Do-it-yourself Alpine slide with stones in the country: photos and implementation examples. DIY Alpine slide (44 photos): step-by-step instructions
Arranging a rock garden is an unusually exciting activity that requires a creative approach. In the process, a great abundance of possibilities opens before you, the main thing is to show imagination and imagination.
What is an alpine hill? In fact, it is an imitation of a mountain landscape with perfectly selected beautiful flowers and plants. Such a composition in the garden should harmoniously fit the general landscape, complementing it favorably.
Creating a rock garden is a phased process that requires attention to the nuances. First of all, it is necessary to think over the dimensions of the slide itself, the optimal arrangement of transitions, paths, steps and the structure as a whole.
Alpine hill location selection
It is very important that the location of the rock garden is well lit. Alpine plants are photophilous: it is the amount of sunlight that affects their growth and development. If we talk about the soil, rocky soils with a limited amount of water will be optimal. Excess moisture is extremely detrimental to the mountain flora, so it is important to prevent stagnation of water in the drainage.
In household plots, quite a lot of formless varieties of stones are often formed, which the owners sometimes use for the future rock garden. In this case, there is a risk, instead of a beautiful design, to get a meaningless and ridiculous mountain of stones. Here, experienced landscape designers still recommend carefully selecting pebbles in appearance, size and shape to get an exquisite mountain landscape.
How to choose the right stones for rock garden
For the future rock garden, try to pick up stones of no more than two rocks of the same size and the same structure.
Also consider the characteristics of the plants and flowers that you plan for the slide. As a rule, they perfectly take root on stones of calcareous rock with a porous structure, which facilitates the penetration of the root inside. But such soil needs to be acidified periodically, since it has an alkaline reaction. And it is desirable to embellish the gaps between plants and stones with marble chips or gravel. So, the rock garden will get a beautiful finished look.
Tip: buy stones in special stores. Only in this way will you be sure of the quality of the material, because the stones must be environmentally friendly and have a heterogeneous structure.
The most suitable rocks are granite, travertine, limestone, slate and sandstone. Use stones of the same type weighing about 100 kg and with signs of erosion. The optimum height of the rock garden is up to 1.5 meters.
Varieties of Alpine Slides
The most common and simplest view is a rocky cliff. Naturally, it is possible in the presence of a steep slope. In this case, work begins from the base, where large blocks of stone are laid, and then various plants are planted.
The next view is a mountain composition that transforms the design into a unique, extraordinarily beautiful place. To create such a charm, stone blocks are hidden in the ground for two-thirds and arrange chaotic paths that form a stunning mountain landscape.
Color spectrum
The maximum effect in creating a rock garden can be achieved by a skillful game 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 as if balanced by two similar shades.
Visually, you can zoom in on any object by combining yellow and orange, and zoom out 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.
Since ancient times, designers have used the game of contrasts to emphasize the splendor and uniqueness of another thanks to one element. One large plant looks much brighter and more expressive if undersized species cover it from all sides. But compositions with solid and dissected leaves look the most advantageous against each other.
Dominant element
The rock garden will look much more elegant if it is dominated by a bright dominant element. As such, the most spectacular flowers or plants, the original stone or stream can act. This emphasis must be visible from all sides, because it is he who gives the final completeness to the design, and the landscape is perceived as one.
How to choose plants for mountain composition
In the choice of plantations, it is necessary to take into account their susceptibility to light in the place where the rock garden is planned. Remember, not all plants are suitable for a hill and are combined with stones or other types of plantings.
So, for example, the location of the rock garden in the northern part suggests shade-hardy types. They will also need enough moisture. These include primrose, frankincense, fern and host. Light-loving plants, for which soil drainage is less important, is much easier to choose. Such are tulip, young trees, thyme, iris, etc.
There are also many universal varieties that the sun and shadow are perfect for, such as violet, bell, crocus, muscari, phlox.
In winter, Canadian spruce, mountain pine, and juniper look beautiful. The most impressive are variegated and evergreen plantings.
