My rock garden was actually formed to cover up an old bulldozer scar. It seems the road was supposed to go up a hill by my lot, but it was too steep so they gave up and went around the hill another way.
My spousal unit made some little rock walls for me so I could plant in it, with some steps up and down the hill.
I love the pictures of blooming rock gardens but very little blooms in mine. The lamium does ok, but creeping jenny barely blooms at all. I can get the bulbs to bloom because the trees are not leafed out until after they bloom and grow awhile. At the top and side of one half, I have some bee balm which does well and at the bottom, where it can't spread much because of the asphalt driveway, the obedient plant does well.
It is quite cool here all summer and we have a lot of rain. Can you folks suggest some plants that will bloom under these conditions? If you can give the common names, it would help a lot.
Help with shady rock garden
hi woodspirit- others can give you more specific "rock garden" advice- but it sounds like you have a shady spot where you are putting in wandering type plants- like lamium and creeping jenny- and it may be best to stick to this kind of plant, because they can smother the more sensitive types- so here would be some thoughts in that direction: sweet woodruff, also there are some pretty fancy ajugas with variagated leaves, some of the smaller hosta's bloom quite nicely, iris cristata can make a nice mat if you don't let it get swamped, and has a sweet bloom, iris gracilipes does well for me in the shade, and is so pretty also, wild ginger doesn't have a very noticable flower, but the leaves are wonderful- trillium are really stalwart, and can bloom though a groundcover -epimediums(barronworts) have a gentle sort of look- with airy flowers, anemone nemerosa comes in all sorts of variations, and has great spring flowers....other spring ephemeral bulbs would do well, I bet, dutchman's britches, scilla, snowdrops- etc.....hmmm-got any pictures of the spot??? that would be interesting...
SJMS gave you an impressive list of 'small' shade plants that might help create a rock garden look. You can add Hepatica, Twinflower (Linnaea), native Violets, maybe Pulmonaria, Omphaloides, bloodroot (Sanquinaria) and of course, ferns!
Wow, this is a lot of help. I will try to get a picture today and post it. I even had some oriental lillies planted in the side that gets a bit more sun. they did well for 2 years, but not this year.
What about mimulus (monkey flower) for the damper parts, and don't forget about all types of primroses, bellflowers, columbines, and brunnera (sorry, don't know the common name of that one). Some of the other things I grow in damp shade are astilbe, daylilies, meadowsweet, and Japanese iris. There are dwarf varieties of most of those. If there are any impatiens varieties that will grow in your zone, they love shade and they're very colorful.
Don't forget speedwell, for a vivid bloom in spring, and toadlilies for fall bloom. My shade garden isn't primarily a rock garden, but those work for me -- as does creeping euonymus, and around the edges the wonderful, low-growing colorful variegated Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa) --- and best of all, pictured below, selaginella uncinata (peacock spikemoss)
What about the mini-hostas?
Let's see: I have, on the bottom at ground level, some lilies on the sides, some huechera, and some DISobedient plant, and other bulbs. When the bulbs quit I interplanted them with impatiens.
On the second level, I have ajuga, back-planted with bulbs, now interplanted with impatins. All t his has creeping jenny above and below and all around, but it will not bloom - too much shade. On the sunnier side of the 2nd level, I have some bearded iris (not doing well because the lamium grew all over the rhizomes) yellow water iris, doing ok and spider wort.
On the top level is some bee balm, blue flag iris (Virginia Iris) and trying to get some cleome to grow.
There is even one more spot above the whole thing and the rose called Baby Blanket blooms well there, amazing with all the shade. There's a hill beside the rock garden that his an angel trumpet on it, but none have bloomed well there so far, it is a continuing experiment.
Here's the problem, the impatiens won't bloom well although conditions seem ideal and they are the only thing with continuing bloom except for the gartenmeister fuschia which is a favorite and I would recommend to anyone for the beauty of the leaves, the oodles of tiny coral blooms hanging off the end of every stem, the ease of care, etc . However, I don't know how it holds up in hot climates. A neighbor has hers in full sun and they only do better and better.