Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
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Mention rock gardens to most people and they think only of the rocks.
While that is half of the equation, it doesn't cover the many interesting plants that grow over, under and among the rocks and the other garden plants.
The earliest rock gardens were built in China and Japan. By design, these gardens emphasized unusual rock forms rather than plants.
By definition, gardens where rocks and appropriate plants are the chief design elements are called rock gardens.
Sometimes rock gardens are erroneously assumed to only refer to specific groups of plants. These were alpine plants that grow and thrive under subarctic or even arctic conditions.
Our Utah climate is not always hospitable to plants that require these conditions. Most true alpine plants do not grow well during our hot dry conditions.
Creative gardeners here enjoy creating rock gardens but then grow the plants that survive our Utah climate. One stunning example is the creation of John Stireman, who with his wife, Dianne, have created a treasure trove of interesting plants at their Sandy home.
Stireman relates how he got started with this hobby. "I was interested in biology and plants ever since I was a little kid. It was a natural for me to go into growing unusual plants."
"Most people in the Wasatch Rock Garden Society are looking for something unusual, and I am no different. These people are often responsible for introducing new plants to our area."
He relates how he created his latest garden. "It all started when Salt Lake County wanted to put in a sidewalk in front of our home. I had a huge honey locust and an Austrian pine in the front yard, and they had to be removed before they could install the sidewalk.
"Once they had removed both of those trees and did the excavation, there was very little lawn left. I decided to remove what little lawn that remained and create a desert landscape."
The rock mostly came from berms and other features he had previously installed in the area. He rearranged those to create suitable planting areas for his rock-garden plants.
He and his wife installed flagstone walkways, stairways and other features to make the gardens attractive, as well as good for growing.
Since there were many plants I did not recognize, I asked how he decided what plant to grow.
"Currently, I am most interested in plants that tolerate heat because that is the way the climate is going. Rock gardening has a 'rule' that the plants need to be less than one foot in height.
"The most prized plants are those that are the tightest and the smallest, the smaller, the better. Small, tight mats of some plants don't even have to flower to be desirable."
The next question I asked was where he got all of his tiny specimen plants.
"You can find some from local nurseries if you seek them out. There are also other specialty nurseries that offer plants by mail order. Most often we just grow our own."
When I asked where he got the seeds, he said there are many specialty nurseries that offer seeds for some of the more unusual plants.
"Another favorite source," he said, "is the seed exchange for the North American Rock Garden Society. They offer more than 5,000 different kinds of seeds through this program."
The solar greenhouse that Stireman built in his backyard is ample evidence of his interest in propagating these unusual plants. Stepping inside the greenhouse is almost like going to another world because you see plants from several continents.
The greenhouse is full, the cold frames are full and the backyard garden is full. So where are the other plants going?
"I usually end up with some extras," Stireman said, "so I have some to share with fellow members of the rock garden society."
Although his front garden is very new, there are already many plants blooming there and in the rest of the landscape. To make the plantings more interesting, he also includes a number of trough gardens that show off his stunning rock-garden plants.
The next question I asked was where he got all of his tiny specimen plants.
"You can find some from local nurseries if you seek them out. There are also other specialty nurseries that offer plants by mail order. Most often we just grow our own."
When I asked where he got the seeds, he said there are many specialty nurseries that offer seeds for some of the more unusual plants.
"Another favorite source," he said, "is the seed exchange for the North American Rock Garden Society. They offer more than 5,000 different kinds of seeds through this program."
The solar greenhouse that Stireman built in his backyard is ample evidence of his interest in propagating these unusual plants. Stepping inside the greenhouse is almost like going to another world because you see plants from several continents.
The greenhouse is full, the cold frames are full and the backyard garden is full. So where are the other plants going?
"I usually end up with some extras," Stireman said, "so I have some to share with fellow members of the rock garden society."
Although his front garden is very new, there are already many plants blooming there and in the rest of the landscape. To make the plantings more interesting, he also includes a number of trough gardens that show off his stunning rock-garden plants.
