The Rock Garden, Part 3: Creative Ways to Use Texture

In this, the final post on the Rock Garden in Truro Nova Scotia, I want to look at one of the design features that make this type of garden so appealing: texture.

Generally, we turn to foliage, bark and other hard surfaces to add a textural element to a garden's design. In a rock garden, however, a low dense blanket of blooms can be used to create an exquisitely textured surface.

White Creeping Thyme, Thymus praecox 'Albiflorus'

Saxifraga paniculata 'Brevifolia'

Texture can be defined as the tactile quality of a surface. In contrast with the rugged, weather-beaten granite, there something jewel-like about the tiny green rosettes of this Saxifraga paniculata 'Brevifolia'.

Texture has a marvellous tactile quality. It is hard to resist touching soft, fuzzy foliage like this Pussy Toes, Antennaria dioica 'Rubra' (seen below).

Pink Pussy Toes, Antennaria dioica 'Rubra': is a native wildflower that has grey-green leaves and pink flowers in early summer. Pussy Toes are well suited to hot, sunny spots and poor, dry soil. Height: 10-12 cm (4-5 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) USDA Zones 3-9. 

So far most of my planting notes have featured alpines and perennials. In this post, I'd like to shift the focus briefly onto another key rock garden component: the conifers.

Darwin Carr, Operational Manager for the grounds at the Agricultural Campus of Dalhousie University notes:

"Dwarf conifers always look great when paired with alpines and rocks. They give the garden the look of high alpine terrain."

"Wind, ice and snow sculpt the native evergreen forest near the snow line of mountain tops into Krummholz, which is a German word meaning "crooked wood". Krummholz trees are usually short, attaining no more than six feet in height. These stunted, twisted trees are some of the inspiration for landscaping with dwarf conifers."

           

Picea abies 'Little Gem': is a Norway spruce cultivar that has a cushion-like habit.  This conifer is a slow grower (about 3" per year).  Full sun to light shade. Deer resistant. Needs regular watering especially during periods of summer heat. Height: 20-30 cm, Spread: 20-25 cm. USDA Zones 3-7.

Darwin Carr notes,"This is one of my favourite dwarf conifers. I have a nice one in a concrete trough at home that's been there for about 10 years. In that time, it has reached about the size of a dinner plate."

Carpeting the ground is Wooly thyme, Thymus pseudolanuginosus, in the left foreground is Cotoneaster adpressus 'Little Gem', directly behind the Cotoneaster is a Bristlecone Pine, Pinus artistata.

Too often people think a great garden is one that is filled with flowers but just look above to see how wonderful a scene that is primarily green can be. Contrast and texture make "green" interesting. The grey-green carpet of thyme is like soft velvet, whereas the Cotoneaster and Bristlecone Pine, by contrast, are stiff and spiky. 

Without the high drama of flowers, nothing demands your attention. There is a subtly at work here. I think that is why green feels so restful. It is like soft music.

The golden colored groundcover is Juniperus horizontalis. The weeping evergreen is Thuja canadensis 'Pendula'. The upright conifer is Juniperus chinensis 'Iowa'. 

When mixing together a scene that is generally green, you can add an extra level of sophistication by considering the directional flow of your foliage. 

In front of a group of upright conifers, this weeping evergreen Thuga canadensis 'Pendula' cascades in an incredible waterfall effect.

The plant with the silver foliage is Salix helvetica, the upright chartreuse shrub on the left is a dwarf Alberta spruce,  Picea glauca 'Rainbow's end' and the evergreen on the right is Picea abies 'Gregoryana Parsonii'.

Texture does not work its magic in isolation. Shape and color have a role to play in accentuating different textural surfaces.

This mix of plants includes is Phlox borealis ( magenta-mauve in color) and white Arabis x sturii and some small patches of white Candytuft, Iberis saxatilis.

And of course, in any rock garden, there is the stone. It is amazing to think that plants manage to grow in this spare, rocky landscape.

Spurless Columbine, Semiaquilegia 'Sugar Plum Fairy'

And yet they flourish and often in the most delicate way.

A cascading white Candytuft, Iberis saxatilis

Pinks, Dianthus 'La bourboule'

Sheriff's Rock Jasmine, Androsace sarmentosa 'Sherriffii': has mauve flowers and evergreen rosettes that form a trailing carpet. Excellent drainage is key to having success with this plant. Full sun or light shade (they may need a little afternoon shade in warm regions). Height: 10-12 cm (4-5 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) USDA Zones 3-9. 

Saxifraga paniculata 'Brevifolia'

Saxifraga paniculata: has rosettes of evergreen leaves and sprays of white flowers carried on maroon stems. This plant likes light shade and somewhat moist soil with good drainage. Height: 15-25 cm (6-10 inches), Spread: 25-30 cm (10-12 inches) USDA Zones 3-9. 

Red Lady's Fingers or Red Kidney Vetch, Anthyllis vulneraria var. 'Coccinea': has a low mound of silvery-green leaves and orange-red flowers in late spring. This plant tolerates poor soil and dry conditions once established. Full sun. Height: 15-20 cm (6-8 inches), Spread: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) USDA Zones 4-9. 

Pasque flowers, Pulsatilla are unique in the many ways they manage to add texture. Not only are the grey-green leaves and bell-shaped flowers are soft and downy, but the seed heads are also as fine as baby's hair. The flowers bloom before the foliage emerges each spring and open in the morning sunshine and close each evening.

Darwin Carr tells me:

"We have an enormous number of Pulsatilla in the garden... We started with two species, and they really like growing conditions here, so if we don't deadhead them after flowering, we will have literally thousands of seedlings the next spring."

