Alpine slides are becoming increasingly popular in summer cottages. Anyone who was lucky enough to see what these slides look like in the spring - bare stones, and small bushes between them flowering plants, without a doubt, will want to repeat such “Alps in miniature” in his garden. To do this, you need to choose the right place and plants that will please the eye and decorate the slide.

The choice of plants for an alpine hill is quite large; you can, of course, already use ready-made diagrams landings, but creative individuals Our article today will be very interesting. Thanks to some tips, we will try to study and understand the features of growing future residents of the rock garden ourselves.

Planting a hill is carried out from top to bottom, and it is in this order that we propose to consider advice on choosing plants.

The top of the alpine hill

Sun-loving and drought-resistant plants, since moisture practically does not linger at the very top of the rock garden. In such conditions the following plants feel very comfortable:

Iberis evergreen

The leaves are evergreen, oblong, dark green, shiny, up to 7 cm long. The flowers are white up to 1.5 cm in diameter. There are several options for planting Iberis: in the form of seedlings or seeds. If you buy seedlings, they should have healthy shiny green leaves, as this indicator is a parameter of plant health.

Perennial carnations

Perennial carnations on alpine hills are especially good; firstly, they are unpretentious, and secondly, they do not require careful care - the main thing is that they are not “choked” by weeds or plants planted nearby. But it’s better to choose an open and sunny place for them; the upper tier of the rock garden will be just right.

Alyssum rocky

Rock alyssum is drought-resistant, excellent for growing on alpine hills. It easily tolerates frosts down to -10 degrees, and if it is thoroughly covered with snow for the winter, then in the spring it will emerge from under the snow green and ready for further growth. Pride of this plant– these flowers are bright yellow color, such a carpet “hat” near the slide will not leave anyone indifferent.

Edelweiss

This type of flower is a herbaceous perennial plant with beautiful foliage and beige-white flowers. Alpine edelweiss is somewhat reminiscent of daisies; this type of edelweiss grows well in rocky, sandy soil with good drainage, which makes them popular for use in rock gardens.

creeping thyme

Creeping thyme is a drought-resistant and winter-hardy plant, and these qualities are the necessary minimum in order for the plant to take root on the alpine hill. Areas with fertile, loose, neutral soil of light or medium texture, free from weeds, should be allocated for it, well illuminated by the sun, protected from cold winds.

Middle tier of alpine slide

In the middle tier of the “stone garden” the conditions are slightly different - less light, more humidity, which means that a completely different assortment of plants will take root here.

Phlox subulate

The main advantage of the awl-shaped phlox is that from March until frost, its stems and petals retain a bright emerald green color, and during the flowering period, in late May - early June, carpets of awl-shaped phlox are completely strewn with flowers of various shades. It is also impossible not to note the excellent winter hardiness of this plant.

Aubrieta

Another suitable option for the alpine hill - this is a plant with the original name aubrieta, its main advantage is that it overwinters with leaves. The flowers are small, but due to the abundant flowering, it gives the impression of a colored carpet; it can be violet, magenta, rose-red, blue or white. Flowering is abundant and long lasting.

Pozharsky's bell

This bell forms a lush carpet of lilac flowers in the shape of stars, the flowering is so abundant that you literally cannot see the leaves behind it. Pozharsky's bell grows quickly and overwinters well. The plant grows up to 20 cm in height with large rounded basal leaves with jagged edges. Looks good next to large species of carnation and saxifrage.

Common lumbago (sleep-grass)

The best place for shooting is an alpine hill, a rose garden or a flower bed with low perennials. The best option is areas with light shade, although it grows well in open places, the middle tier of the rock garden has all necessary conditions for favorable growth of sleep grass.

alpine aster

This type of aster is also called alpine chamomile; it is a cold-resistant perennial, herbaceous or, less commonly, subshrub plant. Reproduction of this plant is possible in several ways: seeds, dividing the bush, cuttings and shoots.

Gentian

Another type of plant that takes root well in rock gardens is gentian. This flower is quite low-growing, so when combined with other plants, it will not stand out from the overall design.

The best place for planting gentian is the western side of the middle tier of the alpine hill.

