Rockery flowers emerging.

That is a nice collection of colours and form. So cheerful when a wave of flowers cascades like that.

Thank you girls, I’m enjoying the time spent on the rockery, finding out what works. Right, off to work now! Have a lovely day in the gardens, enjoy the sunshine!

I’ve never had a rockery Kate. The nearest I have is my raised border with rock edging. At the very front is basically rockery conditions, and yes, its very trial and error finding things that will thrive there. There’s a gorgeous little geranium called Fay Anna that seems to love it, and Armerias grow ever so well (although they suffered badly last autumn with the excessive wet), trailing sedums and creeping Thyme do well, and so do Gentian sino-ornata and alpine type campanulas too. And a tiny Sisyrinchium that Siris Kindly sent. I love that yellow strawberry-like flower whic( I can’t recall the name of...so perfect!

What a gorgeous bouquet of colours! Not sure you'd find that mix in the most expensive bunch of flowers.

Off the subject Kate put could you tell me please - is your bund dry or quite sandy? How much sun does it get? (I struggle with steep sandy shaded banks about four feet high where even couch grass has a struggle to "naturalise". Am casting about for low growing tough survivors...(Also need to be able to see over the top of the bank)

So pretty little rockery flowers I always found very effective especially as they spread rock rose is one of my favourites.
So pleased tp hear your other plants are doing well.

Thanks Paul, it’s taken quite a lot of years..
Thanks Karen, that bed of yours is like a rockery isn’t it? It does look fantastic when you post pics of it! I’ll,look out for the little geranium you mentioned. I tried gentian -unfortunately it didn’t thrive, it was a pretty little blue plant..not sure if it was my soil? I’ve campanulas, but, I’m not sure if something eats them up every year! They seem to hang on by a thread! The sedum and creeping thyme are doing ok, plus some other herbs. The mind your own business plant which a lot of people don’t favour, is doing well. I like the fact it’s spreading. I like mossy plants quite a bit. I think the one you mentioned may be duchesnea indica yellow? I think I’ll be wrong, I’ll have to have a look at the label in the shed.

Thank you Sunnydais, that’s a lovely compliment. :-)

Hi Sue, the bund is very dry - it’s almost vertical. We’ve adopted the lower part of it as others have. The bund is west facing and it was planted up initially when the houses were built just prior to us moving in. There weren’t many plants on it to begin with: hawthorn, sea buckthorn and a few others that were drought tolerant and some coastal tolerant.
We’ve planted junipers, forsythia, rosemary, euonymus, spirea, ceanothus to name a few..
The lower part of the rockery/bund, we’ve got the usual rockery plants, behind the shed part of it near the steps which is still quite steep - we have ferns, rosemary, euonymus, escallonia, choisya and some others. My neighbour has quite a lot of ornamental grass, cotoneaster - which we actually have too - hebe, and some other rockery plants too. We watered ours in quite a lot until we knew they had rooted and established.
Our neighbour has let the top of their bund naturalise with brambles unfortunately..my OH went up initially, years ago and dug each bramble out by hand on our area.
One neighbour, next door but one, has planted all sorts..pampas grass!!!! Leylandii!!! - just the one fortunately, buddleia, lavatera, fuschia, laurel! Oh, and he has put a greenhouse at the bottom too! Well, it’s built a few feet up and into the bund. He did get the professionals in to fix his initial build and placement etc..plus build some steps up to the greenhouse.
Do southern Mediterranean plants work on sandy soil?
What a pity you’ve been struggling with it, Sue. We did try a lot of different shrubs etc.to begin with and we’ve lost a lot of them, especially at the start. Lot of money down the drain...I hope you do manage to grow something, even if it’s only a couple of varieties. Sorry I’m not much help. x

Hello Thrup, thank you for your lovely message.

Your welcome Kate 😊

Well that's interesting Kate. I remember you talking about how to chose plants for it. I did put some young ferns in one end last autumn but they haven't reappeared. I know the rampant campanula (portenschlagiana?) will grow there but it tends to spread out into the lawn --its either one thing or neither at present! I wonder if your neighbour's Fuchsia will survive - if it does I think his soil must have more moisture than ours! Ours is on a much smaller scale than yours I think. Its only abut 4 feet high but very steep, almost vertical. It has two huge sycamores and some sort of conifer on the top but I want low plants on the rest as we don't want to impede the very attractive view beyond.
Hebe is an interesting suggestion - maybe just start with one and see if it survives! Could be just the job if it will stand it. Thank you!
Thank you. Its very satisfying to see how quickly yours has settled in - it looks quite mature now

Ah...Kate, your soil is too dry for the Gentian then. I could never grow them before. They were already here when we came, and the soil in my raised bed is very heavy clay so it doesn't drain away too quickly and the gentians are kept moist. I can only think that must be the reason...heavy soil.

Thanks Sue, I’ll post a current pic in a couple of days and you can see how it’s all growing. My neighbour rarely waters anything at all to be honest. Hopefully you’ll get yours up and thriving soon..
Karen, I think you could be right there. Do they like acidic soil?

Lots of nice colorful choices. You've made some outstanding selections.

Thanks Paul :-)

Some do Kate...most in fact. There is a spring flowering one which needs lime. But that’s the extent of my knowledge. My soil is slightly acidic.

Thanks Karen, our soil is more neutral to possibly chalky we think..

Looks lovely Kate, I may have missed any pics you put up of your rockery but with all those plants you mention then it sounds very nice, can I just ask what a bund is, is that a local saying for a rockery as I have never come across it before.

Thank you Julien, that’s very kind.
A bund or mound, is a large hill, it’s man made - used as a sort of sound barrier. Ours is quite long and high, we cannot see over it form upstairs windows.