In the foreground is Japanese Burnet, Sanguisorba obtusa. In the middle ground are Pasque Flowers, that have gone to seed and in the upper left is Kashmir Mountain Ash, Sorbus cashmiriana which has white fruit.

I want to close this series by recommending that, if you ever are lucky enough to tour Nova Scotia, a visit to the Rock Garden on the Agricultural Campus of Dalhousie University is well worth your while. Already I am looking for any excuse to go back and see the other campus gardens that I missed the last time around: the Butterfly Garden, the Chef's Garden, the Alumni Garden and the Herb Garden.

But then, it doesn't take much of an excuse for me to want to visit my old home province of Nova Scotia. ( Missed the two earlier posts? Here's a link to Part 1 and Part 2.)

Garden Canadensis: this is one garden you'll want to see!

Welcome to Garden Canadensis. 

Located on two acres just outside of the town of Milton, Garden Canadensis is the creation of Chen and his lovely wife Linda. I asked Chen to tell me the garden's name and a bit about its history:

"Although we started building this garden when we first moved here about 26 years ago, we started a hobby bonsai nursery business (which we called Garden Cnaadensis) shortly after, and struggled for a few years. We soon realized that our professional career commitments and raising two kids etc. made it impossible to keep up with the gardening and the nursery hobbies."

"I did not go back to serious gardening until about 2007/2008: renovating/extending the beds, removing overcrowded trees/shrubs and starting to collect new plant material again. That is why you will find a mix of very mature trees and relatively young trees in the garden. We kept Garden Canadensis as the name of our garden to signify our connection with this land even from a botanical perspective."

From the driveway the garden appears somewhat unassuming, but the moment you come closer, and start moving among the plantings, you realize that you are in the midst of something special.

Miscanthus sinensis 'Dixieland'

Geranium 'Rozanne' 

Chen on geraniums: 

"Geraniums may not be the kind of plant that takes your breath away on first sight, or second. After you have a couple of them around for a few years, you may find that their quiet charm in mingling with other plants in shade or sun seems to make your garden more compete. Then you want more...I wish I could say they are easy to grow, but the fact is some of those that I like simply will not live here for more than a few years."

See more pictures and read Chen's notes on Geraniums. Click the 'i' to the top left of the image to have each cultivar identified.

Penstemon 'Dark Towers'

Penstemon 'Dark Towers'

An excerpt from Chen's notes on Heuchera: 

"In terms of ornamental attributes, usefulness, versatility and maintenance I would consider Heucheras as one of the most valuable perennials in our garden; yes I am biased. Heuchera has an interesting and wide color range, a compact neat habit, beautiful textures, and is semi-evergreen...Depending on the varieties, it can be grown in sun and shade." 

Read more notes on the subject of Heuchera on Chen's website. Click the 'i' to the top left of the image to have each cultivar identified.

Penstemon barbatus 'Coccineus'

Penstemon barbatus 'Coccineus'

I asked Chen if there was an overall vision for the garden when they began to create it or if it came together over time:

"Like all 'city folks', our initial dream when we moved here was to create an enchanting 2 acre garden. However, the initial shock of country gardening (extremely poor clay soil, poor drainage, limited water resource, extra vicious weeds and the scale of the garden) quickly limited our initial landscaping efforts to a few beds and patios around the house.

However, I did divide the one acre around the house into a number of imaginary zones (beds) and paths from the beginning, and planted some structure conifers in them...Over the years theses imaginary beds evolved iteratively and took shape (about 70% of them now)."

We are going to head into the back garden now. 

On the left there is a large family swimming pool and to the right is the house. Ahead of us is the winding path that leads into the main part of the back garden.

A rose covered arbor leads into the pool area. Let's stop to admire the roses before we look back 

toward the plantings surrounding the pool.

Rosa 'Climbing Iceberg' 

These overall shots are not as glamourous as closeups of beautiful flowers, but I wanted to include a few of them to show you how well the planting beds have been conceived and executed.

This is the view looking back towards the pool.

Let's step back onto the path and see more of the garden.

Penstemon 'Husker's Red'

What a love best about this garden are the many special moments.

Penstemon hirsutus

This is a garden that is beautiful even when it is quiet and green.

And it is stunning where there are stands of flowers like these tall, graceful Delphinium. 

Delphiniums 'Pacific Giants'

Some of Chen's views on delphiniums: 

"Our Delphiniums all came from inexpensive seed packages. I generally don't like flowers that need to be staked, but I would make an exception for the blue delphiniums; tall or short. Maybe it is because they are sooo...true blue. Their elegant presence in the garden is always noticed first."

Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'

Chen tells me:

'Mercury Rising' was aquired last April and bloomed from June till frost. It was introduced to the marketplace as part of the Big Bang Series, and like 'Red Shift' is supposed to be hardy, but I am not holding my breath. I hope the claim by the breeder/nursery is true."

Chen has a wonderful array of Coreopsis. See additional pictures and read his notes regarding other cultivars here. Click the 'i' to the top left of the image to have each cultivar identified.

A shady area near the house.

 The plant with soft grey foliage is Veronica incana. The tall variegated green plant is Phlox 'Norah Leigh'. In the foreground with orange-red foliage is Heuchera 'Marmalade'.  The pink flower is Veronica spicata 'Giles Van Hees'

This is a very long post I know, but honestly, I haven't shown you the half of it! 

In upcoming posts, I will take a closer look some of the many wonderful planting combinations and offer more excerpts from Chen's notes on specific cultivars.

Have a wonderful weekend!

More Information and Links: You can also read more about the garden and see additional pictures by visiting Chen's website: Garden Canadensis .