The foot of the alpine hill

Plants that need moisture are planted at the base of the alpine hill. fertile soil regardless of their light preferences.

Duchesnea indica

Duchenia is also called decorative strawberries, the whole point is that the flowers of this plant are very easy to confuse with strawberries. The foot of the alpine hill - perfect place for duchenie, partial shade and high level humidity will help this flower become a real decoration of the rock garden.

Liatris spikelet

Liatris prefers fertilized soils and bright places; in this regard, the foot of a rock garden is a wonderful place for this flower to grow. It is in such conditions that it can be especially luxurious: numerous flower stalks sometimes reach 2 m, and the length of the inflorescence reaches 35 cm.

Saxifrage

Cushion-shaped saxifrages are originally inhabitants of mountains, all kinds of crevices, and vertical walls. Their rigidity, hard protrusions, scaly structure, bluish color or powdery coating - all these are adaptations developed to reduce evaporation and withstand mountain solar insolation. Thanks to all these characteristics, saxifrage takes root well at the foot of the rock garden.

The edge of the lawn is one of the most suitable places to create an alpine slide;

Start filling the slide various plants always follows from top to bottom;

Very important part The work of filling an alpine slide is the correct arrangement of plants; if this part of the work is done correctly, then there will be much less trouble with the plants;

Another important task is not to overdo it with fertilizers; overly fertilized soil will lose winter hardiness;

The voids that were formed during the creation of the slide must be filled with clay-turf soil;

It is always better to start watering from the bottom.

Many summer residents and lovers landscape design give their preference to such a fashionable element as an alpine slide. It is ideal for people who do not have much experience in landscape design, but who want to create a beautiful and original flower garden that does not require special care and will look picturesque in the photo.

The ease of decorating and caring for a rock garden is due to the fact that it is created from unpretentious perennial flora representatives that grow slowly and feel comfortable even in the most poor soil and do not need regular watering.

Alpine slide will be a great garden decoration

Where to create a rock garden?

The Alpine slide can be called a bright spot made by one’s own hand and ennobled wildlife in the garden or at the dacha, which will definitely become spectacular decoration in any landscape design. When choosing a place to create a rock garden, you should consider the following points:

Comprehensive review. The place should be clearly visible from all sides.
Sufficient quantity sunlight. It is advisable that the area where the alpine slide will be created is located further from buildings and trees with dense crowns, so that a sufficient amount of sunlight falls on it.
South side. If there are no non-shady areas, you should choose the south side, since it is illuminated by the sun at the most favorable time of day for plants.

What time of year is ideal for creating an Alpine slide?

By by and large, you can equip an alpine slide with your own hands at any time of the year according to at will. However, the most convenient and the right time for this it is early autumn.

Firstly, in early autumn, gardeners and summer residents are not busy harvesting and are not involved in preparing plants for winter season, which means they have a little free time. Without undue haste, you can completely immerse yourself in the creation of a rock garden, give free rein to your imagination and embody the most original and unusual ideas. An activity of this kind allows not only to realize hidden creative abilities in landscape design, but also to expand the boundaries of imagination and spatial vision.

Secondly, the flower garden, which was made in the fall, winter period will have time to settle naturally and comfortably settle in the chosen place, taking into account all its inner life, invisible to the human eye. As a result, this will make it possible in the spring, before planting the plants, to correct all the flaws that will be clearly visible. If planting is planned for autumn, then it is better to start arranging the alpine hill in advance, several months before the actual planting.

Basic rules for designing a flower garden

The alpine slide must be placed in a well-lit place

Professional designers For quite some time now, we have developed certain standard schemes for creating rock gardens. They take into account all the features of arranging a flower garden, starting with its location and ending with the plants that were chosen for planting.

For example, the ideal shape for an alpine slide, which will be located in the center of the site and have a comprehensive view, is a pyramid. Her most high point usually determined in the center of the flower bed. However, it is not necessary to observe such geometry, just like symmetry. The sides of the pyramid should not be strictly the same, this will only make the composition more interesting. On a slope, you can create a rock garden either single-level, parallel to the surface of the site, or with several tiers, the height of the constituent elements of which should decrease sequentially from the upper to the lower level.

