Rock Gardens – A Wonderful Backyard Feature

                Installing a rock garden can turn a boring backyard into a beautiful scenery using rocks that are left over and lying around in your garden. Building and taking care of it can be a hobby in and of itself. The origins of the rock gardens come from the Swiss Alps. People who have travelled there have been very impressed with the flora and have decided to bring it back to their homes. Since the flora could only grow on rocks, they had to make rock arrangements into their garden to make sure that it will grow.

                You can be very creative when designing a rock garden. You can have a small, restrained one or you can let loose and add waterfalls, ponds and other features to it. A rock garden can be defined as a pile of rocks of varying sizes arranged esthetically with gaps in which flowers can grow. There is also a place for Bonsai in rock gardens, especially in Japanese style rock gardens. Or you can set up a Zen Garden. Usually this type of garden does not have any flowers at all, just rocks, affine and light colored gravel.

                When you start with the creation of your rock garden, you should consider what type of rock you want to use. A good rule of thumb says that you should look for rooks from your area. This way the whole structure will have a more natural feel to it. After you have placed the rocks, you should let them settle for a couple of weeks, until they look like they have gained some stability. As for the flora, you should think about choosing plants that can thrive in rocky environments and that will survive the weather they are about to face during the winter. You need to also make sure that the soil can drain in your rock structure, or else it will cause water stagnation.