replacement of soil at the place of their growth.

When transplanting plants, you can use a special drug to relieve stress - epin.

Preparatory steps for creating a rock garden

Stage-1. Selection of a place.

Initially, you should decide on the location of the alpine slide. It should be sunny most of the day. There should not be a high level of groundwater. It is undesirable to place an alpine slide near trees and large shrubs, as they will create an unwanted shadow and falling leaves will significantly complicate the care of the flower garden.

Be sure to use the landscape features of your garden - hilly terrain, a plot with a slope, a pond. They will help create the most natural composition possible.

The size of the rock garden should be consistent with the size of the site.

Stage-2. Preparation of the pit and drainage.

At the chosen place, with the help of pegs and rope, you need to mark the boundaries of the alpine slide. If the area of the rock garden is more than 10 square meters, then at this stage the future location of garden paths and passages should be determined. Then, within these boundaries, dig a pit about 50 cm deep.

At the bottom of the pit, it is imperative to equip drainage. This will avoid stagnation of water, which means it will prevent subsidence of the soil and protect the plants from sticking. To do this, first carefully tamp the soil at the bottom, then lay out a drainage layer of fine gravel, broken brick, expanded clay or crushed stone about 30 cm thick.On top you can put a small layer of coarse river sand (7-10 cm). We also compact the drainage pad well. On top we lay a layer of soil mixture consisting of garden soil, peat, sand in half with fine gravel (3: 1: 1), 30-50 cm thick. Now you need to water everything thoroughly and let it stand for 2-3 weeks to shrink.

Arrangement of an alpine slide with your own hands is therefore recommended to start in the fall, so that shrinkage occurs naturally during the winter. This will make the foundation of the composition more solid.

Alpine slide - preparation

First you need to determine the place on the site where the slide will be located. Perennial shrubs and trees should not grow nearby, which can over time obscure the plants on the hill. A place open on all sides, accessible for viewing from all corners of the garden, must be dry. A high water table will adversely affect the durability and strength of the slide base. In this case, the groundwater level needs to be lowered with the help of special drainage.

Do-it-yourself drainage under an alpine slide (step-by-step guide).

The drainage device begins with digging a pit, the dimensions of which are equal to or slightly larger than the area of the hill. First, you should make a markup with the installation of pegs and pulling the cord. The durability and strength of the slide structure depends on the degree of drainage reliability, therefore, the depth of the pit should not be less than 0.8 m.
For construction, you will need not only decorative stones, but also sand and crushed stone
The excavated foundation pit is filled up in layers with crushed stone, pebbles or bricks to a height of at least 0.3 m. The backfill layer is spilled with water. Next, a sand-gravel mixture (5-10 cm) should be added over the gravel layer, which is also carefully spilled with water and tamped.
The soil taken out during the digging of the pit, previously cleaned of debris, plant roots and stones, is added on top of the drainage layers. You can start laying stones according to the scheme only after the soil has shrunk. This will take a certain amount of time, usually 2-3 weeks. More often, they begin to build the hill in the fall, leaving it for the winter to shrink the soil in a natural way.
The largest boulders are always placed first.
The main supporting structure of the slide is laid out after the final shrinkage of the base. According to the planned plan for the construction of a rock garden, it is required to lay out the largest stones around the perimeter, while the necessary burial of boulders into the ground is at least 60% of their volume. Smaller stones are placed so that precipitation cannot wash them away, otherwise the stability of the slide will be disturbed. In addition, you need to monitor the harmonious combination of various stones laid side by side. Free space should be left between the stones for planting ornamental plants.

How to build: step by step instructions

When building an alpine slide on the site, a certain sequence of actions is observed:

After laying the drainage layer, the sod layer, humus, peat and sand laid aside are mixed in equal parts. In this case, the sod is sifted or the rhizomes are carefully selected by hand.
The largest and most beautiful boulders are laid along the perimeter of the future slide. They must lie very stable, for this, if necessary, place small supporting stones. It is generally recommended to dig the bottom row of boulders by a third into the ground in order not only to increase stability, but also to create the effect of naturalness.
Further work is reduced to filling the center of the future alpine hill with a nutritious soil mixture and the simultaneous laying of medium-sized stones, with the help of which the second tier is formed.

It should be remembered that during the construction of a decorative structure, sufficient landing sites plants and flowers. At the top of the slide, one large or two medium cobblestones are installed to complement the composition.