Alpine slide in the country
In general, there are absolutely two identical rock gardens, since each owner of the site is trying to bring something new, individual to the design. By the way, many people think that the best solution for the rock composition is the option without any construction work (cement, brickwork, etc.). This approach subsequently provides the opportunity to rework the entire structure and greatly facilitates the workflow.
Do you decorate your garden? Tell us which design option of the alpine hill you liked the most?
Wildlife spot on the site - Alpine hill
Step-by-step instructions for creating an alpine hill (rock garden)
Alpine slide or rock garden - One of the favorite tricks in the device of landscape design, both among amateur gardeners and specialist designers. A piece of untouched nature on your site can be created as a fragment of a mountain landscape.
Certainly rock garden perfectly decorates any site, but, at the same time, it is one of the most difficult compositions to create.
In order to to do do it yourself location on alpine hill right, it is necessary to adhere to clear rules, observing their sequence.
Step 1. Choosing a place for an alpine hill (rock garden)
Rocky hill best placed on a hill that will be well lit from all sides. In this case, the owners of hilly areas or those whose sites are located on the slopes win.
Very attractive rock garden It looks against the background of a green lawn, and if in the background, a little off, tall trees grow that cast their shadow on the rock garden, then the composition will turn out to be very advantageous.
Alpine hill should have slopes that are oriented to different parts of the world.
Designing rock gardenit should be borne in mind that its southern and southeastern slopes should be more visible, therefore these slopes make more gentle than the north and northeast.
Step 2. Choosing stones for an alpine hill (rock garden)
1) Select the size and number of stones according to the size of the alpine hill. For example, a rock garden with a size of 1.5 × 2.5 m and a height of 0.5 m will require about 1 ton of stone.
2) When creating stony compositions, it must be remembered that the stone must be natural, natural forms and surfaces.
3) Don't arrange alpine hill from the remnants of construction waste (fragments of slabs, borders, concrete, etc.).
Alpine slide stones 4) Use stones of the same breed, let the stones come from your area, they are easier to find and cheaper to purchase and deliver to the site. In addition, “local” stones will be most harmoniously and naturally combined with the local landscape.
5) Stones and plants in rock gardens should harmoniously emphasize each other’s natural beauty. Therefore, to get the final composition that will meet your ideas, choose the stones yourself and be present during their transportation.
6) Do not use chipped stones with unnaturally sharp edges or, conversely, stones of perfect shape - smooth river ones.
7) The best option for a rock garden is a moss-covered stone that can be found in the forest. Such a stone will cost less than all options, and the natural design of the stone, created by nature itself, is better than you can imagine!
Step 3. Dimensions and outlines of the alpine hill (rock garden)
One of the important conditions when creating an alpine hill the fact that it should harmoniously fit into the overall picture of your site and not look like a pile of stones, because of which the house modestly peeks.
there is clear calculationsby which it is possible to determine rock garden size for specific area plot:
On a plot of 6-8 acres, an alpine hill can occupy an area of up to 5-10 m 2 and reach a height of 60 cm.
The minimum size of an alpine hill is 1.5 × 2.5 m.
If you are a happy owner of a larger territory, recalculate based on these numbers.
The maximum height of the alpine hill with an area of more than 40 m 2 can be up to 1.5 m.
Step 4. Drawing a contour for an alpine hill (rock garden)
Before you begin to lay out the stones on the site, which is intended for the construction of a rock garden, it is necessary to outline the contours of the future structure.
This is a very important stage that should not be neglected!
At first glance it seems that it is very simple, but its implementation is the basis of the whole process of the device slide.
Marking rock garden on the site For a good example, draw a draft of the future slide on paper, in the form of a picture or diagram. Calculate the size and location of the alpine hill on the site, visually place the stones, indicating them on the diagram.
Estimate which plants will occupy a place in your hill, apportion the arrangement of stones accordingly.
After applying the contours to the paper, transfer it to the land, laying out the contour of the structure using a rope, bright tape or garden hose.
View the future composition from all points of view: you may need to adjust the boundaries and location on the ground.
