Not so long ago, Russian gardeners enthusiastically began to master the principles of the formation of classic alpine hills, which the British invented 250 years ago in addition to their landscape garden. As it turned out, the traditional rocky hills are now experiencing a crisis of the genre and the current favorite of landscape design - a layered alpine hill originally from the Czech Republic - "Czech rolling pin". The special, wild beauty of the Czech mountains inspired local gardeners to create a rock garden, unusual in style and execution - made of thin stone slabs buried in the ground with ends. We offer you a master class on laying the most popular rocky hill of the season - the Czech rolling pin.
Have you always thought that an alpine slide with your own hands is difficult and not everyone can do it? We dare to reassure you, because the Czech rolling pin is formed from quite lifting thin plates, so you don’t have to drag heavy stone boulders. In addition, the device of such a rock garden does not imply the implementation of grueling earthworks associated with digging a foundation pit and laying a powerful drainage. Planting plants on a layered hill is also not difficult. The thin and deep clefts that result from the construction of a rocky garden according to the Czech rolling pin scheme are natural landing pockets for integrating vegetation into a decorative mountain range.
The picturesque landscape of the Alpine mountains inspired gardeners to create alpine hills, which traditionally consist of a combination of stone with mountain plants
The Czech Republic mountain ranges differ from the Alps, but are no less beautiful - they also gave impetus to the creation of the “Czech Skalka” alpine hills
To create an alpine slide, a Czech rolling pin sets the stones on the edge with minimal gaps - this is a variant of the rock garden from the Czech Republic differs from the classic rocky garden
"Czech rolling pin": what kind of beast?
What is a Czech rolling pin? The rock garden in the form of a fissured rock slide, which arrived to us from the Czech Republic, is formed with the help of rock plates, installed in the ground with an edge at a small distance from each other, and the ends of the stone form a wavy plane. Alpine plant species and dwarf trees are planted in narrow crevices formed between stone plates and are covered on top with a substrate and fine gravel so that the ground is not visible even one iota. The outlandishness of this approach to creating a rocky garden leads to a completely unusual result - it seems that greenery and flowers make their way directly from the thickness of the rocks.
The main feature of the “Czech rolling pin” rock garden is the maximum naturalness, which is achieved by imitating the principle of the mountain structure of the Czech Republic
To form the Czech rolling pin, stone slabs are installed almost vertically, at an angle of 10-15 degrees relative to the plane perpendicular to the ground
Due to the thin crevices formed between the plates during the formation of the Czech rolling pin, it seems that the plants planted in them grow directly from the stone
Why is the Czech rolling pin so good that gardeners of all countries together switched from the construction of traditional rock gardens to a layered stone slide?
Here are a few reasons for this phenomenon:
- Naturalness. The Czech rolling pin almost completely imitates natural rock formation, introducing a particle of untouched nature into its landscape design in its pristine beauty.
- Balance Due to the existence of narrow long gaps between the stone slabs, an optimal microclimate is created for the growth of alpine plant species - with moderate humidity and temperature.
- Unpretentiousness. Small distances between the plates of the stone contribute to the retention of moisture in the soil, because the evaporation plane is negligible - accordingly, such a hill does not require watering and additional drainage, and there is too little space for the development of weeds in crevices of the Czech rock garden.
The steep Prakhov cliffs and stone outcrops characteristic of the Czech forest regions inspired Czech gardeners to create a Czech rock rock garden
To create an alpine slide, a Czech rolling pin needs to select a layered stone and set it almost vertically
Alpine plants for Czech rolling pin are planted in crevices formed during the installation of stone slabs
Canons of layered Czech rolling pin:
- The entire Czech slide should be composed of one rock in the form of flat plates of various thicknesses, or of more rounded stones, but with necessarily 2 flat faces.
- When creating a Czech rolling pin, stone slabs must be installed so that narrow and long vertical crevices are formed with a thickness of about 2-5 cm. Thus, the alpine hill will be as close as possible to the natural rock formations characteristic of the Czech mountains.
- Stone slabs for the Czech rolling pin are selected in an irregular shape and buried in the ground in order to create longitudinal and transverse waves, the tops of which are then emphasized by plants, designed to further enhance the dynamics of the miniature mountain range. There should be several peaks at the Czech rolling pin to create a complete illusion of mountainous terrain.
- The soil cover between the stones formed in the rock garden should not be visible at all, for which all areas of land are covered with gravel of various fractions.
