Alpine slide: step-by-step description of how to make a rock garden with your own hands. Where to get stones for an alpine slide. Tips for choosing Which stones are suitable for an alpine slide

Boilers 30.10.2023

Boilers

Creating a rock garden or any other type of rock garden begins with the selection of stones. How to choose them correctly, what size and color to prefer, which breed is best for your composition - here are some useful recommendations from experts.

What stones are needed for a rock garden?

The work of creating any type of rock garden begins with the selection of the main stones that determine the composition. There are only two ways:

Imagine the entire composition in your imagination or depict it visually and then select the necessary stones. This path is difficult, the “right” stones are not always easy to find.
Select stones that are more or less suitable in shape, size and texture and then arrange them to achieve the best effect. That's what they usually do.

There should be few main stones, for example, one large boulder and two smaller ones. The space between them is filled with less expressive small stones and strewn with rubble. Another common option is to imitate a natural rock outcrop on a slope.

If you look at a natural mountain slope, it always consists of a certain rock, sometimes with veins or interspersed with another. The pebbles at the foot can be very different, fallen from the top or brought by streams of water.

Large stones are most often chosen from the same rock, similar in color and texture. Small ones - can be almost anything. Making a composition from stones that are completely different in color and shape is difficult even for a professional, so you should not complicate your task.

Don't forget about the form. Stones can be smooth, ground by the wind or waves - boulders, pebbles, for example. There may also be sharp-angled rock fragments. Large, smooth stones are suitable for calm compositions that convey peace and tranquility.

Where to get stones for a rock garden?

You can also buy stones. Large construction stores always have a selection of decorative or “wild” stone. The downside is that they are usually sold in a certain size, but for a rock garden they must be different.

What breeds are suitable for rock gardens

The strength and durability of the material are not particularly important when creating an ornamental garden. The main criterion is beauty.

The composition should look natural, reminiscent of a picturesque area of nature, lost in the mountains. The best stones for decorating a rock garden:

And most importantly, when choosing stones for a rock garden, remember that, first of all, you should like them visually, so that you receive aesthetic pleasure from your composition.

When creating an alpine slide, the main task is to make it look natural, but at the same time serve as a real decoration of the site. And first of all, it depends on the competent selection of stones - here it is important to choose a middle ground so as not to overdo it and not turn the highlight of the landscape design into an ordinary garbage dump overgrown with plants.

When choosing stones for an alpine slide, it is necessary to take into account not only their appearance, but also their ability to absorb moisture, as well as the degree of strength.

Universal stone for all plants – sandstone

Unlike granite, sandstone has a neutral reaction, thanks to which all plants grow well next to it. In addition, it goes well with other stones in a group composition. Despite its “holeiness”, sandstone retains its shape well.

The undoubted advantage of sandstone is the ability to plant small plants directly into the holes in the stone. They can be either naturally occurring or specially made.

One of the softest and most breathable stones is limestone.

Working with limestone is a pleasure, because the stone has a soft structure, which allows you to give it any desired shape. Or you can lay the stones in their original form, and time will do its work: wind and rain will smooth out sharp corners and form additional holes on the stone. Since limestone allows air and moisture to pass through well, moss often appears on it, giving the alpine hill maximum naturalness.

Among the disadvantages, it is worth noting that it is not recommended to grow plants that have high requirements for soil acidity on a limestone hill.

Examples of alpine slides made of different stones - video

The main idea of the rock garden is to recreate the natural mountain landscape on the site. To achieve the natural appearance of an alpine slide, stones and plants are carefully selected when creating it. Any design objects must replicate the natural alpine landscape, adding a unique flavor to the site.

Rocks for rock garden

When constructing an alpine slide, it is important to give it a natural appearance. Therefore, the choice of stones is an important step towards creating a picturesque decorative rock garden. It’s ideal if you look at photographs of alpine views on the Internet or in landscape magazines. When “observation” appears, the hands themselves will do as needed.

