Gardening - Apr.qxp_Layout 1 23/03/2022 10:00 Page 1
GARDENING
60º East: A Garden Between Continents at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021
Rock of ages
After falling out of favour as fussy and old-fashioned, rock gardens have officially made a comeback. Elly West takes a closer look at the carefully planned, naturalistic spaces that create a thriving home for alpine plants and wildlife
70 TheBATHMagazine
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aPRiL 2022
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iSSUe 230
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In a shady spot under trees, rocks can provide places for ferns and moss to grow, creating the effect of a mini-woodland dell
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’m fully on-board with the notion that rockeries are making a comeback. After all, gardening is about harnessing and bringing order to nature, cultivating a space and making it our own. Gardens based on the natural landscape, with rocks, waterfalls and outcrops, have become a common theme at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, proving that the modern rock garden doesn’t have to be a pile of stones set haphazardly into a mound of soil, planted with old-fashioned conifers and heathers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than happy for these to stay in the latter half of the last century where they belong. However, carefully planned as a naturalistic space providing habitats for wildlife and somewhere to showcase beautiful alpine plants, and you have a winning combination. I also have a natural affinity for a little bit of order in a garden, so a rockery with spaces and pockets and nooks and crannies to tuck away individual specimens appeals to my love of compartmentalisation. The idea of a rock garden has been around for centuries if we look to the Far East, with Japanese zen gardens using rocks to symbolise mountains or islands, and raked gravel to represent water, creating a place for quiet reflection and calm. However, the popularity of more colourful rockeries as we know them dates back to the late 19th century, when collectors brought alpine plants to the UK and wanted a way to showcase their findings. The Victorians also created shady rockeries exclusively for ferns, known as ferneries (funnily enough), appealing to the love of collections during those times. The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew has one of the oldest and largest rock gardens in the world. I spent many years living in west London with Kew just down the road, and the rock garden was always a highlight on my many visits, offering drama and structure with
something to look at all year round. Originally built in 1882, it’s over an acre in size and includes waterfalls and a large stone, grotto-type bridge. Privately owned Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames, former home of The Beatles’ George Harrison, has a large alpine rock garden dating back to 1896, complete with a scale model of the Matterhorn, tin mountain goats and a mini-Swiss chalet. While the Victorians were creating rockeries on this grander scale, inevitably the ideas filtered down to our suburban gardens, with rockeries becoming a common feature in the 1960s and 1970s, before falling out of favour as fussy and old fashioned. Until now! Rock gardens can be incredibly versatile and suit many different styles of gardening. In a shady spot under trees, rocks can provide places for ferns and moss to grow, creating the effect of a miniwoodland dell. Rocks and boulders are also well-suited to Mediterranean-style gravel gardens, where they will sit happily amongst lavender, olive trees and spiky architectural plants. Many herbs thrive in the dry conditions of a rock garden, such as creeping thyme, sage, chives, lavender and rosemary. Coastal-type planting such as low-
