We have a rock wall with lots of crevics's . Rock on rock with flat spots about 5' tall. We wanted to put some plants there . Lupis seeds were planted . We put dirt on the flat with small stones holding the dirt . Most of the seeds were eaten by something ? What my wife suggested was to cement a ridge on the rocks and to hold more dirt and stop it from being washed away . Is there a special landscaping cement which will blend into the rock and not look like an obvious cement patch up ??. We live on Saltspring Island and in the midst of cleaning up the yard . Thanks . Roger
Roger, Take a look at my rock wall/garden under the post finally!!! I used plants to hold the dirt in. Mainly SEMPERVIVUMS, hen & chicks or STONECROP, Sedum. Over time they put out quite a root system that holds the dirt pretty well. Of course, I'm not above tucking in a "holding" rock, as you mentioned, here and there. There are several plants that can cascade over the face such as Lobelia, Speedwell or Saponaria to name just a few. The ferns were already in and I'm continually hacking them back. I wish they had planted some of the smaller ferns, not the huge natives. Maybe your wall is more verticle than mine. Mine is a bit more off-set near the top. But the idea is the same. Plant what you like and just be patient. barb
this may not be much of a help, but i have a planter on the front of my mothers house that is at a 90 degree angle, We have some awesome columbines that love to grow out of the rocks on the wall. ill post some pics but columbines are generally very easy to grow and very few birds eat the seeds.
Hi . Thanks for the replies . I asked around and as luck would have it a salesperson mentioned her husband was a rock mason and she recommended a tile cement ultra flex 2 with a polymer . I tried it on a few rocks and it works ,dries a light grey . Once it sets up it is pretty strong .A lot of the crevasses seem to beckoning for ferns . We just have to figure out what to plant that the deer won't like . I also had an abundant of buttercup weed explode this year and take over huge patches of the lawn . I finally resorted to a weed killer . .It worked well for the most part . I spray an area and cover with a wire mesh in the hope that birds and our cats will stay off . I removed the mesh after about 4days when the weed looks pretty limp and rake it up .. Saw a Robin searching for worms in the same area and they seem ok . Cheers . Roger
I walked past a rock wall this week that was planted with strawberries. Mine I've put creeping thyme all over.
The strawberries are a great idea . The Robins will love them . We have a permanent pair of nesting robins . They eat worms and bugs and then hop over to our small garden for dessert . I know ,as my wife keeps pointing at the 1/2 eaten strawberies . We thought of netting . Do deer eat strawberries ? They wander by the rock wall as they go to bed down in my neighbours back yard . I'll check out thyme too . Thanks . Roger
You are very lucky to have such beautiful wild life in your neighborhood/property. I would love to not be locked in a city and be able to be around such creatures!
