Rock Garden Arrangement
Shapeshifter78
I have a narrow 2' X 16' space directly in front of the front porch that has been the bane of my gardening existence for a long time. I dug it up and filled it in with tumbled river rock. I have an old-time plow-share [that a horse would have pulled] that is about 4' long, 2' high and at most 1 1/2' wide. I also have three very large rocks. The largest is probably 2' X 2' X 1'. I have other smaller rocks to fill in and I plan to plant some containers and put in there also. However, I'm at a loss how to position the plow and the larger rocks that would be pleasing and make sense. Help. If I can get a pic up loaded, I will.
catwoman708
It might depend on what is behind the plow. If you look at the bed and plow from the front of the house, what is behind it? The house, bushes, a tree, the porch or front door? Usually when arranging 3 of something, you put 1 on one end (usually the largest), and two on the other (the 2 smaller ones). They are different sizes, but need to have the same "visual weight" to balance each other out. I personally don't care for things lined up in an even row, (except maybe in a formal style, symmetrical garden,) because it doesn't look interesting or natural, and has no "rhythm" (which draws the eye along the line and appears to have movement or a natural flow).If the spot is sunny, I'm thinking some of those decorative grasses, echinacea (coneflowers), or even cactus would look nice with the plow and rocks in your containers. If it is a shady spot, then maybe some ground cover, hostas, liriope, or something that spills out over the rocks and bed would look really neat. (You might could even get away with using fake plants and flowers.) Depends on the style of the house and your climate. I live in Texas, so we see a lot of ranch style houses, rock gardens with antique farm implements, wagon wheels, etc... So pretty much any native plants will look good to accent the bed.
Shapeshifter78
I knew I could count on you cat !! where in Texas are you? We are southeast of San Antonio about 25 miles. What is directly behind the space is the cement porch which is about 15" above the rock. Since I have the plow and 3 large rocks, what about placing the plow at one end and arranging the rock formation towards the other end. Then I could arrange my containers around and between the two. It will get full sun until about 2pm. I was also thinking about moss rose with some other sun-loving plants and cacti. I have some old cast iron dutch ovens that I've drilled holes in for draining that I plan to use, along with some taller containers.
catwoman708
We're in the outskirts of DFW.Sounds like you are on the right track! The arrangement, plants, and containers all sound great. I saw something yesterday that was interesting. A raised bed with rocks, implements, an antiqued looking wheelbarrow, etc... It would have looked too "busy" against that particular backdrop, but they put a wooden, split rail fence directly behind the bed, and had some kind of trailing roses on it, which hid the busy side porch behind it. It was very rustic, but lush at the same time.
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