Planting plants and flowers

When the soil in the alpine hill sits down, they begin to plant ornamental vegetation. It should be selected not only based on aesthetic preferences, but also taking into account climatic conditions. In some cases, the plants are even planted in pots and placed right in them on a slide.

Boxwood

Boxwood is a slow growing ornamental plant. It tolerates pruning well, it is easy to give the bush the desired shape. Its compact size allows you to grow it even on small alpine slides. The plant does not have high frost resistance, in winter it needs special protection. It is preferable to plant boxwood in a shady place.

Thuja

Today, many varieties and varieties of thuja are known, however, for the design of a rock garden, preference is given only to low-growing plants. Most of them have high frost resistance and are undemanding to care for. Tui decorate the site with their greenery all year round.

Juniper

If you want to plant perennials on an alpine hill, then you should not ignore the juniper. In addition to its beautiful appearance, this plant will fill the air around it with an unusual pleasant aroma.

In this case, dwarf forms of an evergreen shrub should be chosen.

Erica grassy

A small evergreen shrub will delight the owners of rock gardens with a beautiful flowering, which occurs at the very end of autumn or the beginning of winter. The plant is unpretentious, grows well. For Erica, you need to carefully select neighbors to create excellent compositions.

Saxifrage

Saxifrage refers to unpretentious plants, which even a beginner can take care of. Many varieties are known that differ in the shape and color of flowers and leaves. Planting should be done in a slightly shaded area in order to achieve the best decorative qualities. The saxifrage does not tolerate a drop in temperature in winter below -12 ° С.

Phlox subulate

An amazingly beautiful ground cover plant with small flowers of various colors, exuding a pleasant aroma. Flowering occurs in early June.

Creeping thyme

Be sure to plant creeping thyme on an alpine hill. This is not only an ornamental, but also a medicinal plant, characterized by unpretentiousness and undemanding care. Several varieties of creeping thyme are now known, differing in the color of leaves and flowers, bred specifically for rock gardens.

Aubrietta

A herbaceous evergreen creeping flower that resembles a beautiful carpet. The decorative qualities are preserved throughout the year. Several species are known with different shades of flowers. The plant is unpretentious, does not need special care.

Lobular

An ornamental plant that can be easily grown from seed even by novice gardeners. Has a rich color range. It does not require special care. Only an incorrect landing can lead to a decrease in decorativeness. It decorates the alpine slide with its flowering throughout the season.

When the creation of an alpine slide comes to an end, it is decorated with small stones, pebbles or rubble.You can use garden figures, lanterns as decor.

Rock garden flowers, or following logic and impeccable taste

So, an alpine slide in your garden is a miniature of the Alps and their lawns. Where have you seen large-sized trees and dense plantings in the alpine landscapes? That's right, they did not see it, because the decoration of the gentle slopes of the Alps is creeping plants, mosses and lichens, ground cover or bright flowers of low height, dwarfs.

Therefore, if your site allows, and you want to recreate on it a piece of a birch grove, and a mixed forest, and an impenetrable spruce forest in the Russian style, do it on the periphery of the site, and leave the central part of the alpine hill so that it shines on its territory during all its glory. In doing so, select the following plants for her:

ground cover: mosses, stonecrops, lichens. They can decorate any tier of the slide, but it is worth remembering that they can be "lost" among other plants. Leave a certain zone for them, which will be from early spring to the last days of autumn expressed by emerald greens, gray velvet, hoarfrost and other interesting shades (rock alyssum, Caucasian rezuha, gray fescue, fescue felt);
rejuvenated in a variety of shapes and colors. They will delight you with the splendor of the buds and shades at the ends of the petals, in the middle of summer - with interesting thick inflorescence legs;
perennial flowers of dwarf species. Phlox, decorative violets, daffodils and even tulips are appropriate here;
annual flowers. Petunia and gazagna, salvia and ranunculus, tagetis and black shaves will create a mood for rock gardens, become bright blotches that can slightly “blur” green and gray, light green and chocolate, and other other colors.

In addition, their height will play a significant role in the choice of plants for the next season. Examining the composition, noticing the details, you will see that, for example, the hosta was planted very high and shades the saxifrage, and the undersized thyme has grown together with the aubrietta and became a single purple background at the time of flowering. And there are dozens of such examples. Therefore, to create a harmonious alpine slide, in which the colors, shades and halftones of burgundy and red, orange and lemon, olive and terracotta colors will ideally be combined, it is necessary to draw a small sketch with the names of the planted plants. Changing one flower for another over the course of a couple of seasons, watching them, soon you will fill the entire rock garden with your favorite flowers and greens, which form a harmonious beginning, the focal point of the style unification.