Step 5. Removing the upper fertile layer of the earth
An important step rock garden devices is also the removal of turf land. To do this, carefully remove the upper fertile soil layer that will need to be sieved, and after sieving add to the composition of the substrate to fill the space between the stones on the hill.
The topsoil is removed to a depth of 20-30 cm over the entire area of the future rock garden.
Such work is best done when the ground is dry enough to be sieved.
If the plot is heavily overgrown with cereal weeds, it is recommended to use herbicides, otherwise the seeds remaining in the soil will sprout on the hill with dense turf.
Step 6. Installation of a drainage system for an alpine hill (rock garden)
Alpine slide drainage system necessary, but its creation is not always required. Drainage is indispensable in areas with loamy or clay soil, as well as in flat areas with a high occurrence of groundwater.
Drainage layer for rock garden Broken bricks, rubble or other small stones that are poured with a layer of 10-30 cm are used as drainage. The drainage layer is poured unevenly - where the slope is planned to be elevated, the layer will be thicker.
Sand is poured onto the drainage stony layer with a layer of 10 cm. Moreover, it is thicker in places of future hills.
After laying drainage from rubble and sand, abundant watering is required. The need for watering is that after it, the drainage will be a little denser, and all the shortcomings in the work done will manifest themselves. But at this stage, everything can still be fixed. Pour crushed stone and sand into the resulting gaps, pour, once again evaluate the quality of the work done.
Step 7. Preparation of the soil mixture for the alpine hill (rock garden)
Soil to fill the space between the stones in rock gardens should be sufficiently nutritious and moderately moist.
You can cook it yourself. Soil composition:
- 1/3 of turf land
- 1/3 peat or compost,
- 1/3 coarse sand
- perlite can also be added.
If the land on your site is good - quite fertile, then the top layer, which was removed to prepare the pit for drainage, can be used to prepare mixes for the alpine hill.
One of the blunders when preparing land for an alpine hill is that many lovers recommend adding fertilizer to the composition of the plant substrate to increase soil fertility. This is by no means acceptable for alpine slides!
“Alpine” plants on such soil will be greatly extended, green mass will prevail over flowering, and flowering will become less abundant.
In addition, aggressively growing soil protectors will quickly fill the area and cover with stone, as a result of which the whole meaning of a rocky hill is lost.
Add soil to the hill at the same time as laying the stones, tamping it a little. At the end of the work, pour the resulting alpine slide well with water, and then correct the resulting grooves.
Step 8. Vertical planning rock garden. Alpine slide creation
Now came the most crucial step in the construction of the rock garden. It consists in setting and grouping stones.
Using stones create volumetric compositions. In this case, each individual group should differ from the neighboring one, in size, ratio of sections and color.
Alpine slide pattern Alpine hill has a basic construction principle and includes several basic elements. She is consists of the bottom of the hill - " valleys» and three terraces. In the "valley" a lawn is planted, or a decorative embankment is poured, or an artificial pond is arranged.
Terraces are located one after another in the form of a ladder. Each terrace is a small natural composition of plants and stones. The alternation of a terrace only made of stone and terraces with stones and plants looks very interesting.
When creating an imitation of a mountain landscape, regular geometric shapes must be avoided. This will add naturalness to the composition, otherwise the natural look of the slide will lose its flavor.
Alpine laying stones 1) The first thing to start when laying stones for rock garden - This is to install the first stone, the so-called main stone from which the remaining stones will be stacked in the composition. Choose the largest stone. Its location should be offset from the center to the east side.
2) Then stack the stones from medium to smaller size, adhere to the rule - the closer to the border of the hill, the smaller the stones should be.
Stack stones in groups. Stack some groups of stones tightly together, leave tears between others. Remember to avoid symmetry as much as possible.
When installing stones, it is necessary to leave soil pockets for planting plants.
Stones should be stable - should not swing, so prepare small recesses for them not less than 1/3 of the height of the stone itself.
Add soil or small stones if necessary.
