(13 July 2011)
My first attempt to build an experimental rockery garden. My motivation here is not to create a serious alpine rock gardens that grows delicate and rare alpine plants. I only want to better accommodate and appreciate some of the relatively small perennials and dwarf conifers especially those that require relatively well drained condition. The effort is considered experimental because I am not sure that I am willing to keep up with the maintenance over time.

For a description of the construction, see here.

Although it still looks raw and naive, and needs more fine tuning with more rocks, finer gravels and more plants, that’s it for this year.

A narrow path allows me to visit and take a closer look at each plant. To navigate, you will need to take walking lesson from my cat. Every square inch of the realestate here is precious.


A path that begins must be ended.

If you look carefully at my new rockery, can you see my abstraction of Mount Nemo and Rattle Snake Point of the Niagara Escarpment near where I live? And perhaps part of the Bruce trail?

Although some of these new plants showed me glimpses of their flowers, I need to wait for a couple of years for them to ‘fill in’ (assuming they survive my neglect).

Hopefully, I will not skip the watering and the weeding too much for the rest of the season, and most of these little plants would return next spring, and grow a little bigger, making this rockery area a little more presentable.