We decorate the alpine hill … – planting, care, photo, how to grow and harvest

The most picturesque and attractive corner in the garden, park or on the site – alpine slide.

But the slide does not consist only of stones. In order for it to acquire its chic, you need to choose the right plants, and plant them correctly. Decorate an alpine hill not difficult at all.

Since ancient times, stones have been used in ornamental gardening. Stone is an indispensable element of the Japanese garden. The shape of the stone and even its location carry a certain meaning here. In Japanese gardens, plants fade into the background, the main thing here is to choose and arrange the stones correctly.

Unlike elegant flower beds, alpine slide brings man closer to nature. It resembles a sweet corner of a meadow with a variety of herbs and flowers growing among boulders. Or mountains with beautiful landscapes and rocky slopes covered with flower cushions.

Plants that are suitable for planting on an alpine hill:

Alyssum or beetroot – a low-growing herbaceous perennial plant 10-20 cm high. It has small leaves of a grayish tint. Blooms profusely in May-June. Inflorescence brushes are lush white, pink or all shades of yellow. The height is different for different types. Allisum takes pride of place on the alpine hill and in flower arrangements. Its inflorescences adorn the garden for a long time.

Prefers sunny places with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction containing organic fertilizer. Does not tolerate wet soils. It is unpretentious in care, it is easy to put up with drought. All care consists in weeding, loosening after heavy rain or watering, top dressing. With an excess of moisture, the plant gets wet. To maintain or increase the decorative effect after flowering, at the time of fruit formation, the stems must be cut to a height of 5-8 cm.

Alyssum propagates by dividing the bush, seeds and cuttings. Seeds should be sown immediately after collection in open ground or in spring. In the second year, the seedlings bloom. Cuttings are carried out in June, the division of bushes in April.

Alyssum is beautiful on an alpine hill, to decorate retaining walls. It goes well with other plants.

Gazania

It is an attractive South African plant with daisy-like flowers. The plant is a perennial, but in regions with frosty winters it is grown as an annual. Gazania blooms from July until frost, continuously and abundantly. To save the plant until the next season, dig out of the garden in the fall and store in a frost-free room until spring.

Gazania requires open solar, lots of heat and light. It is drought resistant. The soil prefers loose, gravelly, has a taproot, thanks to which it gets moisture from the depth. If the plant grows on fertile soil, fertilize once a month and a half. If the soil is poor – every 2-4 weeks with a solution of complex mineral fertilizer. The plant is quite cold-resistant, withstands up to -5-7°C.

The plant propagates by seeds and cuttings. You can sow seeds for seedlings in March in a warm greenhouse, in open ground or a cold greenhouse – in April. Plants are planted in a permanent place in mid-May, maintaining a distance between plants of 15-20 cm. You can propagate by cuttings in the middle of summer. Cuttings are taken from side shoots.

Gazania is beautiful among stones in combination with ageratum and lobelia.

Onion decorative

Suitable for both early flowering and late flowering varieties. Short and medium-sized alliums (decorative bows) look more beautiful on the hill. Light and sunny places are preferred by most bows. Bows from highlands prefer dry, sunny places and light, permeable, neutral soils. They are suitable for rocky gardens and alpine slides. Onion flowers come in a wide variety of colors, they begin to bloom in late spring and “freeze” at the peak of flowering. But even after the end of flowering, during seed ripening, drying onion heads look very attractive.

Alliums practically do not need care. Loosen plantings in the spring, remove weeds and water during a drought. As soon as the leaves of the allium begin to grow, you can feed it with a nitrogenous fertilizer. After flowering, in no case cut off the yellowed leaves, they should dry themselves and die off. And so that the yellowing leaves do not reduce the decorativeness of the flower garden, plant annual, decorative deciduous or other plants next to the alliums that will cover the unsightly alliums.

Onions reproduce by seeds and vegetatively. Once every 3-5 years, allium bulbs are needed. seat.

Gypsophila

Gypsophila or Kachim is a herbaceous plant of the Clove family. It has graceful openwork twigs with small double flowers, which are simply indispensable in the arrangement. They are wonderful in decorating the garden, giving lightness and charm to any corner. Gypsophila is a worthy decoration of an alpine hill.

It blooms profusely in open sunny areas in partial shade, but it forms fewer flowers. Soils prefer drained, light sandy or nutritious loamy.

Scream

Heather is a low growing evergreen shrub that can be grown outdoors or in a container. These plants have different colors of leaves and flowers, flowers are single and double, which bloom from July to November. Long blooms are distinguished by the so-called bud heathers. Their buds do not fully open, due to which the flowering period increases. Their bright bud heads will be a wonderful decoration of the garden until the winter.

