Any alpine lovers ?

[andy]

I suppose that, as i work in the biggest municiple rock garden in the country, i should start singing the praises of alpines.
Unfortunatly, the councils money has run out and the days of planting up to 3,500 true alpine plants a year has long gone.

Little saxifrages, thrifts, sempervivums and dianthus species have been replaced with their more robust and vigourous cousins....aubretia, helianthemum, arabis, euphorbias and saponaria.

These bolder plants are hardier, showier and a lot bigger than the true alpines and are therefore used much more these days.

When i built my rockery out the front of my house, i had the chance to do it properly....a decent, well drained soil was used and mixed heavily with grit. A top dressing (scree) of small slate was also used as a mulch.

But small, twee alpines looked lost and ridiculously out of place. I added some gentians and some lovely saxifages plus some houseleeks, erysimum and erinus. But i had to admit defeat and soon, larger dianthus, tumbling Ted, Arabis and some veronicas had to be used to fill in the gaps.

But it worked. I used some dwarf conifers....small picea, dwarf cryptomeria and some junipers and chamaecyparis were dotted in and smaller spring flowering bulbs added. A few plants of heather gave winter interest too.

A year after doing the project, it looks a treat and this spring will see the rockery in its finest garb for the first time. I will post some pics as things progress.

Any alpine lovers out there ?

Andy

[Chuckles]

Love them andy but had so many failures, gentians and lewisea to name a few. I have had others fail but can't recall the names.

I do have a saxifrage at the edge of my pond area in a little gravel bit, thrift and sempervivums (are they Houseleeks) in pots and I can keep them fine also have some dianthus from seed in the GH. Aubretia never seems to clump up for me like it does for others and helianthemum always ends up leggy and I out it, bad pruning/trimming I guess Oh and I have some Arabis in a half broken pot on its side, that seems happy.

I have some of that wooden edging on a roll and had thought about making up a frame and edging it with it to make a couple of boxes, I could grow alpines in that I guess

[andy]

Of course you can chuckles....as long as you get the soil/drainage right.

Most true alpines hate having their toes sitting in cold, stagnant water throughout the winter. Any soil you have must be very free draining and incorporate large amounts of grit.

Most of the aubretia, arabis, helianthemum, saponaria, dianthus specied do need a seriously hard cut back after flowering. This will allow the plant to bush out and may even encourage a second flush of flowers.

[Susie Snowdrop]

There's nothing I like more than a good romp up a mountain ;D

Seriously, I love alpines but have no space for a 'proper' rock garden

S x

[Barbara]

the left side of my front garden is on top of rock's,
not a rockery as such,
on it i grow rock plants, sisirinchium(sp)
thrift,fairys thimbles, saxifrage (2 diff types)
i have some little violet type plants not sure exactly what they are, and aubretias, and a plant i cant find in any of my books,that has a type of succulent leaf and pink flowers in late summer.
i will try to post a picture when it all gets going later on.

[andy]

susiesnowdrop said:

There's nothing I like more than a good romp up a mountain ;D

S x

Blimey tiger...first the "Marry, ****, shoot" thread and now a romp in the Edleweis !!!!!!!

You don't have to have a big rockery to grow alpines Susie....a simple old butler sink is ideal with a bit of tufa rock.

Andy

[Susie Snowdrop]

You are naughty Andy

I have in the past grown alpines in a hypa tufa trough that I made myself . Actually, I was very proud of it although it weighted an absolute tonne

After three....................The Hills Are Alive............

S x