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| Photo Credit: Judith K. Mehl |
| Keep your mini garden rockin’ through the year: Plant season-appropriate annuals around your focal rock to give your tiny garden colorful interest, as well as season-long appeal. |
Do you want to create a monument, stake a landmark, build a spiritual site or “hide” an unmovable rock? Then a miniature rock garden might be just what you need to beautify your yard with very little work.
What’s a mini rock garden? Well, in this case, “mini” refers to the size of the garden – not the size of the rock. But don’t let the idea of a rock garden scare you off. While today’s typical rock garden involves a rocky slope with lovely plants tucked into the crevices, a mini rock garden actually uses a large rock as its focal point with a small garden built around it. You choose how important and detailed you want your garden to be. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Mark A. Miller | | More than one rock can serve as the focal point of your little garden. |
You’re probably familiar with the idea of Japanese rock gardens, in which stones are the backbone of the landscape. Rocks bring depth and meaning to this type of gardening. While you don’t have to replicate ornate Japanese designs, one or two large rocks in a mini rock garden anchor the focal point and add depth and meaning no matter what types of plants you use.
You can design your little garden any time of the year, but you might want to save the planting until it’s the right time for your region. Let your imagination be your guide: What’s your goal? If you’re looking to create a type of landmark, for example, consider using a mini rock garden to display your house address by painting your house number on it. Then mass a few plants tightly around the rock, or mix it up with different spring-, summer- and fall-blooming perennials and annuals to give your garden year-round color. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Judith K. Mehl | | Don’t forget, green is a color, too! Here, ribbon grass stands out wonderfully behind the main stone and is a nice complement to the bed’s deeper green hues. |
Maybe the rock isn’t located in a spot that’s good for a house number – or maybe it’s far from the home and you want to call more attention to it. If this is the case, consider surrounding the rock with a riot of color. If you live in an area where deer are problematic, choose plants like short, decorative grasses (which creatures tend to avoid) to break up all the color – and then spray the rest with deer repellent.
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| Facts |
- Japanese gardening is the epitome of rock gardening, emphasizing culture with rules of rock placement and meanings to rock shapes. These gardens define space not by filling the garden with artifice, but by using some emptiness as a key element in the design, always striving to reflect nature.
- History reveals that miniature landscapes in trays composed of rocks, plants and water were created as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-906 AD) and collections of unusual rocks and plant specimens were found from the Song Dynasty (the ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279 AD) onward. Large rocks or rock groupings served as analogies for mountains in early Chinese religion and art, serving as sacred sites or resting places for immortals.
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| Tips |
- Large rocks are often left on properties when new homes are built. Rather than pay hundreds of dollars to have them removed, keep the best as a focal point, mulch an area around it to deter grass, and add your favorite plants.
- You can use a border of smaller rocks or stones to define your garden. By copying the color of the spotlighted rock, you’ll be able to present a unified whole.
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| Faqs |
- Q: What are some good plants to use in a mini rock garden?
A: Perennials and shrubs, like azaleas, will add early summer flowers and a green backdrop through the rest of the year. Depending on the nature of the rest of your landscaping, you can go for strong color in flowers like rudbeckia or Marguerite daisies, or try softer hues like the lemon yellow of ‘Moonshine’ coreopsis and the pale blue violet of Ruellia strepens.
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| Resources |
- We’d love to see how your mini garden rocks! Share your design with our Learn2Grow community and post pictures of your rock garden in our forums.
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