The stone for the rocky garden “Czech rolling pin” is selected in the form of plates of various thicknesses
During the formation of the Czech Alpine slide, stone slabs are laid both in the vertical and horizontal directions
Rock garden Czech rolling pin will be an excellent decoration of the concrete border
We are sure that you are already interested in how to make an alpine slide according to the “Czech rolling pinion” method, but you don’t know what types of stone and plant species to choose for such an original rock garden. We offer you first-hand information, as they say - it will help you to equip the Czech rolling pin in your country house with minimal effort.
Larger plants are planted on the tops of the Czech rolling pin, emphasizing the dynamics of elevation
Having folded rock garden “Czech rolling pin”, you can get a fairly strong fence or retaining wall
For horizontal laying rock garden Czech rolling pin, select stone slabs of different thicknesses
It's important to know! The Czech rolling pin can be formed not only by vertical masonry of stone slabs, but also horizontal. In this way, you can arrange low curbs and retaining walls in the garden.
Choosing a location for the future rock garden
Alpine slide in the country, and on any other land - this is a spectacular emphasis that gives the garden an originality. However, in order to achieve a harmonious perception of such a decorative element in the landscape design, it is necessary to adhere to some principles of stony garden placement. When choosing a place for an alpine hill, two dogmas follow that allow solving both botanical and aesthetic tasks:
- The very first condition for the successful living of the rock garden on your site is the creation of comfortable conditions for plants, in this case, we are talking about Alpines, the natural environment of which the mountain Alps are. On the one hand, these representatives of the flora are ascetic, hardy and photophilous, but excessive insolation is fatal for them. For this reason, a rocky hill is best placed on the east side of the house - in the morning the sun will illuminate the vegetation, and in the afternoon hide behind the house and the rock garden will be in the shadow necessary for it.
- From an aesthetic point of view and for the integrity of landscape design, it is necessary to provide an advantageous foreground and background for the perception of stone composition. Before the rock garden, it is best to place a lawn or make a stone dump. The background for the slide should be quite dense - it could be a hedge or frequent planting of conifers and shrubs.
Choose a place for laying a rock garden Czech rolling pin so that in the afternoon the slide is in the shade
For a harmonious perception of a rocky hill Czech rolling pin, create a dense background from planting shrubs and trees
The choice of stone and plants for the Czech slide
Based on the fact that the Czech rolling pin has a look that is not quite traditional for rock gardens due to vertically installed stone slabs of different thicknesses, only layered sedimentary rocks — limestone, sandstone, and slate — are suitable for it. These types of stone are good because over time, the sharp angles of these relatively soft rocks are smoothed out and the outlines of the slabs take on a more natural look. In addition, the light ocher or grayish color scheme of sedimentary stone is pleasant to perceive.
When purchasing a stone, it is advisable to immediately estimate how many tons of rock will be used to create your mini massif. It is not advisable to buy a stone, since slabs from different parties will differ in color, and this is an extremely negative moment for the Czech layered slide.
It's important to know! In order to roughly estimate the volume of the necessary stone, we give the material consumption for the construction of a Czech rolling pin with an area of 20 square meters: limestone - 4 tons, rubble stone (for the base of the peaks) - 1 ton, gravel (for dumping) - 0.5 tons.
The Czech rolling rock garden is formed from layered stone of sedimentary origin - shale, sandstone, limestone
Plants for the Alpine slide Czech rolling pin are selected in accordance with its dimensions and for the revitalization of the stone surface - miniature and bright
For landing on a rocky hill, a Czech rolling pin is best to pick up miniature, colorful flowering alpines
Regarding the selection of plants for the Czech rolling pin - there are no special differences compared with the traditional rock garden. As before, the green inhabitants of alpine mountains and dwarf trees should be comparable to a rocky hill in size and growth rate. Daphne, bells, gerbil, dredge - the list of miniature alpines suitable for landing on a Czech rolling pin can be continued endlessly. The indigenous inhabitants of the Alpine mountains can perfectly adjoin to forest and steppe species of flora - ferns, bulbs, dwarf conifers. For disembarkation at the tops of the Czech rolling pin, phlox, nibs, shaving are ideal, and for slopes, ground cover arabis, tenacity, dolphin, juvenile, sedum and stonecrops. Crocuses and muscari will look good at the foot of a rocky alpine hill.
