![Seiganji02s3872](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Seiganji02s3872.jpg)
A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of
rocks
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...
, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small
Alpine plant
Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, ...
s that need relatively little soil or water. Western rock gardens are often divided into
alpine garden
An alpine garden (or alpinarium, alpinum) is a domestic or botanical garden, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in ...
s,
scree
Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ha ...
gardens on looser, smaller stones, and other rock gardens.
Some rock gardens are planted around natural outcrops of rock, perhaps with some artificial landscaping, but most are entirely artificial, with both rocks and plants brought in. Some are designed and built to look like natural
outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth.
Features
Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...
s of
bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
. Stones are aligned to suggest a
bedding plane
In geology, a bed is a layer of sediment, sedimentary rock, or pyroclastic material "bounded above and below by more or less well-defined bedding surfaces".Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds., 2005. ''Glossary of Geology'' ...
, and plants are often used to conceal the joints between said stones. This type of rockery was popular in Victorian times and usually created by professional
landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
s. The same approach is sometimes used in commercial or modern-campus
landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following:
# Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal o ...
but can also be applied in smaller private gardens.
The
Japanese rock garden
The or Japanese rock garden, often called a zen garden, is a distinctive style of Japanese garden. It creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and us ...
, or
dry garden, often referred to as a "Zen garden", is a special kind of rock garden with a few large rocks, and gravel over most of the surface, often raked in patterns, and no or very few plants. Other Chinese and Japanese gardens use rocks, singly or in groups, with more plants, and often set in grass, or next to flowing water.
Until the fairly recent past the removal for gardening purposes of both plants and stone from their natural wild locations has resulted in considerable problems, and many are now legally protected; English
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
limestone pavement
A limestone pavement is a natural karst landform consisting of a flat, incised surface of exposed limestone that resembles an artificial pavement. The term is mainly used in the UK and Ireland, where many of these landforms have developed dis ...
is one example.
History
The use of rocks as decorative and symbolic elements in gardens can be traced back at least 1,500 years in
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and
Japanese garden
are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...
s. In China, large
scholar's rock
''Gongshi'' (), also known as scholar's rocks, are naturally occurring or shaped rocks which are traditionally appreciated by Chinese scholars.Metropolitan Museum of Art "The World of Scholars' Rocks Gardens, Studios, and Paintings" retrieved ...
s, preferably soft rocks such as
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
worn in river beds or waterfalls into fantastic shapes, were transported long distances to imperial and elite gardens. ''
Suseok'' are the Korean equivalent; the smaller Japanese ''
suiseki'' are normally for indoor display.
Initially European artificial rockeries did not attempt to mimic natural scenes, and used exotic minerals such as
feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...
s, lava, and shells, with the plants chosen without a programme, though often including
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
s. They were created in a similar spirit to the fashionable
shell grotto
A shell grotto is a type of folly, a grotto decorated with sea shells. The shell grotto was a popular feature of many British country houses in the 17th and 18th centuries. It suited the Baroque and Rococo styles (which used swirling motifs sim ...
. This phase lasted from the late 17th century into the early 19th.
![Waterfall in Albion Place Gardens, Ramsgate-geograph-4572203](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Waterfall_in_Albion_Place_Gardens%2C_Ramsgate-geograph-4572203.jpg)
During the Golden Age of Botany (early 1700s – mid-1800s), there was widespread interest in exotic plants imported to England and other European countries. Rock gardens dedicated to growing
alpine plant
Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, ...
s came to prominence in England from about the 1830s, and soon became a considerable craze. Firms could supply complete rockeries, at great expense. Initially many used
artificial stone
Artificial stone is a name for various synthetic stone products produced from the 18th century onward. Uses include statuary, architectural details, fencing and rails, building construction, civil engineering work, and industrial applications su ...
or
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
, sometimes painted, but "authentic" weathered stone came to be preferred.
Pulhamite was a successful material, produced by the leading firm
James Pulham and Son
James Pulham and Son was a firm of Victorian landscape gardeners and terracotta manufacturers which exhibited and won medals at London's Great Exhibition of 1851 and 1862 International Exhibition.
History
James Pulham and Son was founded by Ja ...
.
Although others had previously written about growing alpine plants, a major work was
Reginald Farrer
Reginald John Farrer (17 February 1880 – 17 October 1920), was a traveller and plant collector. He published a number of books, although is best known for ''My Rock Garden''. He travelled to Asia in search of a variety of plants, many of wh ...