When creating a rock garden with your own hands, it is important to consider that the effectiveness and originality of the final composition largely depends on the size of the elements from which it consists. The smaller they are, the more unusual and interesting the slide is perceived. Each time you change the viewing angle, you can enjoy a completely new view and constantly come across extraordinary discoveries in the rock garden that looks like a small wild forest.

As for the height of such a composition, it directly depends on the area occupied by the flower garden. Classic version suggests that with a base diameter of one meter, the height of the mound above the ground should be approximately 20 cm.

Since for these flower beds the plants that are usually chosen are the most undemanding and unpretentious in terms of the composition and nutritional value of the soil, then there are strict requirements for soil mixture does not exist. It is enough to clear the existing soil on the site from weeds and debris, and then mix peat and sand with it in equal proportions. Ready mix soil is poured in a hilly manner onto the drainage. Having laid the stones, you need to fill the empty spaces that have formed between them. It is also important to get rid of any weeds as they can interfere with the growth of the seedlings.

An alpine slide can consist of two or more tiers

How to choose plants for a rock garden

There are two possible options selection of plants for the flower garden that will be developed with my own hands. The easiest way is to choose one of the available schemes with selected seedling varieties. These diagrams fill the pages of magazines related to gardening in large numbers or on similar websites on the Internet. The second method will take more time, since you will have to independently study all the features in growing future representatives of the rock garden, taking into account the microclimate and soil on the site. However, the process itself will be more exciting and interesting.

The selection of seedlings for a future alpine flower garden should be done very carefully, due to the fact that they will grow on it for more than one year, such as annual flowers in flower beds, which can be easily replanted or completely change the composition. Negligence in this matter can lead to various alterations and death of seedlings. The selected plants for the rock garden must have:

unpretentiousness to climatic conditions and soil;
short stature;
moderate growth;
non-aggressive method of reproduction;
multi-year development cycle.

Also due to the fact that this flower garden is designed for year-round flowering, it is necessary to take into account the seasonality of all its inhabitants. Perfect for the spring season bulbous plants, for summer - almost all existing flowers, on autumn period it is worth planting colchicums, but in winter decorative ones will look ideal coniferous trees.

To design such a flower garden, it is better to choose:

low-growing woody plants that are characterized by slow growth, for example, on spirea, cinquefoil or various conifers;
ground cover or cushion-shaped herbaceous perennials that will cover the space between the stones, like a picturesque carpet;
flowering or decorative deciduous species.

Due to the fact that the main composition of the alpine slide includes plants that grow slowly, at the first stage of creating the composition, a fairly large number appears between them empty seats. To eliminate this problem, you can resort to using annuals with minimal self-seeding. You can fill in the bald spots:

purslane grandiflora;
low-growing marigolds;
gatsaniya;
graceful gypsophila;
lobularia marine;
Lobelia erinus.

The above annuals love sunlight and tolerate dry conditions. This makes them ideal for creating rock gardens.

In addition, in the process of planting certain varieties of plants nearby, you need to take into account the following nuances:

Combination with each other in external image. The species must match in height, texture, color of flowering and leaves.
General rhythm of flowering and growth.
Similarities in growing and care conditions.

Plants for an alpine hill are selected taking into account the planting location

Upper tier

The features of the upper tier are that, being the highest area in the flower garden, it becomes the part of the composition where the minimum amount of moisture will fall and where the strongest winds will blow. As a result, tender plants that need moisture will not take root here.

Edelweiss is the flower that is best suited for the top tier. Seedlings are sold in stores, but they can also be grown at home. For this purpose, you need to prepare a special box and place the seeds there. Then cover it with glass and leave it on the windowsill, preferably on the south side, then the seeds will be warm and receive enough light. This procedure should be done at the end of winter. Before planting seedlings in the spring, you should prepare the soil. You need to mix the soil with sand and gravel and pour it onto the areas between the stones. This will create natural natural conditions. Edelweiss will not bloom in the year of planting, but already in next year it will definitely decorate your creation with its flowering. To keep it active annually, it should be replanted every 2 years.