See step-by-step instructions. Another option is a special type of rocky flower garden, in which large stones and low-growing ornamental plants occupy most of the surface.

Where to get stones for a rock garden

Each owner himself extracts stones for the rock garden. You can buy them (in an online store) or get them yourself in the mountains, on the sea coast, in quarries, and local quarries.

8 tips for selecting stones for a rock garden

Buy stones yourself, so as not to get a pig in a poke.
Choose unpolished stones with a natural texture to look as natural as possible.
Use rocks only - limestones (white, golden, cream), sandstone (gray and red), tuff (travertine), granite , slate .
Give preference to stones with beautiful, graphic shapes and curves.
Avoid using concrete chips and compressed stone.
For one rock garden, stick to one type of stone and use only that.
Arrange the stones randomly (do not make even rows).
Try to choose the most favorable angle for each stone to demonstrate its beauty and shape.

When creating an alpine slide, stones weighing from 10 to 100 kg are used. For a rock garden measuring approx. 2 x 3 m will require at least 2 tons of stone.

Plants for rock garden

Landscape designers claim that only alpine plants that grow wild in the Himalayas, Alps and Rocky Mountains can grow in rock gardens. And it is right! Not all plants are suitable for a rock garden, even if they are low-growing and ground cover.

Plant plants on the alpine hill in a chaotic manner. There are 3 ways to plant plants:

using an embankment and creating a raised flower bed,
on a stone wall or on artificially created rocks,
create an alpine lawn or path.

Names of plants for rock garden

For ease of perception, we will divide the list of plants into several groups: primroses and bulbous plants, herbs, ground cover, low-growing and medicinal plants.

Primroses and other bulbous plants for rock gardens:

white flower,
crocuses,
muscari,
scilla,
lumbago,
Pushkinia,
Chionodoxa,
low growing iris,
and etc.

Read more about growing, planting and caring for bulbous plants in the following articles:

Perennial plants for rock gardens:

fescue,
gypsophila,
sorrel,
alpine poppy,
sunflower,
tomentose yarrow,
evening primrose,
Hawkgirl.

Read more about growing and using perennial plants in design:

Ground cover plants for rock gardens:

saxifrage,
sedums (low-growing and groundcover species),
plantain,
phlox subulate,
Burachek,
gentian,
Duchesnea,
creeping tenacious,
Iberis,
semolina,
spurge,
aubrieta,
rezuha,
mother of thousands,
erinus.

Low-growing plants for rock gardens:

low growing bows,
Azorella three-forked,
low growing aster,
pinnate carnation,
geraniums,
Carpathian bell,
coreopsis,
cat's paw,
penstemon,
breaker,
cyclamens,
edelweiss,
splint.

Medicinal plants for rock garden:

skullcap,
rhodiola,
Colchicum,
snakehead,
bloodroot.

Plants are aggressors for rock gardens

Aggressive plants grow quickly, occupy large areas and can crowd out rarer representatives of your rock garden. Therefore, they must be planted with caution.

These include:

rock alyssum,
Aubrietta
sedums,
rezuha.
yaskolka

Also, low-growing species of bulbous plants and dwarf coniferous trees or shrubs are planted in rock gardens.

Coniferous plants for rock garden

Coniferous plants set the rhythm and core of the composition, so if they are placed correctly, you can achieve delightful views of an alpine slide. Representatives of conifers in rock gardens can be shaped for a more luxuriant crown and bushiness. Spruce trees, for example, can be trimmed, and the tips of fresh shoots of pine trees can be pinched.

Low-growing coniferous plants for rock gardens

mountain pine (various varieties),
black spruce “Nana”, dwarf spruce “Little Gem”,
thuja occidentalis (some varieties, for example “Hetz Midget”),
yew berry “Standishii”,
microbiota,
junipers,
balsam fir "Abies balsamea", Korean, single color,
pseudotsuga (compact varieties),
drooping thujopsis "Thujopsis dolabrata".

At their summer cottage, good owners arrange flower beds and alpine slides. When arranging them, questions arise. Where to get stones for an alpine slide is the main one.

