A Little History About Rock Gardens

Both rock and water were old established garden features way before anybody considered installing lawns, flower beds or borders. Thousands of years ago the very first Japanese garden was not anything more than an area of white stone chippings with an individual Cleyera tree in the centre and the Ancient Persian 'paradise' had a long 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 only 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 water gardens and fountain construction became easy enough and affordable enough for the ordinary landscape gardener.

It has taken a long time, but both rock and water gardening have eventually come of age. There is now massive interest in all areas of the water garden. Rock garden plants are grown in vast numbers, the range available nowadays in both rockeries and rock-free conditions is immense. I find it motivating that both these natural elements have several features in common.

They may extend for just a few square feet or more than 1 / 4 of an acre and both provide the chance to grow a vast range of plants not found within the ordinary, every-day garden. The drawbacks that they share are that careful groundwork is required and a considerable quantity 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 produce just a decorative feature. This second period got off to a slow beginning, although rock gardens were created at various sites all around Britain and the idea of laying stones to give the look of a natural outcrop was created. Things changed in the 1860's and the rock garden finally took its place as a very 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 public and private rock gardens throughout the country. The three decades from 1900 to 1939 were the heyday of the rock garden. Reginald Farrer was the leading figure and his 'My Rock Garden' book became the very first bible on this subject.

Plant hunters scoured the mountains all over the world looking for new alpine plants and the rock garden at Wisley was started in 1911. In the years before World War II interest in the rock garden plumeted. 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 coupled with the birth of the garden centre in the 2nd half of the 20th century brought about the third period in this history. People began to see the complete range of plants which are obtainable together with all sorts of easy and inexpensive methods 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.

A great deal of my time is spent in my garden. I have been looking for help on how to develop an ideal pond habitat for those fish which I intend to stock it with without much luck. To obtain the help I will want I have decided to use a company called Gardener 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.