Without a doubt, it makes sense to decorate the top of the composition with Iberis evergreen or Iberis sempervirens. The shortest and most beautiful variety is the Weisser Zwerg variety. It reaches a height of 8-10 cm, and flowering is represented by flowerbeds of pure white. It blooms from May to June.

Edelweiss is a beautiful and very delicate mountain flower, perfect for decorating the top tier of an alpine slide

Perennial carnations that live in mountainous areas are ideally suited for the top tier. For example, using grass carnation (Dianthus deltoides), short-stemmed carnation (Dianthus subacaulis), grayish-blue or dove carnation (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) you can create compact bushes with bright small flowers that will be shaped like pillows. They bloom throughout the summer and will delight you with their sweet aroma. Compositionally they fit well with Alyssum saxatile.

You can also place creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) on top. Thanks to the honey smell, many insects, including butterflies and bees, will fly to its lush lilac-violet mats.

Juvenile (Sempervivum) – the most unpretentious plant, requiring minimal care. It seems to be specially designed for the top of a flower garden, as it is able to survive in any conditions, occupying the least comfortable places, such as cracks between stones. It is a rosette that consists of fleshy leaves, different in shape, size and color.

There are many varieties of juveniles for every taste and color

Middle tier

Color options for the middle tier

As we move towards the middle tier, we see an increase in humidity and a decrease in the amount of light. The soil used at this level is a turf-sand mixture. As a result of changes in living conditions, it is necessary to take into account which species are suitable for the middle of the slide:

Phlox subulata. It has lush flowering, which is represented by many large bright flowers of blue, white or pink color. Phlox blooms in May.
Aubrieta x cultorum. It replaces Phlox subulate, blooming in early summer, and continues to delight with colorful flowers until July. Its bloom can be described as streams of flowers of purple, crimson or pink color. plant with beautiful name also has repeated flowering, although it is no longer as abundant as in spring and summer. This usually happens closer to autumn. In addition to colorful flowering, cultural aubrieta boasts wintering leaves, thanks to which it belongs to decorative types for any time of year. To care for it, it requires regular and abundant watering, but at the same time, excess moisture should be avoided.
Carpathian bluebell (Campanula carpatica). Unlike gentian, it is no longer picky, but is distinguished by its particular aggressiveness. If left unchecked, it can spread in all directions. At the first hint of displacement of neighbors, it is necessary to “limit its rights.” The western side is more suitable for such a plant, since in such a situation the degree of its activity decreases.
Woolly chickweed (Stachys lanata). His distinctive feature are fluffy leaves with an elegant silver color. Unusual leaves will look great with purple, blue and pink flowers the same phlox. The chist also loves light and does not need a lot of water.
Monetary sunflower (Helianthemum nummularium). Prefers dry air and bright sun. The blooms of this evergreen subshrub consist of white, pink, red and yellow flowers. Pleases with its activity during the summer.

Chistets woolly - an unpretentious perennial for alpine hills

There are a number of flowers that are sure to decorate any composition:

Alpine aster (Aster alpinus). She will bring bright, rich colors to the rock garden with her large multi-colored daisies.
Armeria maritima. From its thick curtains formed by narrow leaves, inflorescences of pink balls grow on long thin stems. Flowering time is June.
Sedum. They love light very much and absolutely cannot tolerate moisture stagnation, so only a southern slope is suitable for them. Otherwise they are quite unpretentious. Famous flowers are famous for their wide variety of species. The most popular of them are Evers' sedum (S.ewersii) and reflexed sedum (S. reflexum). The first variety is gray-blue pillow-shaped bushes that appear in the spring, and by the end of summer they are covered with a continuous flower carpet of lingonberry color. The second variety has long, curly shoots with narrow leaves that produce golden-yellow blooms in July.
Common lumbago (Pulsatilla vulgaris). It is characterized by silvery pubescence and purple flowers It is quite large in size, but you can find its seeds with red and white flowers, and sometimes double shoots are also found. It blooms in April. Replanting this plant is fraught with disease and sometimes death, so it should be planted immediately in a permanent place.
Heuchera. They are represented by a mass of varieties with modest flowering, but leaves of various outlandish shades.
Gentian (Gentiana). Being a rather fastidious plant, which adds a lot of care in care, it will give amazingly beautiful blooms of pure blue color. If we want the gentian to take root without problems, we can dig a large stone next to it, which will absorb excess heat from the ground and help retain moisture.