An alpine slide is one of the elements of a dacha or house (Fig. No. 1). They can often be found on the property of friends and neighbors.

To create a slide of stones, you need to plan out all the work. Correct work is performed in several stages:

1 Search for an idea.
2 Preparing the site for creating a slide.
3 Installation of a drainage system at the selected location.
4 Selection and placement of stones.
5 Selecting suitable plants for the slide.
6 Preparing fertile soil and planting plants in it.

All these steps are very important to get good results. Each of them requires some time, especially the third. It can be considered basic. The period during which the slide will be in operation will entirely depend on the quality and correctness of the drainage construction. To build a drainage system, you can use sand and crushed stone left after building a house, small stones and debris.

Soil for plants is laid with careful compaction of the base, otherwise the slide will soon completely lose its shape. Peat, clay, and fine gravel are added to the soil. Plants chosen are unpretentious. They grow in wild forest conditions. These can be low-growing coniferous shrubs, winter-blooming plants, and mosses.

Material selection and installation

Where to get stones for an alpine slide is the main problem when arranging a garden. Stones can be of natural origin or artificial. They have different properties, sizes and breeds. An alpine slide should look like a complete work even without plants. Each rock garden should have its own highlight. The stones in the slide serve as foundation and decorative functions. The weight of stones is recommended 15-100 kg. These are mainly sandstone, granite and slate. Small pebbles are added to them, which perform a decorative function. This is just the external decoration of the slide. The stones are even painted different colors.

Granite is a stone with high hardness. He practically does not age over the years. Granite is painted in colors from gray to red. Flowers cannot grow on it, but it is irreplaceable as a fence for an alpine hill (Fig. No. 2).

Limestone is a popular stone used to create alpine slides (Fig. No. 3). It can quickly change its shape and color. Plants bloom well on the stone. Limestone grows overgrown with moss very quickly. Its corners are quickly smoothed out. Its disadvantage is that those plants that do not get along on calcareous soil do not bloom on limestone.

Sandstone is cheap and accessible. Its structure is porous and layered. Color - creamy gray and red. The stone absorbs moisture well and is able to store it for a long time. The chemical composition is neutral, capable of interacting with any plants.

Slate fits well into an alpine hill made of any type of stones. Its white, brown and gray tones harmonize perfectly with the landscape.

Artificial clinker bricks with rolled edges are also used for the construction of beds and alpine slides. It has high strength, a variety of shapes, and a wide color spectrum.

Dolomite is a strong, frost-resistant and durable stone of gray, white, yellow and brown colors. Rarely, transparent dolomite, translucent and pink is found.

For a long service life of a garden structure, stones must be laid correctly. Their size should correspond to the dimensions of the rock garden. For a large slide, larger stones are also needed. The largest boulders are stacked downwards, smaller ones - on top. This arrangement of stones will protect the slide from deformation. It is allowed to use several types of stones, but it is not recommended to take more than three.

The best version of the slide is one with 4-5 layers. Each layer can be sprinkled with soil or pebbles. The stones themselves should not be stacked too tightly. You need to leave room for living plants.

When constructing an alpine slide, you may encounter the following problems:

1 Where to find ideas? In living nature. Be careful when walking. You can see almost finished or almost finished slides.
2 Not happy with the color of the stones. It's quite normal. Stones can fade from year to year. You can simply tint them regularly with waterproof paints.
3 Natural stones do not suit you with their shape and size. In this case, you need to purchase artificial decorative products in the form of stones in special stores. There you can choose any color and shape.
4 You can’t find a place to install the slide. You should choose a place away from the road, in the sun. It’s good if there is a coniferous tree nearby.

Requirements for pebbles and cobblestones

A good rock garden should look a little like a mountain corner. If you decorate a home-made structure with some ornamental plants, it will take on the desired appearance. You can plant anything, but not ornamental plants made of glass or plastic. If bright plants with colorful flowers are chosen, then cobblestones can be used as a background. For dull and modest grasses, it is better to choose brighter stones. A smooth boulder is appropriate for flat areas. Sharp protrusions will highlight the beauty of the alpine slide. The basic requirements for choosing stones are as follows:

harmony;
strength;
compatibility.