's 1919 publication of his two-volume book, ''The English Rock Garden.''
Rock gardens have become increasingly popular as landscape features in tropical countries such as
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. The combination of wet weather and heavy shade trees, along with the use of heavy
plastic liners to stop unwanted plant growth, has made this type of arrangement ideal for both residential and commercial gardens due to its easier maintenance and drainage. In Canada, residents find that they help in yard cooling during the hot summer months.
Layouts
The standard layout for a rock garden consists of a pile of aesthetically arranged rocks in different sizes, with small gaps between in which plants are rooted. Typically, plants found in rock gardens are small and do not grow larger than 1 meter in height, though small trees and shrubs up to 6 meters may be used to create a shaded area for a
woodland rock garden. If used, they are often grown in troughs or low to the ground
to avoid obscuring the eponymous rocks. The plants found in rock gardens are usually species that flourish in well-drained,
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
.
Gallery
File:Daisen-in2.jpg, Japanese rock garden
The or Japanese rock garden, often called a zen garden, is a distinctive style of Japanese garden. It creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and us ...
, A mountain, waterfall, and gravel "river" at Daisen-in
The is a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji, a temple of the Rinzai school of Zen in Buddhism, one of the five most important Zen temples of Kyoto. The name means "The Academy of the Great Immortals." Daisen-in was founded by the Zen priest , and was bui ...
(1509–1513)
File:Pool University Of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada 01.jpg, Pool in rock garden on Edmonton campus of University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
, Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...
, Canada.
File:Gardens in Vatican City - Cactaceae - 2.jpg, In Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
, with succulent
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...
s.
File:Kew Szikla.jpg, Kew Rock garden, Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
, London.
File:Japaneseteagardensf.jpg, Hagiwara Japanese Tea Garden, a tea garden
A tea garden is an outdoor space or garden where tea and light refreshments are served, or any garden with which the drinking of tea is associated. Especially in India, it is also a common term for a tea plantation. The tea garden was a part o ...
in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
File:Zhanyuan rockery.jpg, Lingnan
Lingnan (; Vietnamese: Lĩnh Nam) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as modern northe ...
-style rockery
A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...
at Zhan Yuan
Zhan Yuan (), also known as Zhongshan Grand Mansion Gate, is a modern Chinese garden designed in a Suzhou and Hangzhou-derived style spanning the Beixi River (北溪河) near Huzhou Mountain (湖洲山) in the south of Zhongshan in Guangdong Provi ...
, Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
.
See also
*
List of garden types
A wide range of garden types exist. Below is a list of examples.
By country of origin
*Chinese garden
** Cantonese garden
** Sichuanese garden
*Dutch garden
* Egyptian garden
*English garden
**English landscape garden
*French garde ...
*
Rock Garden, Chandigarh
The Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a sculpture garden for rock enthusiasts in Chandigarh, India. It is also known as Nek Chand Saini's Rock Garden of Nathupur after its founder Nek Chand Saini, a government official who started building the ga ...
in
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
*
Nek Chand
Nek Chand Saini (15 December 1924 – 12 June 2015) was a self-taught Indian artist, known for building the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, an eighteen-acre sculpture garden in the city of Chandigarh.
Early life and background
Nek Chand hailed fro ...
, creator of the Rock Garden in Chandigarh, India.
Notes
References
*"HEALD",
History of Early American Landscape Design', Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art (Washington DC)
"Rockwork/Rockery" by Anne L. Helmreich*"Oxford": ''The Oxford Companion to Gardens'', eds.
Geoffrey Jellicoe
Sir Geoffrey Allan Jellicoe (8 October 1900 – 17 July 1996) was an English architect, town planner, landscape architect, garden designer, landscape and garden historian, lecturer and author. His strongest interest was in landscape and gard ...
,
Susan Jellicoe
Lady Susan Jellicoe ( Pares; 30 June 1907 – 1 August 1986) was an English plantswoman, photographer, writer, and editor who worked in collaboration with her husband, the landscape architect Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. Her main interest was in la ...
, Patrick Goode and Michael Lancaster, 1986, OUP, ISBN 0192861387
*
Uglow, Jenny, ''A Little History of British Gardening'', 2004, Chatto & Windus,
External links
Alpines and GardensGreek Mountain FloraThe Alpine Garden, Rock Gardening on the NetNorth American Rock Garden Society homepageScottish Rock Garden Club homepageThe British Rock Garden in the Twentieth Century- Occasional Papers from the RHS Lindley Library, volume 6, May 2011.
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Types of garden