Heuchera has many shades of leaves

Other plant species

In addition to chistets or urchin, the middle tier of an alpine hill can be decorated with other types of silver-colored plants common in the alpine mountains. For example, lush Schmidt's wormwood (Artemisia schmidtiana) and three-vein anaphalis (Anaphalis triplinervis).

If you want to create a dense plant carpet, then the awl-shaped bryozoan (Sagina subulata) is ideal for this. In early and mid-summer it will delight you with white star-shaped flowers. Bryozoan is a moisture-loving plant, as a result of which it should be planted at the bottom, where moisture is retained.

Primroses - primroses (Primula vulgaris) have a wide flowering time range, and also tend to differ in different colors. This completely depends on the type of seedling. Mass planting of beautiful crocus (Colchicum speciosum) will decorate the autumn composition with pink, purple and light lilac flowers.

Plants for the northern slope

On the northern slopes, the vegetation is in the shade most of the time, which is why there are not so many options for plants to plant on them, especially flowering ones. Among them:

Pozharsky's bell (Campanula poscharskyana). It pleases us with blue and purple blooms.
Caucasian rhizome (Arabis caucasica). Blooms with white flowers in spring.
Alpine (Arabis alpina). White blooms will decorate the rock garden in spring.
Haller's Corydalis (Corydalis halleri). Starting in May, light purple, white or pink inflorescences bloom on it. In addition, it is decorative in other seasons. The lacy leaves are arranged in wonderful bluish-green thickets.

Pozharsky's bell can be planted on the north side of the alpine hill

For northern slopes, ordinary garden soil is used. As for the slopes on the western and eastern sides, due to less exposure to the sun, the planting niches there should be filled with a turf-crushed stone mixture and a decent amount of humus should be added to it.

The lower tier or foot of the rock garden

At the foot of alpine hills, representatives of the flora that require the most moisture are usually planted, in accordance with their relationship to light. For example, Indian Duchesnea (Potentilla indica) is suitable for planting on the north side. In addition to yellow flowers, she will complement the composition with berries that resemble strawberries. Abundant flowering creeping tenacious (Ajuga reptans), which calmly tolerates shade and will feel comfortable on the lower tier of the northern slopes.

Perhaps there is a right to say that different kinds saxifrage (Saxifraga) are the most versatile flowers in relation to light. Forming bushes small size Resembling silvery little pillows, Saxifraga paniculata produces white-pink flowers in June on long stems. After the first autumn frosts hit, the shadow saxifrage develops an unusual red tint. In spring, a dense carpet of white and pink saxifrage (Saxifraga umbrosa) inflorescences covers dense light green flower beds.

One of the elegant and eye-catching decorations at the foot of the southern slope can be Liatris spicata. In July it will attract attention thanks to its shaggy, spike-shaped inflorescences.

Arends saxifrage "Peter Pan"

Nuances in placing bushes, conifers and dwarf trees

You need to start planting an alpine hill with trees and the highest herbaceous plants. The background or foot of a rock garden is best suited for them. They will also look great next to massive boulders. It is advisable to plant bushes and conifers without adhering to any symmetry.

Low-growing perennials that form beautiful curtains can be allocated places both below and closer to the upper tier. To visually separate them, you can use stones or taller plants.

Properly planted deciduous shrubs and conifers usually do not need special care. The only thing that may be required is covering and tying some of them for the winter. This can be done using burlap or a special cover. Representatives of the flora that grow slowly are undemanding to the soil and the presence of moisture, and they also tolerate molding pruning well.

Among the shrubs that are especially popular and often found in rock garden compositions, the leader is the ground cover cotoneaster. It remains decorative even in winter - and all due to its rich red berries. Some evergreen and deciduous species can also boast of their decorative properties. Their dark green shiny foliage will decorate the flower garden even after frost. Fortune's euonymus can be one such evergreen decoration. Creeping along the surface of the earth, it will picturesquely frame the stones with its leaves, which have a white or yellow border. The ideal background for it is dark green conifers. And it does not require much effort when growing.

