Need Help Choosing Rockery plants

thanks longk .... much appreciated ... I have a meeting with the lady a bit later today and will google all the suggested plants for her to see

 

Wooh, that's a bit of a sweeping statement!
"fussy".........."little"......... Mine is 64 X9 ft ( part two still in construction) and some of the rocks took two to move. I think Scillonian's advise is spot on for building a good rockery. As in all things, gardens are what you make them, and how good the gardener and garden designer are. I wouldn't under estimate any form of gardening as there are always going to be some that are bad and some that have a wow factor.

 

oops ... I never said rockeries are yesteryear ... suppose there is a place for everything ... the area that I am working on has a small pond which is surrounded by some small rocks

the way I landscape, is I to try and utilize a space for maximum impact .... i.e. you have a space and try and fill it with colour/interest for most of the year

plant something in a space that only flowers for a month, and you have a dull area for 11 months of the year

it's easy to do that with large spaces, as you can mix groups of perennials in a specific area that flower at certain times of the year, and the area always has something in flower

however, when you have a small space, it becomes a lot harder ... hence my choice of plants such as Huechera which have coloured foilage for the whole year ... geraniums may be another choice for the background, but they too only flower for a few months

I always try and include foliage plants such as ferns ... Hosta may be another choice for this area, but snails/slugs need to be kept at bay ... that's why I opted for Jack Frost

meeting has been postponed until tommorow, but I'm sure that many of the plants recommended on this thread will be chosen ... so thanks to all!

 

Sorry, didn't mean it quite like that

Dim's design looks bold, and I understood from the feedback he got that what the Client wanted was something more fussy, smaller plants, etc.

I'm not mad about rockeries because I equate them with small & fussy and Yesteryear, but I think that Dim's design looked great - although not what I envisage when someone says rockery. You're right, there are all sorts, and rocks that take two to lift are a different scale altogether.

Sorry, I wasn't intended to imply that you did - just what I inferred from the client not liking your bold design.

Sounds ideal to me - hopefully that will be what your Client wants, and not what I perceive they want.

 

Couple of photos...............

D.lanata


D.parviflora


Arisarum would go well in shade, as would the common native Arums. What about Corydalis?
Erythronium for spring interest. Along with nice dwarf Daffs.
Roscoea in the least shady spot...........


Another spring gem for the middle of the area could be Uvularia, but the roots must avoid winter wet.

 

That final attachment isn't working for me (I get the home-page if I attempt to access the "image" directly)

Image URL is:
http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachments/dsc_1837-jpg.4004/