If you love gardening but just don’t have the time for traditional gardening practices, a rock garden might be for you. Rock gardens cut down on water usage and make for a great enhancement in areas where nothing can grow anyways. This is an excellent way to add a beautiful feature to your yard while practicing xeriscaping.
What is Xeriscaping?
Xeriscaping is the practice of creating a garden that combines drought-friendly plants with efficient landscaping to provide a low-maintenance gardening experience. This practice also supports wildlife and reduces water waste by up to 75%.
How to Practice Xeriscaping with a Rock Garden
Rock gardens are a traditional way to add beauty to your landscape. Not only are they beautiful, but they are also extremely low maintenance. Xeriscaping is often practiced with rock gardens.
Here are ways that the 7 principles of xeriscaping can be practiced when creating a beautiful rock garden.
1. Strategically Planned Location
The first of the 7 principles of xeriscaping is to plan a space that fits the needs of your rock garden. Fortunately, rock gardens are already traditionally low maintenance, so they can be placed anywhere. For landscaping purposes, they are often placed in full sun and where traditional plants don’t grow.
2. Drought Resistant Plants
In order to practice xeriscaping, you must have drought-tolerant plants that are adapted to arid environments. Luckily, rock gardens traditionally include drought-friendly plants. Some common rock garden plants are succulents and alliums.
3. Limits Grass Usage
Traditional xeriscaping limits the use of grass to avoid the need for extra water usage. Luckily, it is untraditional for rock gardens to include grass.
4. Improve Soil Drainage
The biggest draw to xeriscaping is the fact that it conserves water. Plants with similar water needs can be planted together in compostable soil to improve soil drainage.
5. Reduce Irrigation
Watering plants manually often conserve water. In a rock garden, you often have plants planted more sporadically making this the best option anyways. If you use a sprinkler system with a rock garden, there’s a chance your plants will not be getting the right amount of water because most of the water may be hitting the rocks.
6. Use Mulch
Mulch is great for xeriscaping and rock gardens. Placing mulch around plants will help them hold in moisture and reduce evaporation. It requires little maintenance and will also add curb appeal to the rock garden.
7. Be Diligent With Yard Maintenance
Maintain your garden to reduce water needs. Luckily, a rock garden is easy to maintain with limited work. Check on your rock garden a couple of times a week to pull weeds and maintain mulch for the best results.
Rock gardens are great, low-maintenance gardens for beginner gardeners or those who have busy lives. They are also a great way to practice xeriscaping. For more information, see the infographic from Angi below.