However, not all coniferous trees fit into the rock garden composition. It is advisable to give preference to the following dwarf, slowly growing representatives of the flora:

juniper horizontal, Virginia or Cossack;
mountain pine;
prickly spruce;
common spruce, for example, its widely known variety “Little Jam”;
Canadian spruce Konica;
weeping and small-sized varieties that resemble blue spruce pseudo-hemlock;
coniferous arborvitae for its pickiness and decorativeness, which is achieved through variegated branches.

A good option for a stone hill with flowers, created with your own hands at the dacha, can be already familiar varieties of spruce and pine trees that grow in an ordinary forest. It is important to pinch them, trim them and remove young shoots in a timely manner. Such care procedures lead to an increase in growth, which, in turn, turns the ephedra into a dense ball. In addition, it will not be difficult for conifers to give the desired shape.

flower planting scheme on an alpine hill

Do-it-yourself flower garden at the dacha

Many summer residents have a desire to create a beautiful flower garden at their dacha with their own hands. However, not everyone decides to do this, as they find it difficult. If you use our recommendations, you will have a beautiful French-style flower garden.

Such landscape design techniques are used in the South of France, in Provence. The beauty of Provençal landscapes is known throughout the world. And flower growers from all countries worship the beauty of wild landscapes and are inspired by them when creating landscape design.

1 - yew, 2 - climbing rose, 3 - lavatera, 4 - wormwood, 5 - sage, 6 - lavender, 7 - sunflower, 8 - santolina, 9 - rosemary, 10 - Roman chamomile, 11 - lemon thyme, 12 - creeping thyme.

Plants for alpine hills that do not require much care

NAME of the plant for the alpine hill	PLACE AND SOIL for an alpine slide	FEATURES of plants for alpine hills
		HM Creeping plant, planted between path slabs. The variety "Blue Haze" forms a silver carpet - height 5 cm, grows up to 60 cm in diameter
(Yarrow)
(Ethionema)		XM The popular variety "Warley Rose" blooms from May to August with round pink inflorescences. Height 15 cm, grows to 30 cm in diameter
		L Plant low-growing species of plants for the alpine hill, for example, L. beesianum (A. beesianum). Height 30 cm, planting depth 10 cm, blooms blue flowers in August
ANDROSACE (Breaker)	Sun or light partial shade - rocky soil	XM P. meat-red (A. sarpea) forms evergreen cushions up to 10 cm in height and 10 cm in diameter, blooms in small pink flowers in April-May
ANEMONE (Anemone)	Sun or light partial shade - humus-rich soil	L V. tender (A. blanda) and V. Apennine (A. apennina) are described on page 62. P. oak (A. nemorosa) is also suitable for alpine hills, blooming in spring, with peduncles 20 cm high
(Cat's paw)	Sunny place- regular soil	XM Resistant to trampling, planted between path slabs. Height 10 cm, reaches 45 cm in diameter, blooms in small inflorescences in May-June
(catchment)	Sun or light partial shade - moist soil
	Sun or light partial shade - normal soil	KhM R. Ferdinand Coburg (A. ferdinandi-coburgii) variety "Variegata" does not grow weeds. Height 10 cm, bush diameter 30 cm, blooms with white flowers in spring
(Thrift)	Sunny place - normal soil	XM Forms cushions of narrow leaves, blooms in spherical inflorescences from May to July. Height 20 cm, bush diameter 30 cm
ARTEMISIA (Wormwood)	Sunny place - normal soil	XM Grown for its foliage. P. Schmidt (A. smidtiana) variety "Nana" forms rounded bushes with silvery split leaves. Height 15 cm, bush diameter 30 cm
ASPERULA (Woodruff)	Sunny location - sandy soil
	Sunny place - normal soil	XM A. alpine (A. alpinus) blooms from May to July with large white, blue or pink chamomile-like inflorescences. Height 15 cm, bush diameter 45 cm
(Astilbe)	Slightly shaded place - moist soil	XM Popular A. chinensis (A. chinensis) variety of pumila, 22.5 cm high, growing in a bush up to 30 cm in diameter. Blooms with mauve flowers in summer
CAMPANULA (Bell)	Sunny place - no acidic soil	XM Often grown is Carpathian carpathian (C. carpatica), which blooms from June to September with cup-shaped white or blue flowers. Height 22.5 cm, bush diameter 30 cm
(Cypress)	Sunny place - acidic soil	KH Plant a dwarf variety of K. obtusa, for example, "Nana" (dark green, with a rounded crown), or a silver-blue variety "Boulevard" of K. pisifera.
SOTO N EASTER (Cotoneaster)	Sun or light partial shade - normal soil	KK There are several types of creeping cotoneasters that are good to cover a rocky slope or fill an empty plot of land. Produces red fruits in autumn
CROCUS (Crocus)	Sun or light partial shade - normal soil	L All types of crocuses can be grown on an alpine hill. The most popular varieties are those that bloom in early spring, e.g. "Cloth of Gold"
CYCLAMEN (Cyclamen)	Slightly shaded area - humus-rich soil	L All hardy species can be grown on an alpine hill. The lightest plant in cultivation, C. hederifolium, blooms in autumn
CYTISUS (Broom)	Sunny location - sandy soil	KK The flowers are similar to pea flowers, bloom in May. We really recommend planting dwarf species, for example, R. creeping (C. decumbens), 15 cm high, or R. Ardoin (C. ardoinii), 20 cm high
(Carnation)	Sunny place - normal soil	HM Leaves are gray or green. For alpine hills, G. alpine (D. alpi-nus), 10 cm high, or G. deltoid (D. deltoides), 20 cm high, are suitable. They bloom from May to August
DICENTRA	Slightly shaded place - normal soil	HM Drooping flowers are located on arched stems. Dwarf D. cuccularia blooms in April-May with white flowers with yellow-tipped petals. Height 15 cm

