rock gardening

I started my first rock garden about two and a half millenia ago, with some grains of sand I received from Gautama Buddha. I nurtured them, adhering to a strict regimen of hard water. By the time I'd been reincarnated for the 64th time, my rock garden now has pebbles in it. It'll be some time before I achieve river stones. I knew someone who cheated and collected some river rocks in 321 AD, but that really messed with his karma: some farmer took them to use for a wall.

So ... you have the rake and everything? Very zen of you (of course I am VERY gullible and you may not even HAVE a rock garden). A lava flow does not a rock garden make.

Well actually I do not rake the lava flow, just to make that clear. Ok I was reading about rock gardening and I plagered the lines cause I was laughing so hard.

And my rock gardens are not Zen gardens alas - they are full of rocks however. I remember when we bought this place and had no idea that there were any gardens here. I started raking 3 years worth of pine needles aside and I said to my wife - It looks like vandals have thrown tons of rock into the flower beds. Why would someone do that? Then a Botanist friend came over and went nuts when she saw that it was a rock garden full of sort of rare rock plants, like the ones you see in bloom sometimes when backpacking along scree.

So my rock garden actually has dirt and plant roots between the rocks. The real plant is under the rock where its protected, and leaves and flowers pop out around the rock in the summer. One thing is that you need poor soil with sharp edged sand in it, or rather sand with a bit of dity in it.

Jim
Now my driveway is full of cinders and I DO rake that!!!

You are doing a lot better than me, Jim. I've been reincarnating for over 6,000 years and I can't even make my own dust yet.

Lucky for you a botanist friend came by and you were able to improve on your rock garden. Like the saying goes when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Like wise when you find your garden full of rocks, make a lovely rock garden.

Hikerchick
One of the neighbors told me that there used to bus loads of people coming to see the gardens on my property. I sure wish I knew what they looked like then so I might have a chance in my restoration project. I fear that if I can restore it all it may take several years. Some of the rare plants have escaped the gardens though and grow along the street and up in the lava flow. I have about 4 colors of penstamens in one area and lots of indian paintbrush along the sandy edge of the flow. The very first crocus and affodil tips are popping up now.

The idea or rock garddening is to provide a substitute environment for plants that normally live on steep rocky mountain sides. Those brilliant flowers that stand out in the rocks are the subject. Many of the plats only seen on deep backpack excursions may grow in gardens like mine. Its really hard to identify the plants because the seeds for the North American Rock Gardening society come from all over the globe.

I will have to join, buy seed in the annual seed drive, then start them inside and transplant into the rock garden. I have 2 eidelveis plants - I hope they come up this spring. One thing I did was spread bone meal over the bulb beds.

Jim

Hey Jim,
It sounds like your place used to be quite the attraction with the awesome rock gardens. Way cool! Is there any way you can contact the previous owners of the property and pick their brains a bit or see some pictures of the gardens in all their glory?
We were able to do just that when my boyfriend bought his remote property. The prior owner shared her photo album with us, and even lent me a couple of really old historic pictures she had acquired from past owners that I was able to copy and blow up.

HC
I purchased the estate of the deceased master gardener.
Jim