Crevice Gardening ......in defence of rock.....

[astragalus]

Maggi, right now the garden is reasonably deer-proof.  It's hunting season and they temporarily change their trails after our hunter (comes every year and bags his limit on our limited acreage!) kills a few of them.  But then they come back after the season with a vengeance having picked up some of their cousins to swell the herd.  That's when primal scream comes into play and I pray every day for very deep snow to help protect the plants.

[astragalus]

Cliff, I didn't know if you'd remember The Last Outcrop.  They are large rocks but the weeds etc were so high they were difficult to see.  The hardest part has been hacking out the trunks and roots of trres that seeded themselves into the crevices.  Joe is bringing up chips from the long piles beyond the water garden and has been quite dismayed at the speed with which I use them up and say "more, please".  In the spring I'll dig pockets and fill with my mix and plant.  The winter should help settle everything and I'm also tramping the crevices down almost daily to really pack the rotted chips down.  Think hellebores, epimediums, hepaticas, jeffersonias and ramondas.  It may be too dry for many primulas, too bad.  Can't wait to plant.

[astragalus]

Wow now that is what I would call big rocks very nice.   We have problems this year with moss growing in the crevices despite the planting material being 75% sharp sand, never seen so much rain have had twice our annual rainfall over 4 ft (250cm) and yes it is still raining. We well remember last year when everything was buried in snow not sure which is best, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

We have had an incredibly wet year here as well.  It's nice not to hear the voices of doom all the time about the reservoirs being too low.  All the rocks of The Last Outcrop are covered with moss and lichens.  Some of that should disappear with the clearing and more light and air as a result.  I tried to save the little ferns I found - mainly ebony spleenwort and the little polypody ferns that populate the north face of the cliff.

[astragalus]

Lesley, too bad about the cats.  I've had trouble before with cats - mainly using the sand beds as giant litter boxes.  However, they made up for it with avid mousing and chipmunking.  Never had a problem with those critters when we had the cats.  Ranger, our dog, does not allow the presence of cats in his territory, or anywhere else if he can do anything about it.

[ranunculus]

Ranger, our dog, does not allow the presence of cats in his territory, or anywhere else if he can do anything about it.

 ... Or delivery drivers ... or photographers for that matter!   

How could I forget 'The Last Outcrop' - the only part of your magnificent garden that didn't 'demand' to be photographed!

[Tim Ingram]

I often think it would be great to see a time lapse photography of a garden in progress! Some of us would certainly look like tortoises by comparison with Anne and Peter Korn in Sweden! It must be wonderful to work with the landscape in this way - it reminds me of Dilys Davies, past President of the Hardy Plant Society, who talked on her garden in the Lake District and a cliff face which she abseiled down to plant. This is real gardening and so exciting to see.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

I am very very very impressed Anne !!!!! 
Can't wait to see it planted !

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Anne,
we don't have deer or bears to worry about here, but the echidna has been running rampant and digging up parts of the rock garden. He (Erroll) -or is it she (Edna)?- is quite capable of pulling apart some of the rockwork, though your "Last outcrop" may be big enough to defeat them!  Unfortunately ants seem to love making nests in the rock garden and echidnas love ants!
cheers
fermi

[astragalus]

Fermi, every eden has its serpent, right?  I've always had trouble with a kind of wasp in the sand beds.  They are incredibly efficient tunnelers.  They dig deep holes to bury their food supply and they do their digging right next to my plants that they use as markers.  They can sever roots quite neatly and then the plant just collapses overnight.  They come back every year, I fill their holes and place flat rocks here and there to discourage them but they're quite fixated that this is the only place to dig.

[TheOnionMan]

Fermi, every eden has its serpent, right?  I've always had trouble with a kind of wasp in the sand beds.  They are incredibly efficient tunnelers.  They dig deep holes to bury their food supply and they do their digging right next to my plants that they use as markers.  They can sever roots quite neatly and then the plant just collapses overnight.  They come back every year, I fill their holes and place flat rocks here and there to discourage them but they're quite fixated that this is the only place to dig.

Ann, I have these sand tunneling wasps as well.  They seems attracted to open sand, so maybe the deterrant is to cover sand beds with pebble stone or gravel.

[fermi de Sousa]

Fermi, every eden has its serpent, right? 

Yeah, we have them too! Nothing snakes like better than a large rock to catch the sun. The adage "Tread softly and carry a big stick" is here amended to "Stamp loudly but still carry a big stick!"
We have wasps that burrow to bury they prey, usually large spiders, but I haven't actually seen any disturbing plants in the Rock Garden!
cheers
fermi

[cohan]

Great work, Anne! Getting saplings and tree roots out is bad enough here, I can only imagine what they are like in rock... and no poison ivy here, thank goodness-- raspberries, roses and gooseberries/currants are all I have to worry about!
the new semi-woodland outcrop should be very nice

[Lesley Cox]

I know it's not the real thing but right now I'm hoping that Rhus typhina is poinonous too as we've have terrible, gale-force winds this last week and mine, still in a large pot got blown over. We heard a possum on Saturday night and wondered if it was worth going out with the gun but decided not. Next morning, the whole top has been eaten off the tree.

[steve owen]

Does anyone know where tufa rock can be bought in the UK without having to take out a mortgage?

[Maren]

If you find a suitable supplier, please tell me.