Creating a new crevice garden

[Jan Jeddeloh]

The deck from hell is almost done and the next project on the list is my crevice garden.  Finally I'm going to get a real rock garden. 

The site is on the west side of the house against the new deck.  In the summer it is in full sun and can get very hot.  We typically get a few days over 35C each summer.  Last year was record setting.  In the winter it will unfortunately be somewhat shaded from the house.  Then again plants don't grow much in the winter.  Eventually we plan to build a rock garden out front which would have good winter sun. 

So how do I want to orient my crevices?  I want to create lots of different exposures to make the maximum number of plants happy.  I was thinking either a southeast to northwest 45 degree orientation or a southwest to north east 45 degree orientation.  Anyone want to weigh in the the wisdom, or lack of wisdom, of these possible orientations?  We're also thinking of doing a fold idea as shown in Paul Cumbleton's  September 2016 article in The Alpine Gardener. 

The rock is going to be either thin split basalt or flagstones.  The two criteria here are spousal lift-ability and cost.  Sadly tufa is not available anywhere remotely near where I live so it's not a possibility. 

Thanks for your help and suggestions. 

Jan Jeddeloh, Portland, Oregon

[Jan Tholhuijsen]

The deck from hell is almost done and the next project on the list is my crevice garden.  Finally I'm going to get a real rock garden. 

The site is on the west side of the house against the new deck.  In the summer it is in full sun and can get very hot.  We typically get a few days over 35C each summer.  Last year was record setting.  In the winter it will unfortunately be somewhat shaded from the house.  Then again plants don't grow much in the winter.  Eventually we plan to build a rock garden out front which would have good winter sun. 

So how do I want to orient my crevices?  I want to create lots of different exposures to make the maximum number of plants happy.  I was thinking either a southeast to northwest 45 degree orientation or a southwest to north east 45 degree orientation.  Anyone want to weigh in the the wisdom, or lack of wisdom, of these possible orientations?  We're also thinking of doing a fold idea as shown in Paul Cumbleton's  September 2016 article in The Alpine Gardener. 

The rock is going to be either thin split basalt or flagstones.  The two criteria here are spousal lift-ability and cost.  Sadly tufa is not available anywhere remotely near where I live so it's not a possibility. 

Thanks for your help and suggestions. 

Jan Jeddeloh, Portland, Oregon

Hello Jan,
My current garden is now 5 years old and in the second year I made a small crevice garden of slates.

Below is the link to a PDF how I did it. You can download it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8wSWiwm_WABQ2Z5bTlnNkdRX0U/view?usp=sharing

Here are various films about the activities in my garden

https://www.youtube.com/user/JTMT20/featured

This ebook can also be downloaded, since all the activities of my last years are in the garden.

https://issuu.com/jantholhuijsen/docs/practical_projects_for_the_rockgard

I hope you have something about it.

[Jan Jeddeloh]

Hi Jan,
I had already found your videos and remembered I'd read your nice e-book a while ago.  Checked them both out again and showed my husband the pictures of your crevice garden and its construction.  I want to make sure he has a good idea what we're doing before we start.  It was very generous of you to make all this information available for free online. 

I like the large troughs you've made.  Have you had any flaking from the weather?  My dad has some he made from styrofoam boxes (I think you call it polystyrene) coated with paint and sand.  I notice they've flaked through the years.

Thanks for your advice.  I hope someone else chimes in too.

Jan

[Rick R.]

Interesting about the paint flaking.  I've had painted styro troughs for 10 plus years. The paint has come off along with bits of styrofoam when the corners or edges get physically damaged, but it never just flakes off because of weather.  I use masonry paint, and the styro surface is flash-melted prior to painting so it is hard and not spongy.

[Maggi Young]

From Ian Bainbridge:     
"In May, Carole Bainbridge, Tracy Cook and I did an 'away fixture' building a crevice garden at Hartside Nursery, as a demo for the AGS/SRGC Young persons' weekend. Attached is a video taken at the time, thought it might interest fellow crevice gardeners.... "

[Palustris]

I have a large number of pieces of broken concrete paving slabs, courtesy of a crazy paving path removal. My idea was to make a crevice garden with them. However, I was wondering about the 'look' of it, whether or not the outcome would be aesthetically pleasing. Anyone any made a garden like that and pleased with the way it looks?

[partisangardener]

Hello
In another gardenforum is a project similar to yours.
Phrygana from the beginning last year August and its development since. Sorry it is in German, but the pictures document it well.
https://forum.garten-pur.de/index.php/topic,71170.0.html
I expect moss will make it indistinguishable from natural stones quite soon.

[Palustris]

Thank-you. My pieces of rock are flatter and less 'rock' like than the pieces in the images. But as this is a very mossy area, you are certainly right in expecting the moss to cover the exposed edges very quickly.

[Redmires]

Aesthetics are very personal. I'd go for it, but if you're nervous, avoid mixing the paving slabs with more natural-looking stones. If you want to hurry the moss along you could slather on some moss slurry. If you want to make the edges less regular you could hire a stone cutter (v. noisy and dusty), but they'll still look manmade, because the edges will still be sharp and the surfaces you create will be flat. That said, over time weather and vegetation will soften and disguise the artificiality. I wouldn't bother with a stone cutter, I'd just embrace the look of the materials you have - after all, you're creating a garden, not replicating nature, and however naturalistic the planting, a garden is still a manipulated space with a selected, managed plant community.

It sounds as if you have the makings of a beautiful shady crevice garden and I'm quite envious.  If you decide to go ahead I'd be very interested to see some piccies.

[Palustris]

These are the ex crazy paving pieces which I intend to use. Have to wait for a Monkey Puzzle tree to be felled before I can begin. Sad, I know, but it is suffering from the change in weather and becoming very unbalanced.

[Jan Jeddeloh]

Those should work.  Remember if  you have an ugly edge just cover it with at plant!

[partisangardener]

To round the edges a bit: Use a small hammer and hammer with the flat side around the edges. The debris can go into the crevices or weigh down small moss pieces.

[Palustris]

Thanks folks. Not made a beginning yet as we are still waiting for the tree stump to be ground away. The way things are going it may be a long wait!