Rock Gardens are one of the most effective landscaping features.

They also provide that all elusive curb-appeal that adds signicant value to a home at minimal cost.

There are few features in the garden that provide such a variety of interests in so little space as a well-planned and carefully planted rock garden.

The smallest plot may contain a rock garden which will house a representative and charming collection of alpine plants; but, on the other hand, there are few features in the ordinary garden that are so neglected and so ill-understood.

It must be remembered that the chief function of the rock garden is to provide the plants grown in it with conditions, so far as possible, similar to those existing in their natural haunts.

The alpines and high alpines are the most typical of all rock plants and are mostly natives of the high mountain crags and screes of the Alps and Himalayas.

The ideal rock garden, therefore, should, so far as possible, provide the soil and natural conditions pertaining in these regions.

During the short alpine summer the plants are subjected to fierce and baking sun; many of them, therefore, have thick leaves covered with down or hair to protect them from its shrivelling rays.

The roots, too, at this time need ample moisture, and this is provided by the melting of the snows on the mountain tops, whence it permeates through the scree of the moraine.

Also, to live in their natural haunts they require to be very deep and strong rooted, very often with a much greater root run than the foliage and flowers which their roots support.

Enjoy. DT.

Why Gardening is Better
Jody Taberner
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You can get down and dirty in the garden alone, out in the front yard, and the neighbours don't think you are a pervert. You can talk openly about your ultimate fantasy garden with everyone from your neighbours next door to your grandma.It's not embarrassing to walk into a nursery or garden centre and purchase gardening implements.It doesn't kill the mood if you talk during gardening.

I could go on.

Gardening can be one of the most rewarding experiences of life. Creating a beautiful oasis where once there was nothing.When people say they don't like gardening, they aren't talking about the joy of planning and planting out their patch or watching their plants flourish and flower, but more about the arduous tasks such as weeding and mowing. I am here to offer all you non believers (that is gardening haters) a path to the gardening heaven.

Weeding

Even I hate weeding, and I have been a passionate gardener since I was in my teens. So how do you cut down the task of weeding? Here is how I do it.

All my perennial garden beds have weedmat laid on them. If you haven't come across weedmat before, you are in for a sweet surprise. It cuts your weeding by 95%, and the weeds that do manage to root in the weed mat pull out so easy that a preschooler could do it.Now don't confuse weedmat with that horrible old black plastic that use to be laid on garden beds back in the 70's. That black plastic did horrible and unspeakable things to the soil, making the ground pretty much unusable and rock like. Weed mat allows the soil to breath, water to penetrate and fertilisers that are applied over weedmat also permeate through it to the plant roots.

Weedmat will stop not only couch grass, but oxalis and nutgrass. True. I laid it directly over a rose bed that was badly infested with all bar the nut grass over three years ago, and apart from the odd part growing out the edge of the weed mat, my rose bed has been weed free.There are a couple of different types of weedmat and all have their merits. Jute weed mat is great if you can get hold of it. It allows a litte bit more weed penetration than the following two, but is great for the environment, and also acts as a mulch, retaining water.Woven weedmat is probably the most heavy duty out of them all. It is fine strips of plastic that are woven into a cloth. This was the weedmat that defeated my oxalis and couch grass.

Enviro weedmat is also quite good. It sort of looks like that iron on interface that you get on clothes, but it is black. It breaks down after about 4 or 5 years. It's only downfall is that sharp stick and rocks will tear it quite easily.

Mulch is also a good way to cut down weeds. I have it over every bed in my garden, even the ones that have weedmat on them, more for aesthetics on than weed suppression over the weedmat. There are a multitude of mulches available, from organic straws, barkchips, composted materials to inorganic stones and gravels. All have their advantages and downfalls, which is an article in itself.

Another rule for eliminating weeds is to get them before they seed. One plant can send out thousands of seeds, which is potentially thousands of weeds if you don't get rid of them before they flower and set seed.

Mowing

The only thing I can really offer here is get a low creeping grass such as Santa Ana couch. Pave where the lawn is or find someone else to do the mowing.

Alright, so maybe I have only taken you to gardening paradise, not gardening heaven. But hopefully I have helped you see the light.

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Thanks - Enjoy