If your site is absolutely flat, then you will need imported land at the rate of 0.5-0.7 t / m 2. With the help of drainage and imported land, create the necessary relief for your future alpine hill.
Alpine artificial creek
Create artificial creek, a combination of water, stone and plants in an alpine hill - This is the most ideal rock garden. The murmur of water flowing over stones and playing in the sun will fabulously decorate rocky hill.
A stream that will flow from stone to stone to artificial pondlocated on the south side at its foot.
Artificial pond It will feed a stream, which, flowing down the stones of a hill, gets back into the reservoir. The principle of the cycle will ensure a continuous flow of water.
Artificial pond scheme To create a pond:
1) It is necessary to dig a pit at the foot of the rock garden.
2) Cover the bottom with a film with a thickness of 0.8-1.2 mm.
3) Put the film with a layer of clay or loam or sand 2 cm thick.
4) Fill with a layer of pebbles or gravel up to 1 cm thick.
To create a stream:
Artificial creek at the rock garden site 1) From the artificial pond, a gutter is laid to the place from which the stream will drain (usually this is the top of the hill).
2) A hose is placed in the gutter and “water pipe” is sprinkled with sand, waterproofing is laid.
3) Using a pump (pump), water will flow from a reservoir through a hose to the source of the stream.
Alpine waterfall 4) The stream channel is arranged simultaneously when creating an alpine hill, ramming and compacting clay soil, making it semicircular 15 cm deep and 30 cm wide. You can lay out the stream bed with small stones or pebbles.
As a channel, you can use plastic water pipes of the corresponding diameter, cut along along. After installation, the pipe must be masked with stones.
Alpine Stream can be arranged in the form waterfalls, cascades. It all depends on the size of the rock garden and your imagination.
Selection and planting of plants for rock gardens
Planting plants in the rock garden is advisable to start after several heavy irrigation. After the earth settles and the resulting excavations will be filled up.
- Plant the most photophilous plants from the south or southeast side of the hill.
- Plant large plants near large stones, small plants near small ones. Avoid cramping plants on a hill!
- Ground cover, rapidly growing plants, plant 3-5 pcs. / m 2.
- Place pillow-shaped perennials of 8-12 pcs / m 2.
- Plant dwarf trees and shrubs separately or in small groups, in such a way as to emphasize the asymmetry of the hill.
- In no case should you plant trees in the center or on the top of the rock garden!
After planting, mulch the soil by eliminating the stone that was used in the construction of rock gardens or gravel, marble chips, pebbles, organic mulch (wood chips, agroermiculite, perlite, etc.).
10 errors when installing an alpine hill:
1) The rock garden on the site with a close occurrence of groundwater without drainage.
2) Placement of a rock garden on the background of outbuildings.
3) Unstable placement of stones.
4) The use of several different rock formations in one composition.
5) The use of fragments of concrete slabs.
6) Use as a substrate of rich soils and fertilizers that increase fertility.
7) Observance of symmetry when laying stones and planting plants.
8) Ignoring the watering of the slide after the drainage device and at the final stage.
9) Planting protectors that grow rapidly, next to small rosette or very rare plants.
10) Planting annual plants.
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Many gardeners, when arranging their plots, install a decorative element in the garden like an alpine hill.
It is an excellent decoration of the park's garden. The hill gives the summer cottage comfort, beauty and sensations of nature.
Choose a place for the slide
When choosing a place for an alpine hill, the following factors should be considered:
- The slide should be in the most visible place of the site so that guests and all family members can admire it.
- She should in the sun, in places not fenced by trees.
- It is recommended to protect the alpine hill from contact with the wind.
When installing the slide, the landscape design of the site, on which much depends, is also taken into account. With the self-organization of an alpine hill, it is best to refuse the services of an architect and do everything as you like and will cost you inexpensively on finances.
You can make such a slide on your own by studying many forums and articles on the Internet.
Alpine slide installation start
First of all, we determine the location, close to it to prevent the presence of trees, bushes and other vegetation. It is also necessary to correctly choose the location of the slide on a summer cottage.
