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A rock garden is a great low-maintenance solution for sunny slopes or awkward corners.

A rockery is the perfect way to show off delicate, alpine plants. They are happy in shallow soil and don't mind the cold, but really need good drainage. So, one important key to success is to make sure that rainwater doesn't hang around the planting.

Dig Down

To make sure there are no weeds and to get a really good, firm foundation for the stones, dig out the top 5-10cm of soil. If there is still a lot of grass or weeds in the soil after you've removed the top layer you may need to spray with a herbicide.

Add Big Boulders

Get boulders as big as your budget and size of plot will allow. They're available from bigger garden centres and online, but be aware that delivery can bump up the cost considerably. Work out exactly where you want to put them, so that you can keep any heavy lifting and moving to a minimum. And, bear in mind that they'll need to be dug into the ground, so they don't move. One good design option is to make a flowing 'stream' of rocks going across the area.

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Drainage Layer

To make sure the drainage is really good put in a layer, 5-10cm deep, of course rubble, broken bricks and stone throughout the site. To keep this from mixing with the new layer of compost, lay sheets of semi-permeable plastic, available from garden centres, over the top. When you're putting this down cut the plastic around the big boulders.

Smaller Stones and Compost

On top of this sheeting goes the medium sized boulders and smaller stones. Make different sized hollows in amongst the stones for compost where you will put either individual plants or groups of plants.

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Planting

At this stage leave the project for week or so before planting and if it hasn't rained, hose it all down to see what shifts. It's likely the compost will move as it settles in and some of the medium and small stones may need to be tweaked. Then it's time to plant up. There are hundreds of different alpines but a good place to start is with the easy ones. These all form low growing evergreen mounds with bright flowers in late spring and summer:

Phlox subulata 'McDaniel's Cushion'
Armeria maritime
Saxifraga 'Winifred Bevington'
Veronica prostrata
Lithodora diffusa 'Heavenly Blue'

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