An excellent variant of the landscape for a small plot of land the construction of an alpine hill. Its arrangement is best to start in early autumn. To begin with, it is necessary to determine the size of the hill, to put a spot marking on the territory and to gain patience and courage.
Imagining what your alpine slide will look like in the future, you will also have to divide the area into a plateau, a valley, a top and a cliff. Later on, the effect of these areas can be enhanced by thinking about the right lighting. After you have clearly imagined what this will look like on your site, we move on to developing a detailed plan. The Alpine slide is a rather complex decorative element. The plan will help you competently approach the construction and effectively plan the work. Once the plan is on paper, it will need to be applied to a piece of land that you have already chosen.
Several types of rock climbing.
Alpine slide can be arranged in many ways. We have identified six main areas:
- Rock This is an alpine slide with a steep slope and prominent boulders that are sprinkled with small and medium stones at the base.
- Alpine scree is an alpine hill with one slope, on top of which are mainly large stones, and at the base is a small placer.
- The mountain valley is when both large and small stones are loosely scattered.
- Terraced slope is a rockery, which is located on a gentle slope and laid in the form of steps, which are put at the expense of large stones.
- The forest ravine is a shell-shaped rockery, i.e. it is located in a recess. It is mainly formed by overgrown moss.
- The stone wall is a rockery, which is formed in the form of a small curb, which is laid at the expense of flat stones.
We are preparing a plot of land.
The next step is to prepare the site. First of all, we remove the top layer of the turf so that the depth is not less than 300 mm. Then we form the bottom layer. For this purpose, we put slag, broken bricks or gravel on the depth of 100 mm. The second layer is 50-100 mm deep. It is laid out of coarse sand. Each layer should be carefully watered with water.
Next, we prepare an earth mixture, previously cleared of weeds. We add there coarse-grained sand and crushed humus. Mix all the ingredients in the same proportion. Pour the earth mixture from above onto the drainage layer and make a slide up to one meter high. If you plan to make a high alpine slide, it is possible and higher. In this case, the soil is removed up to 1 meter. In order for all layers to be shrunk, it is necessary to leave the construction work for three weeks.
We make laying stones.
Laying the alpine slide begins with the largest stones, which are laid out around the perimeter. Next, medium sized stones are used, and lastly, small ones. In order to make the slide strong and stable, large stones can be buried in the ground for about three quarters.
When creating stone paths, the selected stones should be laid flat side up, otherwise you will not be very comfortable walking along the path. For strength, you can wake up small stones between the large stones. Also, don't forget to leave room between the paths to plant flowers or plants.
To make the alpine slide look natural, it is better not to follow the rules of geometry when laying stones.
Which plants are best suited?
To get the full image of an alpine slide, you need to choose the right plants to surround it with. It is important that they all fit the style chosen. The best way to do this is with short plants that do not require any special care and will blend perfectly with other plants even when they bloom.
Soil plants, or as they are called, carpet plants, will look great. They beautifully grow on an empty surface and give the brightness and originality of the entire area. Carpet plants include: St. John's wort, daisy, sedum, zhizhchka, alpine strawberry, veronika, thyme, etc.
Also, rosette plants are suitable for the alpine slide. But there is one "but" here. These plants are very capricious and require special care. Popular among them are cuffs, levisions, sprouts and others.
As an option, you can also use tuber and bulbous plants, which grow in spring. Galantuses, crocuses, squirrels will please you first after a long and cold winter.
The basis of the alpine slide is planted with perennial plants, which will keep its image for the entire period. Annual plants are planted for diversity. This is how the hill will change its appearance year after year and decorate your garden.
It is not necessary to look for exotic and rare plant species for the alpine slide. To complete the image may well be suitable for those types of flowers and shrubs, which you have already planted on their sites. For example, carpet cleaning plant, or enduring and frost-resistant edelweiss, fleshy and bright youngsters, as well as the original "carpet" saxifrage.
Decor for alpine slide
The best decoration for an alpine slide is the stones that form the basis of the entire structure. It is best to select the stones of different shapes and sizes. This will give the slide a natural look and enhance its decorative effect.
There is also one important rule to consider when choosing a decor. An alpine slide should never be decorated with artificial materials such as glass structures or plastic. These materials do not fit into the overall concept of the landscape and exclude the effect of naturalness.
Alpine slides do not take much time to build. The design can be enjoyed from the very early spring.
Thank you for your attention and have a good day, everybody!