It needs to be placed where the soil moisture level is not very high, this can affect the quality of the hill. Humidity is controlled by the use of a drainage coating, which is poured under the hill and protects it from excess water.
Slide Construction Ideas
It is necessary to schematically present the view of the alpine hill, the location of all the scenery. To build a slide you need:
- stones of various types and forms, for example - pebbles;
- sand, you can also use different ones (with or without pebbles);
- various types of ornamental plants and flowers, dwarf trees also look great;
- to create an atmosphere of the forest must be - moss;
From improvised means and things you can create a work of landscape art. The Alpine hill will delight you with its appearance every day.
Choose stones to decorate the alpine slide.
For the construction of such a decorative slide he uses stones of various breeds. Usually they are stones such as: basalt, granite, sandstone.
Often, landscape designers and architects use stones of one particular breed, since they look harmonious and it is more convenient to work with them.
During the construction of the slide, stones must be stacked in a scattered form to avoid the same arrangement of stones, thereby giving the structure a natural look.
For these purposes, stones mined industrially will not work. Stones that have cracks, chips are trying to stack, hiding defects, so that they do not spoil the overall picture of the hill.
Arrangement of an alpine hill with flowers and plants
In order for the slide to have a pleasant and designer attractive appearance, many varieties of vegetation are used in its construction.
Their number and types may be different, which are pleasant to the owners of the suburban area. When choosing them, you should pay attention to weather conditions, the type of plants that grow in that area, and many more factors.
And also, before acquiring plants or flowers, it is necessary to turn to a person with knowledge in botany, and it is recommended to turn to landscape designers, only they have experience in this field.
With the independent choice of plants, you risk simply destroying the plants. Also, when forming an alpine hill, you can use small decorative trees. You need to use bright saturated flowers that look great on the site, pleasing with their beautiful view.
Proper Alpine Hill Care
For the first time in a year, you need to take care of the plants with a slide, water them with fertilizers, and add soil as needed.
When using the slide, it is not recommended to use nitrogen fertilizers for plants, since they accompany the active growth of plants. Plants and flowers need to be cut, clean dried leaves. When watering, you need to monitor the stream of water, it should not erode the soil.
Plants are also susceptible to pests, so they need to be processed. Stones that loose over time need to be strengthened.
Application of alpine hills in the field of design
With the help of such slides, not only cottages and gardens are decorated, they are also used in the arrangement of parks and squares.
Alpine slides are also widely used in decorating aquariums and terrariums. The Alpine hill will not only transform the summer cottage, but will delight all guests with its beauty, create an atmosphere of nature and comfort.
Photo of an alpine hill at a summer cottage
Alpine slide, rock garden ... This design has several names, but this does not change its essence. When it becomes necessary to put in order an uneven and completely unattractive site, an alpine hill comes to the rescue.
- It is incredibly beautiful. Just imagine - in a year stony ledges and irregularities will be covered with a lovely carpet of grass and flowers.
- It is fascinating. When you set up a flower garden on your own, the field for fantasy is almost limitless. Of course, you will need to think through every little thing, from the selection of stones to the landing of coniferous shrubs. These troubles are pleasant and will give you only positive emotions.
By the way, there is a third reason that will make you think about the construction of a blooming hill. This is the soil. When the land is poor and consists mainly of sand or stones, it is extremely difficult to organize any other type of flower garden, even by visual video. It’s another thing if the summer cottage is planted with flowers and shrubs in the same “alpine style”. Even in difficult conditions, the flowers will develop well and delight you with their fragrances.
Stone gardens were first built in Japan. The first "ancestors" of modern rock gardens appeared there 1000 years ago. Due to the shortage of land, the inhabitants of the country of the Rising Sun have learned to create beauty even in small areas.
If you follow the Japanese canons, then, the real value of being worth looking for in nature. When on one piece of land harmoniously combines a solid, absolutely dead stone, and a gentle, lively flower, a real duet of enchanting beauty is created.