It is very effective in group plantings. Heather is undemanding to the soil. It grows well in both sandy dry and wet swampy soils, both in very poor and nutrient soils. But it is better if the soil is poor, sandy-peaty and acidic (pH below 7.0). The soil must not contain lime!

Iridodictium

Iridodictium or iris is a perennial spring-flowering bulbous plant. They bloom early in spring, at the end of March (if spring is early) – April. Flowers solitary, all shades of blue, yellow, brownish, white. They should be planted in the garden in the sunniest spots. To achieve a more expressive effect, you need to plant iridodictiums in groups of several pieces each, and quite thickly. Bulbs should be planted in loose, humus, well-drained soil with a neutral reaction. Iridodictiums reproduce by seeds (but not all varieties form them) and vegetatively.

Oatmeal

Ornamental grass up to 30 cm high, during flowering up to 50 cm. Its bluish stems form thick cushions. Fescue trees look great among the stones. The plant has narrow leaves, silvery or gray-green in color. Blooms in June-July. The stems are bluish, gracefully leaning towards the soil, forming the shape of a semicircular pillow. The inflorescence flowers are gray-green and almost invisible. Seeds after ripening acquire a light brown color. Loves the sun.

In the spring, wilted parts of the plant need to be cut. You also need to cut off the inflorescences-panicles after flowering.

Muscari

Muscari or mouse hyacinth is a spring-flowering bulbous plant with white, blue or lilac flowers. Blooms from April to the end of May. Plant height 15 – 30 cm. The plant is compact with a dense rosette of leaves, racemose or candle-shaped inflorescences. Muscari can be planted in any corner of the garden, also under bushes and trees. They even like a light shade. Muscari grow quite quickly, forming magnificent flowering carpets with a delicate aroma. The soil should be loose, well-drained and permeable. All plant care consists in fertilizing with rotted manure, in early spring, in watering during the growing season, in loosening and removing weeds. After flowering, you need to cut the flower stalks.

In one place, muscari can grow up to 5 years, then they need to be transplanted. Muscari are very unpretentious in cultivation. They develop well and quickly, and once again it is better not to disturb them. All plant care consists in fertilizing with rotted manure, in early spring, in watering during the growing season, in loosening and removing weeds.

Veronica

This is a perennial plant that looks beautiful not only during flowering. The variety of shapes and colors makes it very popular. Different types are used in different ways. For every taste and for every area. It proudly displays its blue, purple, pink or white flowers that appear in spring. Groundcover Veronica, perhaps, is in the lead. But there are others – luxurious tall perennials.

Place – sunny or partial shade. Soil – any, but it develops better on loose soils.
Mature plants also need frequent watering. Adult plants are watered only in spring before flowering, as well as during flowering. After the plant has faded, its ground part is cut off. This promotes the appearance of new leaves and maintains decorativeness. Feeding needs only some varieties of Veronica. Winter-hardy, drought-resistant plant.

Crocus

This is a perennial tuber bulbous plant. It has no stems, the leaves are dark green with a white stripe in the center, collected in a bunch. The flowers are goblet-shaped, widely open only during the day, in sunny weather. The color (white, yellow, orange, lilac, variegated, often two-tone) and the size of the flowers depend on the variety.

Crocuses prefer to grow in warm, sunny areas. On the elevated alpine slides, they feel great.

Crocuses reproduce by children, daughter corms, rarely seeds. After 3 – 5 years, one bulb forms a whole nest of daughter bulbs and baby bulbs. The number of children formed in different varieties is different, they form from 1 to 10 pcs. in year. They are separated during transplantation and planted in a new place.

Cyclamen

This is a perennial tuberous plant. Garden cyclamen grows in shady places. Height usually does not exceed 10 cm. Evergreen leaves, as a rule, have a heart-shaped shape. On the upper side they are dark green with white spots and lines, on the lower side they are green or brown. From August to October, the trailing stems will produce charming tiny flowers. Their color is pale pink with a carmine-red “eye”. Flowers will delight you from August to October. It likes permeable, moderately moist soils containing calcium. For successful growth and development, it also needs a warm and protected place.

Miscanthus sinensis

Or “Silver feather”. This perennial grass has a rounded bush shape and narrow foliage of fine texture. The bush is never higher than 1.5 m, and with inflorescences it reaches a height of 2 m. The stems are erect, densely leafy in the lower part. The leaves are wide (up to 2.5 cm), bordered by a clean and bright white stripe. Panicles loose, fluffy. Spikelets are silky, silvery in color. The flowering period is the end of summer or autumn. Requires a sunny location. Drought-resistant and frost-resistant plant.

Published: 18.04.2016