Article in the topic: Selection of plants for an alpine hill: examples of varieties + decor rules
Stages of laying the alpine slide of the “Czech design”
Stage 1 - site preparation for construction
Before starting excavation, determine the area and shape of the alpine hill - it should be commensurate with the dimensions of your personal plot. As for the excavation itself, it is not necessary to dig a deep foundation pit to form the Czech rolling pin, as for the construction of traditional alpine hills - just remove the top layer of soil by 15-20 cm, select the rhizomes of perennial weeds, fill the prepared place under the hill with rubble stone and broken brick . This base is ideal for fixing stone slabs, and for drainage - brick debris will absorb excess moisture, which will protect the plants in the dry period. Although, the very configuration of the Czech fissured hill in the form of rows of deep crevices will facilitate simplified removal of moisture.
The direction of laying stone slabs to form a Czech rolling pin is set using a rope tied to pegs
At the final stage of preparing a place for laying an alpine slide in the garden, the base made of rubble stone and brick is covered with a layer of sifted river sand, which will provide additional rolling drainage and simplify the burial of the stone into the ground.
Stage 2 - Sorting Stone Slabs
Before you begin installing stone plates in the ground, it is better to group them in separate piles, according to the size and thickness of the stone. When sorting the material, take a look at the appearance of the plates and select the largest and most expressive specimens for use as the "main" stones of the peaks. What is guided by when choosing a stone for the "tops" of the slide? A relief surface, traces of time in the form of moss and lichen, interspersed with other minerals, colorful colored stains are signs of accent stones for the Czech rolling pin, which are set out by a spectacular plane. Do not forget about the ends of the stone blocks - they will become the "face" of the Czech rolling pin, so the plates should be turned to the viewer with "tanned" faces, without traces of fresh faults.
For the convenience of arranging an alpine slide, a Czech rolling pin, it is better to sort the stone by size and thickness
Stage 3 - finding directions for laying a slide
After the stones for the peaks of the rock mass originally from the Czech Republic were found, they begin to install the slabs in the ground. First, determine the direction for the installation of stone plates, which should be located strictly parallel to each other, at an angle of 5-10 degrees relative to the vertical. The orientation angle of the crevices between the rolling pin layers is selected based on the best view of the rock garden from various viewpoints. When the desired direction is chosen, it is necessary to fix it - drive two pegs into the ground and pull a thread of bright color, so that in the process of laying the rock garden not to break the clear rhythm of the stone plates.
To find the most profitable direction of stone slabs in a Czech rolling pin, it is advisable to analyze the place for laying the slide from different viewpoints
It's important to know! The optimal width of the cleft formed between the plates of the Czech rolling pin is 5 cm, the maximum is 20 cm.
Stage 4 - Setting the Top Peak
Having decided on the location of the main peak of your rock formation, bury the largest size plate at the selected point. To fix the stone in the soil, drive several pieces of reinforcement or metal rods on both sides of the plate (use a rubber mallet). As additional spacers to maintain the distance between the stone slabs, you can also use foam and rubble. After the main rolling stone is buried in the ground and gained stability, you need to gently ram the top layer of soil with small rakes.
The Czech rolling pin rock garden is laid in a wavy way, where the peak formed by the largest stone slabs is the starting point
It's important to know! Take into account that the height of the main peak of the hill should not exceed 60 cm. If you decide to create a more steep mountain range, then you need to raise the soil level using an embankment.
Stage 5 - Stone Wave Formation
From the main peak in both directions, gradually form a wavy surface of the rock garden using stone plates of different sizes and thicknesses. Try to make the stone waves of the slide asymmetric, vary them in length, avoid even lines and the right radii - the Czech rolling pin should be as natural as possible. A few additional peaks lower than the main peak of the stone ridge will help strengthen the expressiveness of the rock garden.It is recommended that you periodically move away from the alpine hill a certain distance to check the parallelism of the plates relative to each other, as well as to evaluate the naturalness of the outlines of the side and top planes.
During the formation of the “Czech rolling pin” alpine slide, stone slabs are installed tightly so that the crevices between them do not exceed 5 cm in thickness
A good addition to the alpine slide, folded in the form of a Czech rolling pin, will be a small waterfall
It's important to know! Alpine slide "Czech rolling pin" is rarely combined with a waterfall or any other body of water. It copies its natural counterpart - the Czech mountains, for which the presence of water near rock formations is not characteristic. However, a layered slide may well be adjacent to the pond, if desired by its creator.