8 varieties of stony flower gardens
Before telling you about the main secrets of arrangement, we advise you to decide on the type of flower garden. In total there are eight main varieties of alpine slides:
- Rock. This is a traditional version, the surface of which has natural fractures.
- Mountain slope. Not an easy combination, involving the installation of large stone blocks, as well as a huge number of coniferous trees.
- Mountain valley. Several groups of stones are placed in a chaotic manner.
- Terraced slope. Retaining walls have different heights.
- Forest ravine. There is a spring or an artificial waterfall on the territory of the hill.
- Stony wall. A small hill is constructed, the stones lie asymmetrically.
- Czech rolling pin. Her trademark is layered stonework.
- Alpine lawn. Perhaps the most stylish option arrangement. It involves planting a variety of wild plants, most of which can be found only in the mountains.
Mountain slope
Forest Ravine
Czech rolling pin
Important details of the design of alpine slides
Do not forget that 10 stones and 5 plants between them are not yet an alpine slide. Another thing, when the composition vaguely resembles a real landscape of mountains, consists of squat shrubs, perennials and properly selected stones.
So, what nuances do you need to know for those who are going to make an alpine slide with their own hands?
- Isolation from the playground is required.
- Proportionality relative to the plot area.
- Remoteness from flower beds that bloom especially lush and bright.
- Location in the most lighted areas, near the water source. If it is impossible to implement the second item, take care to create additional irrigation points.
- Maximum similarity with the mountain landscape.
Alpine slide does not need large space. A modest area of several square meters will be enough. The main thing is that it corresponds to the general concept of landscape design.
Alpine Gardening Guide
Any construction work begins with the preparation of tools and materials. In our case, this is a tape measure with a cord, several identical pegs, a shovel and a crowbar, a garden spatula (the one with a long handle), scissors, a regular ladle and a ladle for removing the soil, a watering can.
The materials will be: sand, gravel and stones of the same rock, turf and gravel, peat. You will also need a little bit of humus to make the plants take good, earth, limestone.
- Break the area selected under the alpine hill at the cottage and draw contours around the perimeter. Roulette, cord, training video and pegs to help you. Clear the area under the flower bed, remove the top layer of soil with a diameter of 35-40 cm. Without exception, weeds are well groomed and harvested.
- When the site is completely ready, you need to lay a pillow of gravel. For this, gravel, slag and construction waste are mixed and filled. Layer 10 cm will be enough. Such drainage is extremely important for plants. It protects the roots from waterlogging, prevents stagnation of groundwater, ensures excellent aeration. In places where the soil is too dense and does not pass water well, this pillow can be made thicker. For the alpine hill there is no worse enemy than the marshy land.
- How to make an alpine slide, if the drainage layer is laid successfully. Granite cushion is complemented with sand (thickness 5 cm), filled with water and compacted.
- Turf ground, which is sold in any nursery, is mixed with sand and perlite, wood chips and pine bark. In this mixture, you can add a little fine gravel, crushed peat and humus. The proportions are about the same, it is allowed to take a little less fertilizer.
- The finished soil mixture is scattered over the entire surface of the hill, a rock garden relief is being formed. All "cliffs" and "peaks" are modeled manually, regardless of whether it is a question of constructing a slide in a garden, a summer cottage, on any other territory.
- When the last layer of earth is covered, you can start laying stones. Under each pebble underlay "pillow", made from river sand. We will discuss the choice of stones in more detail.
Rock garden stones: which ones to choose?
In order for your exotic flower garden to be beautiful and durable, pre-select stone rocks that do not “give” heavy metals to the earth and do not oxidize it. Freshly mined pebbles are much worse than those already hewn with wind and water. Stone slides should have a similar structure, and if you find the same, it will be perfect. Video instruction reminds that the size of the stones may differ.
A real “classic”, thanks to which you can build an alpine slide yourself, is natural granite and decorative sandstone, sometimes organic limestone. Alternatively, you can try boulders and dolomites, basalt, jasper (rare), quartz and serpentine.
