Both rock and water were old established garden features a long time before anybody considered installing lawns, flower beds or borders. 1000s of years ago the first Japanese garden was nothing exceeding an stretch of white stone chippings with just one Cleyera tree in the centre and the Ancient Persian 'paradise' had an extended canal and fountains at its heart.
The attraction was very easy to see, these two elements bring a natural feel to any type of surroundings. Until quite recently however, they were primarily simply for the wealthy. Before the final part of the 19th century, rocks were used to form very bold structures in large estates and it was not until the middle of the 20th century that ponds and fountain construction became simple enough and affordable enough for the everyday gardener.
This has taken a long time, but both rock and water gardening have eventually come of age. There is now huge interest in all areas of the water garden. Rock garden plants are grown in great numbers, the variety available today in both rockeries and rock-free situations is immense. I find it very motivating that both these natural elements have several features in common.
They can extend for a few square feet or in excess of a quarter of an acre and both provide the opportunity to grow a vast range of plants not found in your ordinary, every-day garden. The drawbacks that they share are that careful groundwork is required and a substantial amount of labour and money is needed for their creation. By the latter part of the 19th century the age of the larger rock garden was all but over. In 1772 the 2nd period of rock gardens began, a garden of rubble and Icelandic basaltic lava was created inside a greenhouse at Chelsea Physic Garden for the cultivation of plants collected from the Swiss Alps. Here the rocks were used as a home for plants rather than to provide just an ornamental feature. This second period got off to a slow start, although rock gardens were created at various sites all around Britain and the idea of laying stones to provide the appearance of a natural outcrop was developed. Things changed during the 1860's and the rock garden eventually took its place as an important part of the British garden. Rockeries were built at Kew Gardens in 1867 and in Edinburgh in 1871.
In 1870 William Robinson's Alpine Flowers for English Gardens was published. During this period and into the early 20th century Pulhamite Stone was manufactured in Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and used to produce private and non-private rock gardens throughout the country. The three decades from 1900 to 1939 were the heyday of the rock garden. Reginald Farrer was the principal figure and his 'My Rock Garden' book became the first bible on the subject.
Plant hunters scoured the mountains of the world in search of new alpine plants and the rock garden at Wisley was started in 1911. In the years prior to World War II interest in the rock garden declined. Only recently has there been a resurrection.
During the 1920's and 1930's the thought of growing alpines in non-rock situations took root, this together with the appearance of the garden centre in the second half of the 20th century produced about the third period in this history. People began to see the full range of plants which were accessible along with all types of easy and cheaper ways for cultivating alpines without having to create a rockery. Interest then switched to the plants and away from the rock structures, and this is the key feature of this third period in the history of rock gardening.
Author Resource:
A great deal of my time is spent in my garden. I have been searching for help on how to develop an ideal pond habitat for those fish which I will stock it with without much luck. To obtain the assistance I will need I have decided to use a company called Landscaper London . So far they have given me all the help and advice that I have asked for, as and when I ask them for it.
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