Stage 6 - Planting
The final stage in the design of any alpine hill is the formation of a planting site. The most important moment for planting alpine flora representatives in the open ground of the Czech rolling pin is the observance of the necessary proportions of the components for the planting mixture. Soil for planting miniature plants from the Alps is prepared as follows: 1/3 - garden or meadow land, 2/3 - washed river sand with gravel screenings. A similar composition of the soil for planting alpine plants provides it with friability and airiness, in addition, the earth should not be wet.
Alpine plants are planted on a Czech rolling pin in the narrow slots formed during the installation of stone slabs
After planting alpine plants on a Czech rolling pin, the planting pocket is covered with substrate and fine gravel
Due to the narrow crevices between the stones formed into the Czech rolling pin, the plants are provided with the most favorable conditions for growth
Peaty garden soil will not be very successful for the Czech rolling pin, but for plants sensitive to soil acidity, it is better to immediately add dolomite dust (lime) or peat to the soil mixture, some mountaineers need leafy humus.
The simplicity of planting plants on a Czech rolling pin is that the crevices between the stone slabs are ready-made deep holes where the plant is placed and filled with prepared soil mixture to the root neck. Moreover, the Alpines do not need to be buried in the gap itself - the plant must be suspended above the stone in order to then sprinkle the root neck to a thickness of 3-4 cm with rubble of various sizes (mulch), creating the illusion of greenery growing directly from the rock. The finishing touch of planting work during the formation of the Czech Alpine hill - the planting sites are moistened with a drip method to ensure contact of the Alpine root system with the ground and to clean the stone from earth dust.
By combining various methods of stone laying, a Czech rolling pin rock garden can give an original look
Depending on your preferences, you can plant a Czech rolling pin with a large number of plants and give it picturesque
To create a Czech rolling pin with more steep slopes, you need to make an auxiliary embankment
An example of creating a mini rock garden of this configuration
If you liked the alpine slide from the Czech Republic, but the area of the summer cottage does not allow you to break a rocky garden, you can make a mini-rolling pin in Czech in a container. The ideal option is a shallow stone or concrete container (about 20 cm) of rectangular or square shape with rounded corners, the size of which depends on where the mini-rock garden will be located - in the garden, on the terrace, balcony or window sill. Miniature stone slides look good in round ceramic pots and wooden crates, in containers of tuff and even in the cavity of dried driftwood.
Rocky hill Czech rolling pin looks great in miniature
In the absence of a suitable container, the effect of a “stone” surface can be given to an old bowl or pail, having beaten off enamel, coated with glue, and then coated with a mixture of cement, sand, peat, taken in equal parts. If you want to get a coating of time on the walls of the container - moss and lichen, apply organic fertilizers, a decoction of oats or kefir to it. Do not forget to make a hole to remove moisture, if there is none in the container.
The order of formation of the mini-rock garden "Czech rolling pin" in the container:
- Preparation of the soil mixture. Pour expanded clay, crushed brick or gravel to the bottom of the container so that the drainage layer is 1/3 of the container. Lay moss and peat on top of the drainage, and then fill the container with a mixture of earth, peat and sand, taken in equal parts. Since the stones will be stacked on the edge, have a few pieces of brick on hand to fix the slabs in the ground.
- Laying a stone. Place small fragments of stone slabs of sandstone or limestone in a container at a slight slope relative to the vertical, keeping a distance of 2 to 5 cm between the stones. Strengthen the stone plates in the ground with broken bricks, sprinkle with soil mixture and compact its surface.
- Planting plants. Remove the plant from the plastic pot, carefully freeing the root system from the substrate, and place it in the gap between the stone plates. Fill the landing pocket with soil and mulch on top - with small gravel, which will prevent the evaporation of moisture from the soil surface. As for the plants for mini-rock garden, the most stunted ones are suitable - young plants, sedum, saxifrage, phlox and dwarf conifers.
When creating a Czech rock mini-rock garden, select small stone plates and install them with a minimum clearance of no more than 2-3 cm
Czech rock mini-rock garden looks quite distinctive, in contrast to the slightly bored classic alpine slides
Alpine hill - a spectacular element of landscape design - original and expressive. Having laid such a variety as “Czech rolling pin” on your land plot, you will get such an accent and emotional corner of the garden that its entire landscape will be transformed and acquire a new sound.