A hill of stones should not stand out from the overall design of the garden. Stones should not be destroyed by careless blows of a tool during planting. The chemical composition of the rock should not destroy plants. Where can you get such stones?

On sale you can find magnificent specimens with a perforated structure (Fig. No. 4). Various plants can be planted in the holes. You can also purchase stones of other types here. But they can be collected independently in quarries and along river banks. Someone has granite or sandstone deposits nearby. There you can get everything your heart desires. Cobblestones of various types are sold by representatives of landscape organizations. They almost always have tuff, shell rock, sandstone and other rocks. Small specimens are available in pet stores.

Quarries can become a permanent supplier of materials for alpine hill equipment. Farmers and private farms can be of great help. Farmers often have boulders of various sizes that they do not need in their fields. They can be yours for little money, or even for nothing. Much remains in the piles of rubbish left after construction is completed. Buildings prepared for destruction are also a source of such material. Completely free materials are found along river banks, at railway construction sites, and on the sides of highways.

It is better to take stones in elevated places. It's much easier than lifting them up. When transporting them home, they are wrapped in burlap so that they experience less friction against each other.

Various kinds of flower beds in the garden have long become commonplace. Currently, alpine slides are becoming increasingly popular. This is a relatively new building. If done correctly, it will decorate the area for many years.

To create it you need to prepare several stones.

Stones for an alpine slide can be taken from different types or combined. Stones can be painted in any color. After installation and filling of fertile soil, flower, coniferous or herbaceous plants are planted. It is very good to create a small fountain or stream. Then, along with beauty, additional coolness will come.

The Alpine slide is a fashionable attribute for arranging modern garden and park areas. Making a rock garden at your dacha with your own hands: step-by-step photos, diagrams, selection of plants.

Choosing a location for an alpine slide

When choosing a place for an alpine slide, it is important to provide for the following conditions:

In landscape design, there are many styles of garden design, including elements of a desert landscape, rocky gardens, ponds and bridges, which must be in harmony with the built hill.

Making a slide with your own hands is most preferable when decorating a garden. By doing the work yourself, you can avoid the high costs of hiring a landscape architect. Having step-by-step photos and diagrams for arranging the slide, it will not be difficult to complete the work of constructing a rock garden with your own hands.

It is very important to carry out the preparatory work correctly so that the slide is stable.

Alpine slide - preparation

First you need to determine the location on the site where the slide will be located. Perennial shrubs and trees should not grow nearby, which could over time obscure the plants on the hill. A place that is open on all sides and accessible to view from all corners of the garden must be dry. A high groundwater level will adversely affect the durability and strength of the slide base. In this case, the groundwater level must be lowered using special drainage.

Do-it-yourself drainage under an alpine slide (step-by-step guide).

Do-it-yourself alpine slide arrangement diagram

While natural shrinkage of the soil occurs, you can draw up a diagram, determine the location of boulders and stones on the hill, and select the type of vegetation for planting. To create a rock garden you will need:

natural stones, including pebbles;
coarse sand;
ornamental plants and flowers, including miniature trees and shrubs;
sphagnum moss.

Scheme: arrangement of an alpine slide

The diagram and detailed plan according to which the rock garden will be created must take into account that the construction of the slide is carried out at a height of 1 to 3 m.

Advice. If the height of the rock garden is over 1 meter, a slide core is required.

The Alpine slide is a very unusual element of the garden, changing its appearance several times a season.

Scheme: alpine slide in layers

Rock garden stones - choosing the right ones

Typically, when building a slide, natural rock stones are used: basalt, granite, sandstone, limestone, as well as rare rocks that are characterized by low porosity and strength. It is undesirable to use tuff, shell rock and dolomite to construct the slide. These rocks absorb water strongly because they are porous, so the stones quickly collapse.

