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Before arranging
your rocks, Anna recommends looking at a nearby outcrop or at some
pictures of rocky landscapes to see how it all works. She has noticed that
it's much better to group three or four rocks together to create the
effect of one large rock than to arrange four rocks separate from each
other. And, if you rocks have lines or "strata", be sure that
these strata lines run parallel to each other. If you have only a few
rocks to work with, Anna suggests grouping a few in one area and a few in
another to make the garden look like an outcrop.
One of the most important things to remember when placing rocks, and one
that Anna says really hurts after you've spent a lot of money on rocks, is
to bury at least half if not two-thirds of the rock underground. It's the
way they look best, and it provides a place for the long roots of alpine
plants to keep cool. The rocks should also be placed so that they tilt
back into the soil. This slight angle directs rain and water along the
rock and into the soil rather than down and away from the garden.
Rather than placing the rocks in the garden first, Anna finds it easier to
add soil to the site. For a garden built on a slope, she recommends
digging down to about eight inches, removing the soil and replacing it
with four inches of gravel. Then, add four to six inches of the sandy soil
mixture. Top off the surface with a mulch of pea gravel. To place the
rocks, start at the bottom and work up. To help her place the rocks, Anna
uses a crowbar and a brick. A piece of pipe placed over the handle of the
crowbar extends the length to about four feet. "It's amazing what you
can do with levering and rolling", says Anna. Using the brick as a
fulcrum, rocks can be rolled from driveway to garden site and even to the
top of a wall.
Planting the rock garden
In general, when planting out, Anna thinks it's best to give the plants a
bit of space so they're not all running together. "Make a hole
and gently spread the roots." Quite often you'll find the roots of
alpines are about three times as long as the pot they're in, so Anna
recommends straightening the roots before planting.
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