Never collect stones in the meadows and fields - it is better to get them in the quarry. The weight of stones can vary significantly, ranging from 10-15 to 100 kg. For example, if you want to build a stone flowerbed of 150 x 300 cm, you will need about a ton of stones.
We continue our work with the alpine slide. Laying always begins at the foot. Then you follow up and gradually move from larger stones and smaller objects. The core of the rollercoaster is formed first. To do this, you need to choose the largest boulder and prepare for it a hole in the ground. To achieve sustainability, you can reinforce it with gravel.
Clear distances, geometric harmony - not your choice. How to make your own styling? Avoid exact lines, because in nature, stone blocks are scattered in a chaotic manner.
In the process of laying gradually deepen the core of the composition, other stones. Sinuses are covered with earth for rock garden, poured with a stream of water. It is in them you will plant plants. To emphasize the top of the mountain, we recommend placing a conical boulder at the top. As for the flower bed itself, it is better to start working with plants in 2-3 weeks. During this time, the stones and the earth will settle down.
Beautiful flowers for slides - a pledge of spectacular design
Since the climate in our country is rather unstable, the planted plants must be hardened and hardy. They should not be afraid of either strong wind, or fluctuations in temperature, or high atmospheric pressure. There are 5 main characteristics that plants should have:
- Absolute simplicity.
- Small stature.
- Low growth rate.
- The breeding method is simple and affordable.
- The development cycle is necessarily a multi-year one.
The ground cover representatives of the flora, which have a strong root system, are best planted on the slope. So the alpine slide will not erode too quickly.
We will not list all of them - in fact, there are really a lot of them and this is a separate topic. It will be much easier and more effective if you watch the thematic video. Among the stunted and ground cover species the most notable are the grate, spurge and, among the blooming, the carnation, the bell, Rhodiola rosea and others (more than 30 species). Combine different varieties in terms of flowering, to achieve a fairly smooth change of colors. The longest blooms, branka, crested, clivia, ranunculus.
The very first planted small bushes and dwarf trees. For them it is recommended to allocate the most spacious areas. But to place them on top of a hill or a sole is undesirable. The edges of the hill, next to large stones - this is the best place. If we make it a rule to plant coniferous bushes and dwarf trees as described above, they will need minimal maintenance. Is that in the winter, during severe frosts, they will need to be covered with sacking or wrapped in a special case.
How to make an alpine slide using moss? Surely, you had to see how the owners of personal plots decorate their garden or cottage with a hill covered with moss. You can also apply this simple element of landscape design.
Clean the moss pad from the ground, mix it with a blender and sugar (2-3 tablespoons) and 200 g of kefir.
Get a homogeneous mass. Spread large and small stones with a brush. The plant will quickly take root - just do not forget to moisturize it for three weeks.
Instead of conclusion
Do not believe people who are convinced that it is possible to build a rock garden at your dacha in just one day. Naturally, such information has nothing to do with the real facts. Is that it will be the most common version of the alpine slides of small size. Yes, and then - made in a city apartment, and not in a large garden.
Do you want to do everything correctly so that you do not have to redo it? There is nothing easier. Follow the recommendations with which you could read above. Lay good drainage and cover it with earth. Ideally, the whole range of work is best carried out in two stages. The basis of the hill is formed in the fall, flowers and stones are better planted and laid in the spring.
Alpine slide is one of the elements of landscape garden design. Almost everyone dreams of creating such a decorative object in their plot, but not many people know how to make an alpine slide in the country. This process, though laborious, is very interesting. With proper approach and studying the stages of creating such a garden decoration, any gardener can cope with this task.
Types of alpine slides are varied in design and size. Which option to choose depends on the area of the suburban area and on how much space will be reserved for this mini-garden for alpine plants.
Slides come in various types:
Before you think about how to make an alpine hill with your own hands, you need to understand that for such a garden decor only Alpine plants should be used. Their difference from other species lies in the fact that such plants are most harmoniously combined with the stony landscape and do not have a large size. But it should be borne in mind that the selected plants should be suitable for the climatic conditions that exist in the region where they will grow.
