Beautify your compound with a rock garden

Gardening is one of the most important aspects of compound design. Unfortunately, due to changing climatic factors, gardens are severely affected. When the sun is too much, you will find gardens looking miserable. A rock garden is the best solution to this as it is not affected by weather especially the hot temperatures which are a major hindrance to plants.

Rock gardens not only flatter the surrounding but also treat your compound more like a painted jewel box other than a reckless out-of-control rambling flower bed. A rock garden is simply a combination of nicely arranged beautiful stones with plants. Normally rock gardens require an elevated surface.

Peter Busulwa, an expert in compound design, says before setting up a rock garden, one has to map out a plan. He adds that it is normally good to seek advice from an expert regarding the kind of stones to be used, types of flowers to be planted and how to juggle the flowers and stones depending on your terrain if you are to achieve the desired look.

You should also avoid the temptation to include exotic, shiny or coloured stones. He notes that a rock garden should look natural and to achieve this, avoid any thing that may render it artificial. Rocks with a weathered face are preferred to rocks that have been cut or broken.
Once it is set up, a rock garden does not require much attention since it can survive in harsh climate. Rock gardens are not only beautiful but they make your yard appear larger as stones can be used to fill the areas where there are no plants.
The following steps should be followed when setting up a rock garden.

Sketch your rock garden
Get a piece of paper and draw out how you would like to place your stones before you start moving them to and fro. However, your arrangement should mimic nature hence use random groupings, which will give a more natural look instead of placing them in straight rows.
Go practical by laying an artificial terrace on your cleared piece of land. In this, you mark out where your plants should be put. Busulwa adds that plastic terrace prevents weeds from growing into your garden. You can use rocks of all sizes and colour depending on your taste.

Consider the nature of soil
Soil is always the most important part of creating a healthy garden. Before planting, combine small rocks, a layer of sand (use a few inches) and a layer of a lean topsoil. The top layer of soil should have some peat and small rock mixed in. You do not have to use a rich nutrient soil with lots of compost because rock garden plants like it lean and mean. Soil that is too rich will result in poor looking plants.

Choose the right plants
The best plants for rock gardens are normally succulent in nature and drought resistant. Short and tiny plants also give the best view for your rock garden. Think of good drainage because such plants do not require a lot of water.

Busuulwa says since such gardens are normally hard, succulent or desert plants that are normally short are required. Among the example of suitable species for rock gardens include daffodils, wild tulip species, blue eyed grass or brodiaea and other bulb plants.
Creeping plants are fun to use, too, because they soften the hard edges of the rocks and help blend your plantings over time.

Maintenance
Once set up, a rock garden in Uganda, does not not require a lot of care. Busulwa says if well set up, with the area fully cleared, a plastic mulch set up to avoid weeds and plants planted close to the stones to allow water slide on the stone surface to enter the ground during rainy season, watering is only required during severe drought periods. This is because the plants used are drought resistant.
Furthermore he states that, pruning is crucial in a rock garden. Rock garden plants look good when short, during rainy season, these plants tend to put on more brunches and grow a bit taller, it is always necessary to trim off the excess brunches.

Just like you clean the rest of the compound, you should also tidy your rock garden regularly by removing foreign bodies such as domestic litter and leaves that may fall off the nearby plants. Despite plastic weeding where a mulch of grit is used at the construction stage, weeds will still emerge but at a minimal rate so they need to be removed promptly as dwarf plants can easily be swamped by them. There are a variety of sources of these weeds, and you are able to cut down the work of weeding if you take preventive measures. Firstly, weeds are often brought in with the plants that you purchase, at all times check carefully and pull out stems and roots of any weeds that happen to be growing on the soil surface of the pot.

Hoeing just isn’t practical where a plastic or grit mulch is used. Pulling out weeds by hand is the usual technique to tackle the problem, you may also trowel if the roots are firmly anchored. However you should avoid spraying to kill the weeds as plants may also be affected.

Setting up a rock garden
Some of the requirements for a rock garden may be readily available at home. A case in point are the stones, those in hilly areas can decide to use the available stones, for their gardens. However the cost of your garden may go up to Shs1.5m depending on the size and kind of flowers used if all material is to be purchased.

For a flat medium sized rock garden, you may want to use both small and big rocks. Peter Busulwa, an expert in compund design, says, he bought both the big and small stones. A can of small stones costs Shs25, 000 in Garuga. You also need the big stones to make your garden rockier which require a crane to transport and place them in the desired position. This plus transport can cost Shs300,000.
The cost of flowers varies according to the species. These can range from Ush.5000-15000. You should also consider the cost of labour cost which will not exceed 500,000. However you can spare this amount of money by using family labour.

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