Stones for an alpine slide must be durable and of different sizes

The shape and color of the stones are of great importance. You should avoid round-shaped stones, as well as excessively sharp-angled boulders. Stones of different colors look harmonious only on alpine slides of a certain type. The classic version of arranging a slide involves using stones of the same type, but of different shapes.

Scheme: deepening stones for an alpine slide

The stones are placed on the hill so that the edges in the viewing area have the most attractive shape. Stones with defects should be disguised by placing them in the most favorable way. Stones should be laid taking into account the size and weight, ensuring the most harmonious appearance of the created slide. Stones should be placed randomly, in the most natural way, so it is better not to use stone blocks and artificial boulders made industrially.

DIY Alpine slide - selection of plants

The construction of an alpine hill, especially the selection of plants, requires additional knowledge about plant varieties and agricultural technology. Plants are selected depending on the type of hill. A rocky hill for sunny locations requires specific, drought-tolerant plants. The classic version of a rock garden involves planting miniature trees and shrubs, perennial herbs and flower crops.

Example No. 1. Decorating an alpine slide with plants

They have proven themselves excellent when planted in rockeries: fescue, lavender, rock alyssum, geranium, sedum, Iberis, young, lumbago. Small-bulbous plants planted in small groups feel great on rocky hills: crocuses, scylla, miniature hyacinths, low-growing tulips and hazel grouse. Small-bulbous plants bloom in the spring, when few plants are still blooming and the hill looks unpresentable. Everything changes when bright, blooming crocuses appear from under the snow.

Example No. 2. Plants for alpine hills

To create a highly decorative hill, it is necessary to provide for the planting of perennial plants that have different flowering periods. Then the slide will look unusual and decorative throughout the entire period. The riot of colors of flowering plants will delight the eye from spring to autumn.

It is especially important to consider the height of the plants used when planting in rockeries. Too tall specimens should not inhibit low-growing varieties, thereby affecting their full development. Bright plants should be placed in the foreground, in the viewing area.

The basis of the composition are miniature trees, especially conifers: spruce, juniper, cypress, pine. These plants have different crown shapes and look great on an alpine hill.

Decorative flowering shrubs used for arranging an alpine hill: rhododendrons, Erica, blueberries and lingonberries.

Perennial crops perfectly complement the alpine hill: bergenia, astilbe, daylily (low-growing), drooping reed.

Alpine slide surrounded by lawn

Advice: when forming a rock garden, you should give preference to decorative deciduous plants that retain their beauty even in the absence of flowers.

How to properly care for a rock garden?

In the first year, you will need to add soil several times, which is washed away during watering and precipitation, and also, if necessary, strengthen the stones. Watching various videos and photos taken by professional landscape designers will help you complete these jobs correctly. The soil is poured carefully and compacted.

The soil should be evenly distributed between the stones

Caring for plants involves timely watering, removing faded flowers, damaged leaves, and pruning. During the season, plants should be fertilized several times with appropriate fertilizers. You should not use nitrogen fertilizers, they cause rapid growth of the plant, which should be avoided when planting on a hill.

Advice. Do not overfeed the plants on the alpine hill. Plants should not be overgrown.

Water the plants carefully using a hose or watering can with a sprayer, making sure that the soil is not washed away.

It is advisable to strengthen loose and falling stones.

Various small bodies of water will look very beautiful on an alpine hill

If necessary, plants are treated with pest control agents. Diseased plants that cannot be cured must be removed and the soil replaced at the site of their growth.

When replanting plants, you can use a special drug - epin - to relieve stress.

Alpine slides in landscape design

An alpine slide that does not require painstaking care will be a wonderful decoration for the entire summer cottage

The design of park areas increasingly includes the creation of decorative rock gardens. The rock garden serves as a continuation of rocky gardens and harmonizes perfectly with ponds, bridges, decorative lanterns, lawns and vertical landscaping. Creating an alpine slide with your own hands on a summer cottage will perfectly decorate the area and add charm and variety to the landscape design of the area.