Paul James walks viewers through the process of planting a rock garden. His dry-stacked sloping limestone wall is ideal for a rock garden and is home to a few cascading plants.
Before James plants anything he removes the remnants of old honeysuckle vines and other undesirable plants that have been growing between the rocks. He doesn't use any fancy tools for this project: a screwdriver, he says, works best to get deep down into the crevices between rocks to pry out old stubborn roots.
Listed below are some of James' favorite plants for use in a rock garden:
- Artemisia: These aromatic plants have green or grayish foliage and are rock-garden classics.
- Blue fescue: This short clump-forming ornamental grass adds texture to the garden.
- Catmint (Nepeta)
- Creeping rosemary
- Dwarf baby's breath
- Dwarf evergreens: James chose miniature Norway spruces for his rock garden. Even at 15 years of age, these trees will stand only three feet tall.
- Hens and chicks (Sempervivens): This familiar garden plant tolerates heat and dry spells very well.
- Ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum)
- Lambs' ears: This fuzzy plant provides nice texture to the garden and spreads quickly under the right conditions.
- Ornamental sweet potato: These plants come in a variety of colors including deep purple, lime green and a variegated green, red and pink.
- Portulaca
- Russian sage (Perovskia): This is a good choice to add height to your rock garden.
- Sedum spectabile: James recommends the cultivar 'Autumn Joy' for its showy fall flowers.
Most of the plants James uses are small--they're less likely to overwhelm a rock garden design or to suffer transplant shock when moved into the garden.
To plant, James digs a hole between the rocks, stuffs the hole with a potting mix made up of compost, pine bark, sand and a slow-release fertilizer and positions the plant in the hole. He spreads the roots out a bit, if necessary, and packs in more potting soil around the plant. Some larger plants may also be divided to fit into tight crevices.
Once they're planted, rock gardens are almost carefree. They need to be weeded, however. Be sure not to overwater: most rock-garden plants prefer to be on the dry side.
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