Rock gardening has always been associated with rather strenuous work. It involved moving massive rocks and lugging tons of sand and gravel. This is impossible for me but I’ve developed a deep interest in learning to grow these miniature plants (and eventually shrubs) well.
Wooden Horse Troughs
One of the newest fads seems to be to construct waist high wooden horse troughs of deck wood planks. Someone experienced in carpentry work should construct these. These should also be considered permanent fixtures – not something to be moved around.
You can adapt this to your needs. I would suggest measuring a comfortable work height for you and having the top of the trough level with that height. This would work if you are in a wheelchair too–just make it high enough for you to work easily. Dimensions are pretty much up to you, as are the length and width. If you are in a wheelchair, I’d suggest you make it as long as you wish, but have the width be no more than 18-24 inches depending on your reach length.
Gardening Tips: Containers for Rock Gardens
Since you will be growing miniature shrubs and plants, I suggest a depth of 18 inches of soil mixture is adequate. If the trough is higher than this, use anything you want to fill the container up to where the soil needs to begin. A good growing media would be a mix of gravel, sand, and soil. Base the exact media composition on the needs of the plants you use.
In addition to plants, pieces of tufa rock were buried partway to make it look like a mountainous terrain. Feel free to use any accents you wish as you create garden. These could be challenging to your imagination! Perhaps you would like to mimic a particular natural scene you enjoy? Gravel makes suitable mulch.
Hypertufa Troughs
I’ve written about constructing hypertufa troughs in a previous articles. Please refer to those articles for details on their construction and suggested uses. The biggest disadvantage of these troughs is their weight. I find them impossible to lift and know other people with physical problems would too.
Styrofoam Ice Chests
An inexpensive container could be made from a styrofoam ice chest Punch several holes in the bottom for drainage–I’d suggest at least 10 holes the width of a pencil. Ask your local craft store for a spray paint that can be used on styrofoam if you wish to paint it.
Set the chest on a couple of bricks to aid in drainage. Fill it with the planting medium suitable for the type plants you will be growing. Add some rocks for decoration or to mimic a landscape, and mulch it with gravel. Chicken grit works well for the smaller size planter – it looks more in proportion than larger gravel does. This type planter would not be suitable to leave outside during a cold winter. Move it to an unheated porch or garage for protection.
Clay Pots
I’ve experimented with planting sempervivums in some azalea style clay pots. They are less likely to rot in clay pots that dry out quickly than they would in plastic pots. Air is better able to get to the roots in clay. If you wish to grow an invasive plant, consider planting them in their own clay pot to help prevent the roots from taking over larger plantings. The clay pots will also be used to tender perennials that need to be moved inside when cold weather returns.
Traditional Raised Garden Bed
A final alternative is to simply build a raised bed, fill it with appropriate soil, and plant your alpine plants in it. I had a raised herb garden that was converted to a rock garden several years ago. I mixed a 50-pound bag of chicken grit with the soil, planted the garden, and mulched with white gravel. The plants did very well and even made it through a very wet winter. The whole bed is about 2′x3′x10″ high. I have Penstemons, dianthus, a miniature grass, alpine sunflowers, and several other plants growing quite nicely in it. I did have to pull out one plant that simply grew too out of proportion to the rest of the plants out in the fall.
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