On Wed, 13 Jun 2012 07:18:50 +0100, Chris J Dixon
wrote:

Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:35:35 +0000, Bluelady wrote:

I have purchashed lots of alpines and quite a few rocks and would like
to make a feature of them within a small rockery. It will be in the
corner of the garden where the two fences meet. I have no idea, how to
build or start the rockery. Can anyone give me advice please.

Take rocks and heap them up in the corner, fill spaces between rocks
with soil, stuff plants into soil. Just like arranging crysthanamums
in a vase.

Once read a book on the subject which included two styles you
don't want to achieve: "almond cake" and "alas poor Fido". The
aim is for as natural-looking as you can manage.

I think that was good old Brigadier Lucas Phillips in _The Small
Garden_, the first gardening book I ever had. A very sound man, if
fond of the occasional burst of over-ripe prose.

Just heaping rocks up is unlikely to work well. As Chris says, it
needs to look like a natural outcrop, so it's good to lay them
systematically. Don't be afraid to leave what looks like too little
space between the rocks as long as there are no voids underneath. You
want the effect of brave plants in a tough environment, and you'll be
surprised how soon they take over visually.

--
Mike.