Crevice Gardening ......in defence of rock.....

[astragalus]

Don't know where to piut this picture of Rhododendron 'Aglo' in the rare year it didn't get browsed by the antlered rats.  Usually it only has bloom on the toip where they can't reach.

[astragalus]

And some more pictures of the crevice gardens taken today.

DSC06198 Chamaecytisus sp.
DSC06199 Erigeron scopulinus
DSC06201 Hymenoxys lapidicola

[ranunculus]

The garden is looking as wonderful as ever, Anne ... beautiful pictures.

[astragalus]

Finally, my latest project on the backside of the cliff beyond the highest crevice garden.  It's nice to have at least two projects going at once.  If you hit a problem with one and can't see a solution, you go to the other work site and after a few days or so a solution usually presents itself.  It saves days of frustration and of course, in the meantime you're getting a lot done.  This crevice project is using the rocks I couldn't move.  I keep putting mix in and as each rock is set, it usually tells you which one to use next or which one you need to play with with a chisel and rock hammer.  This last can be fun and leaves you with a lot of smaller pieces to use in various ways.  These crevices will be a combination of large and small, and will slope downward to follow the slant of the cliff back.

[ranunculus]

Finally, my latest project on the backside of the cliff ...... These crevices will be a combination of large and small, and will slope downward to follow the slant of the cliff back.

It's lucky I'm not of a nervous disposition ... I could be the butt of a joke here!!!!?   

[Tim Ingram]

Anne - I was going to say looking at these pictures that your garden almost makes itself! But of course that is completely untrue. It must be marvellous though to have those natural rock outcrops leading the way and I love the crevice bed in the foreground of the last photo. One of the most well known gardeners in the UK is Dily's Davies, of Allium fame, and she had a garden in the Lake District with a cliff face which she abseiled down to plant! Really gives gardening some excitement.

[astragalus]

Tim, it's challenging but fun to work on large rock projects.  I enjoy shaping some rocks but really prefer the challenge of finding the perfect piece for a particular spot.  The crevice garden to which you referred is the upper half of the last one built.  For some reason all the Daphne x hendersonii 'Ernst Hauser' didn't make it through our non-winter although they were fine elsewhere in the garden.  But most of the plants are doing really well.  There is really a third project which is the ongoing cleaning out of the natural crevices on the backside of the cliff.  That's only about 1/4 done and I'm beginning to wonder if it will be finished in my lifetime! (LOL)  And that's where I'm heading now to get some more done.  They predict rain the next few days and that's not the time to be on sloped rock surfaces.

[cohan]

Very nice, Anne! I know it has its own limitations and trials, but I sure envy you alll that rock 

[astragalus]

Cohan, the rock seems to have added benefits which make the difficulties of working with it worthwhile.  I find that I can carry plants through droughts better when they are planted in deep rock crevices rather than the open garden.  Petrocallis pyrenaica, which already has finished blooming, has grown for years in a knife thin crevice.  I cleaned it out to the depth of a large carving knife borrowed from the kitchen.  That was as far as I could reach and I hadn't found the bottom.  Yet it died in the rock garden proper in a long drought period.  The rock seems to keep roots cool and moist and also protects them in the winter.  I've yet to see anything heaved out of a crevice - not so in the rock garden this winter with all the thaw and freeze cycles we had.

[Lesley Cox]

I just KNOW that Chamaecytisus is living on a mountain somewhere.

Even ZZ must be envious of this rockwork and crevice garden.

Well, one has to, doesn't one? I don't think either your backside or your butt Cliff, are any joking matter.

[astragalus]

Well, one has to, doesn't one? I don't think either your backside or your butt Cliff, are any joking matter.

I'm not commenting on this one. Cliff!

[Leiomerus]

Most people need trucks to bring loads and loads of rock to their home, trucks full of sand, little chippings, common soil to make a heap. Mostly you need a bulldozer. I costs a lot of money, work and time to make something which looks a bit like the real thing.
And some people are lucky and smarter and simply buy a place with a natural rock garden, but with still a lot of beautiful work ....

[astragalus]

The lower crevice garden during the time of genistas and one of my favorite times.  They have an affinity for stone and make waterfalls of yellow.  Genista depressa will hug the contours and is wonderfully floriferous.

[astragalus]

Not used yet to this new system.

[astragalus]

Growing in a crevice is a good way to keep a plant in check.  Asarina procumbens is welcomed in this dry garden.  I'm aware it is considered a bit of a thug in moist gardens, but it's really lovely.
Also, great excitement because Erinacea pungens has finally bloomed after a wait of some years.  Always a celebration when a new pea flowers.