Plants for alpine hills. Photo.

Saxifraga paniculata

Anaphalis

sedum

Acena New Zealand

Felt antenna

Spurge

periwinkle

Geranian stemless

Heuchera "Caramel"

Thyme pressed

Yasnotka

Yasnotka

Gypsophila

Avens

Alpine carnation

Dianthus grass

Heuchera "Color Dream"

Hybrid saxifrage

Saxifraga shadow

Phlox is lovely

Phlox stoloniferous

Phlox subulate

Chistets

Steller's Wormwood

Feverweed

alpine aster

Wormwood Schmidt

sedum Othello

Creating an alpine slide is a creative process that requires both a flight of imagination and clear knowledge. The article provides information about plants for an alpine hill, lists the most spectacular perennial flowers, their names, and provides tips on choosing stones for a rock garden. The text is accompanied by colorful photos.

Rock garden: basic rules for creation

Alpine slide (rock garden) - a fashionable garden decoration, summer cottage. As a rule, perennial plants of various shades with different flowering periods are selected for a rock garden, because its main task is to give beauty and delight gardeners from early spring to late autumn.

Select plants for your alpine slide that feel comfortable in the open sun.

Plants for an alpine hill should be selected taking into account natural environment growth: some flowers feel great on a stone surface, while others can bloom profusely only in well-moistened humus-rich soil.

Tip: a rock garden is a miniature mountain with a smooth transition from a rocky top to more fertile areas below. It is important to maintain its style, the height of the different tiers, recreating the natural conditions for mountain flowers and plants, otherwise you may end up with just a flower garden with stones.

Before construction, draw a plan for your alpine slide

it is necessary to clearly understand the type of alpine slide (number of tiers), placement of stones;
you need to choose the type of stones and their location;
you should choose flowers for an alpine hill, taking into account their flowering period, growth conditions, and shade range.

Tip: you can draw a future slide, sign the names of the colors, indicate the placement of stones, and then create it following the drawing.

How to choose stones for a rock garden

The main task of the stones in an alpine hill is to recreate the beauty of the mountains, so it is important that the stone groups look as natural as possible. When creating a rock garden, preference is given to granite, limestone, and sandstone. Each of these stones has its own degree of fragility and moisture absorption.

The layout of stones in the rock garden must be well thought out so that the slide looks aesthetically pleasing.