Rockery and rock garden: similarities and differences

These concepts are often confused even by experienced gardeners. This is not surprising, because they do have many similar characteristics. The rock garden and rockery are based on the use of stones and plants.

Rockery is an ensemble made mainly of stone rocks alone. This is a classic approach to creating a rock garden. Various flowers act only as a background element for stone rocks.

Rock garden is a man-made hill with stones, planted with flowering plants and small shrubs in the form of tiers. The hill is decorated with Alpine and Carpathian plants, but in the Japanese version, Far Eastern species are planted, and in the Mexican version, succulents are planted.

Rockery is a composition of stones, usually created on a flat relief. Consists of rocks of different sizes, gravel and sand. Rare plants are usually the focal point of the entire ensemble. Japanese rockeries do without plants at all.

The rock garden differs from the rockery by the obvious unevenness of the relief, because the rockery is located on a plane. Among its varieties, there are three main style directions:

Japanese rockery. It is a composition of stones, where plants play a secondary role and act as color accents. This option will appeal to lovers of tranquility and harmony.
Rockery in the European style is as close as possible to the natural natural landscape.
English rockery is distinguished by perennial coniferous shrubs, which are so loved by the inhabitants of England.

In addition to styles, rockeries can be divided into temporary, permanent and changeable.

Temporary rockery is organized on a flat or slightly raised area. It is planted with small seedlings that will soon become lush plants. The landing scheme must be made according to the size of the adults. Rocks and mounds can be changed as flowers and shrubs grow. The most massive and spectacular boulders are usually reserved for grown plants.

If in the future it is not planned to pay much attention to rockeries, then the so-called "permanent" rockeries will be interesting. For its construction, you will need large boulders or smaller stones to group them. Rockery is subdivided into small zones, which are marked with stones. These zones will help contain overgrowth and keep each plant in place. The slowest growing and easiest to care for will be conifers and low-growing shrubs such as spirea, cinquefoil or barberry.

The changeable rockery is based on the planting of new plants every year, with the exception of a few large and permanent individuals, which will form the basis of the composition. This variety will provide dynamics and a change of scenery annually.

Color spectrum

The maximum effect in creating a rock garden can be achieved by a skillful play of color transitions.

Combinations of three shades are considered luxurious. For example, yellow is in perfect harmony with pinkish, or lilac flowers. Thus, yellow is balanced by two similar shades.

You can visually bring an object closer by combining yellow and orange, and to move away - using blue. Take a closer look at any landscape design. Surely you will notice that blue and blue flowers planted in the distance are almost invisible, and plants with warm shades, on the contrary, visually bring objects closer.

For a long time, designers have used the play of contrasts in order to emphasize the magnificence and uniqueness of another thanks to one element. One large plant looks much brighter and more expressive if it is enveloped from all sides by undersized species. But compositions with solid and dismembered leaves look the most advantageous against each other.

Peculiarities

An alpine slide or rock garden is a landscape composition that recreates a mountain landscape. In its center, at a certain height, there is a stone or several stones, and on the slopes there are platforms (terraces) with specially selected plants and flowers, mainly from the Alpine mountains. This kind of object can become the "star" of both a large garden and a small suburban area. The basis of this element is the combination of stones with mountain plants.

The main difficulty in creating a mountain landscape at a summer cottage is the need to artificially reproduce natural natural immediacy. After all, where conditions for the growth of plants are formed at the place of fractures of rocks, there is no symmetry, and in order to repeat this in your garden, you need remarkable imagination and skill, as well as the artistic taste of the author of the composition.

Sometimes an alpine slide is mistakenly called rockery, but this is not the same thing. Rockery is a construction made of stone, rubble and other materials (from the English word rock - stone). There are two main differences between rock garden and rockery. Firstly, a rock garden is an imitation of a mountain landscape, while a rockery can be located both on a flat surface and on an inclined one - on any one that a master of landscape design comes up with and creates. Secondly, any plants can grow in rockeries, not just alpine plants (and in Japanese rockeries there should only be stones), which is convenient in climatic conditions other than mountain ones.