When choosing a place for such a landscape element, you must choose a site where a lot of sunlight will fall. Alpine plants need increased lighting. Therefore, the chosen location should not be located under the trees. The presence of dew, excess moisture and autumn leaves can adversely affect the state of rock garden.
The following plants are suitable for such slides:
- conifers of trees and shrubs of compact form, not more than 40 cm in height;
- different types of ground cover plants;
- dwarf forms of shrubs;
- small-bulb;
- ferns;
- rock varieties of flowering plants.
In order to figure out how to arrange an alpine slide in the country, the first thing is to consider what the process of creating this element of the garden consists of. The process of creation consists of several stages: site preparation, creation of a drainage layer, laying of the soil, design.
To start the arrangement of the slide, it is necessary to free the plot from all possible weeds. It is necessary to remove the soil layer by about 25 centimeters. It is useful to treat the soil with a special compound against weeds.
Drainage layer
A drainage layer should be laid in the cavity formed on the site. Such a layer can be made of various materials. To create a drainage layer you can use:
- broken brick;
- expanded clay;
- medium gravel.
To build a rock garden, you need to attach importance to the features of the local climate. If the area is arid and in the summer there is a heat with rare rains, then you should not do serious drainage. The water will quickly leave the soil, which is already quite dry in such regions. Plants will not receive the necessary moisture. For such areas, it is enough to make a not very large drainage layer.
It is necessary to lay a large amount of sand on the drainage layer. Its amount depends on the shape of the desired slides and landscape features. If there is a natural bias, then form a stepped surface is not difficult. But if you have to build a hill on a completely flat area, you will have to try to achieve the required height.
After the required shape of the hill is reached, the soil mix is laid on the sandy layer. Fertile soil, which is suitable for alpine plants, has approximately the following composition: one part of the turf, peat, humus and sand. All plants grow well in this soil mix.
At this stage it is necessary to take into account several important points. Laying stones is necessary from the base to the top of the hill. You need to form a hill with larger stones, and finish with medium and smaller ones. Breed stone must be the same.
In nature, there is no stone massif from different rocks. And since on the site it is necessary to make an imitation of the natural landscape, this should be taken into account when selecting stones. After installing the stones, the hill should be watered and allowed to stand for two or three weeks.
A common mistake in the layout of stones is uniformity. Stones do not need to be laid out in a certain order, it gives the artificiality of creating a landscape. Stones should be laid out randomly. In one part of the hill you can group the stones, in the other, on the contrary, decompose at a certain distance.
Planting
In this matter it is necessary to adhere to certain conditions. First, large plants are planted. These include conifers and shrubs. Then they move to large root plants and perennials that have a large shape. At the last stage, the hill is planted with ground cover plants.
All plants come from shipping pots and are planted in fertile soil. To this end, a recess is made in the sandy layer, into which the nutrient soil is poured. It is in this place that the plant is planted.
It should be borne in mind that the fertile layer will settle down with time, so you need to fill the ground a little with a reserve.
Ground cover plants do not require a large amount of soil, so these plants can be planted in the gaps between the stones and in areas where there is little land. Then the area around the plant is sprinkled with earth and watered.
You can create an alpine slide using an artificial waterfall. Particularly unusual is such a waterfall, created from slate rocks. Cascaded stones and water flowing slowly along them will certainly decorate any garden.
But one should not forget that the task of such decoration of the garden is to recreate a piece of the natural landscape in one's own plot. Therefore, the use of various decorative techniques, such as dumping with exactly the specified pattern, will spoil the natural beauty of rock garden. You can use a small garden decor in the form of lamps and garden sculptures, but in all you need to know the measure.
Tips for making a rock garden:
Each gardener adheres to his own taste and desires in matters of arrangement of his garden, but in order to avoid problems in the future, it is necessary to follow certain rules from the very beginning. Otherwise, the rock garden will squeeze over time and will have to redo everything. Therefore, adhering to technology, you can get a corner in your garden for several years, which will attract the eyes of all visitors to the garden.
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