Granite, due to its variety of shades and massiveness, looks impressive, but is quite difficult to process, does not absorb moisture well, and affects the acidity of the soil. It is recommended to plant heather and coniferous plants next to it.

Most often, sandstone is used for rock gardens, which has excellent decorative properties: rich range of halftones, smooth coarse-grained structure. The variety of colors of sandstone is amazing: there is a light red stone, cream, light and dark beige, pinkish, dark brown. Ideal for all flowers and plants.

It is desirable that all stones be of the same type

Limestone (dolomite or tuff) is also used in the decoration of alpine slides, which has excellent breathability and moisture absorption. Ideal for alpine plants, over time it becomes overgrown with moss and lichen. Limestone is a fairly soft stone that can be processed outside of industrial conditions. Over time, all edges of the stone are smoothed out, it takes on a natural, picturesque appearance. Not suitable for plants requiring high soil acidity.

Plants for alpine hills

Plants for an alpine hill should be selected taking into account their shape, color and height.

Conifers for alpine hills

Coniferous plants are especially popular in rock gardens; in combination with stones, they perfectly imitate mountain peaks:

juniper (a cone-shaped plant of dark green color);
dwarf spruces (have different shades: from bluish to rich green);
cypress (attracts attention with its golden top against the background of a dark green base);
thuja (a bush growing on the sunny side can have chestnut shades).

Deciduous plants for rock garden

Deciduous plants for alpine hills are used less frequently, since their growth involves additional concerns about cleaning up falling leaves. Therefore, you should choose evergreen plants:

dryad (a shrub with showy white flowers and “fluffy” ball-shaped fruits);
horizontal cotoneaster (changes color from dark green to reddish, has small flowers white or pink shades and black fruits);
Iberis (flowers of lilac, pinkish or white shades, collected in brushes, fruits in the form of pods).

Flowers for an alpine slide

Flowers for an alpine hill are perennials, but at the initial stage of its creation it is allowed to fill temporarily empty spaces with annual flowers and bushes.

A real decoration of the upper tier of an alpine hill can be alpine edelweiss (popular name - highlander), growing in the mountains at an altitude of about 1500-2000 meters in poor rocky soil. This flower is listed in the Red Book, but at home you can grow it from seeds and then propagate by seedlings.

Flowering plants for alpine hills

You can achieve a harmonious landscape view of the hill by planting edelweiss with other low flowers: sedum, allium, gypsophila, grass carnation, creeping thyme, glaucous carnation, and young.
Variety different types carnations will be an excellent decoration for the top tier of a rock garden; they create compact, lush green bushes that bloom all summer with small colorful flowers that exude a pleasant aroma.

Creeping thyme has lilac-purple flowers that create lush cushions. In addition, the honey aroma of this perennial attracts bees and butterflies, which gives the rock garden additional picturesqueness.

Example of a rock garden design

Such a crop as rejuvenated looks quite impressive on an alpine hill. Absolutely undemanding to conditions, fleshy thick leaves create rosettes of various shapes, the color of the inflorescences is purple. It is recommended as a plant for alpine hills to stabilize slopes, since it can grow even in the cracks between stones.

For the middle tier of the rock garden, where there is slightly less sunlight than at the top, but there is more moisture and the soil is more fertile, it is recommended to plant phlox, cultivated aubrieta, woolly chickweed, and sunflower.
The awl-shaped phlox blooms in May; the inflorescences are large and can be blue, bright white, or soft pink. At proper care blooms luxuriantly, completely covering the space allocated for it.

After him in June bright flowers Aubrieta blooms in soft purple, bright crimson, and pinkish shades, which can bloom again in September. This perennial flower It is decorative all year round because it has evergreen leaves.

Plan for placing plants in the rock garden

For the foot of the alpine hill (its lower tier), choose flowers that grow in conditions high humidity. It is recommended to plant:

liatris spikelet (inflorescences are arrow-shaped in various shades of lilac, red, white, depending on the species);
Indian duchesnea;
saxifrage (various types);

When selecting plants for an alpine hill, you should take into account their requirements for humidity, soil acidity, and natural light.

Roses in the garden. Perennials for rock gardens. Evergreen shrubs for rock gardens