Ivydene Gardens Rock Garden Plants Suitable for Small Gardens in Colour Wheel Gallery:
Neutral Flower Colour:
Black 1

Rock Plant Colour Wheel - Flowers Link Map

Click on Number in Colour Wheel or Black sections below:-

Some abbreviations have been used in compiling the list of Rock Plants for small gardens in order to make it possible to provide all the required information at a glance in a condensed form within the Rock Garden Plant Index Pages.

Name

First is the name of the genus to which the plant belongs which is given in capitals. Under the generic name the names of the species and varieties are recorded.

Link to photos, cultivation details or mail-order business that sells it.

Link in *** to Rock Garden Colour Wheel Page with photo of the plant at bottom of page. Then, More Photos Page links to further photos / description in its Rock Plant Photos Gallery Page.

Suitability

Details of which container to grow the plant in:-

• A. The plant can be grown in sinks, trough, pans or scree beds
• B. The plant is best accommodated in a trough or sink.
• C. Suitable for peat beds and raised beds (suitable for alpine rhododendrons)

Type

Abbreviated to:-

• B for Bulb
• H for Herb - any non-woody plant that is not a tree or shrub
• HP for Herbaceous Perennial
• S for Shrub
• SS for Sub-shrub

followed by

• E for Evergreen
• D for Deciduous

Height and Spread

The approximate height is given first in inches, followed by the approximate spread, when mature. 1 inch (") = 25.4 millimetres (mm)

Soil

The figures A, B, C and D denote that the plant in question requires one of the following soil mixtures:-

• A. Equal parts of loam, leafmould and sand. This is a suitable mixture for plants which require a light, open, porous soil with good drainage. A good mixture for troughs in a sheltered position in part shade. All bulbs and conifers do well in this medium.
• B. Equal parts of loam, leafmould, peat and sand. This is more retentive of water but is well-drained and will grow all the plants in this Rock Plant List which are suitable for full sun, and it is ideal for woodland plants in part shade.
• C. Four parts leafmould and one part each of loam and sand. A soil for growing dwarf rhododendrons and other ericaceous plants in the raised bed type of trough and peat beds.
• D. Three parts Cornish silver sand and one part flaked leafmould. For all difficult and rare high alpines, including most of the cushion type. The trough containing this mixture is best situated in part shade.

which may be followed by

• N for when a neutral pH medium is required.
• L for when a limey pH medum is required.

Where no additional letter is given, the plant will thrive under either condition.

Position and Protection

The following terms and abbreviations used singly or in combination will minimize the risk of planting in an unsuitable spot:-

• C --- This means that the plant will do well planted on its side in a crevice built up on the rocks for preference.
• P --- This plant requires a pane of glass suspended over it in winter, generally from October to the end of March.
• PS -- A part-shady spot or facing west with protection from the south by a shadow cast by either a rock or shrub.
• SA -- Shady position either facing north or protected by a rock.
• Sun - This means that the plant will require a normal amount of direct sunlight.
• W --- The plant will do well planted in a vertical position in the side of a trough or scree frame.

Flower Colour, Nearest Colour Wheel - Flowers Colour and Months of Flowering

These 3 columns are self-explanatory;
for example, Orange June, means that

• the flowers are orange (if the plant has a Plant Description Page in this website then the link from here will be to that Plant Description Page otherwise to a Plant Description found on the Internet),
• orange3 in the Colour Wheel - Flowers is the nearest colour for the majority of the flower petal (either from a flower image in this website or an image found on the Internet), with link to the Colour Wheel - Flowers Colour and
• the flowering month is June with link to the flower photo on the Internet.

A double entry such as
Orange August
Red October
means that the plant has orange flowers in August and red fruits or berries in October.

Propagation

A general idea to the best method of increasing the stock:-

• C ---- Half-ripened wood at the end of July.
• D ----- Division.
• GC ---- Green Cuttings in late spring.
• L ------ Layering.
• Leaf C - The plant is best propagated by leaf cuttings.
• RC ----- Fully ripened wood at the end of September.
• Root C - The plant is best propagated by cutting the thick root thongs at the end of September.
• S ------- The best method is by seed.

may be followed by

• H - Where this letter is placed after any of the above abbreviations, it means that bottom heat is essential to obtain a fair percentage of strikes.
  The omission of this letter does not mean that bottom heat cannot be employed; in fact, its use will certainly save an appreciable amount of time taken to increase the stock.

A combination of the above will denote that the plant can be increased by all the methods which those abbreviated letters stand for.

Propagation Seed Composts

"I am giving 3 types of composts which will be numbered 1, 2 and 3 so that they will not be confused with the potting mixtures. The number of the compost will be noted under the heading of propagation in the list of plants. These are not offered as the only types in which seedlings may be grown, but they have proved their worth over many years. As it will only be on rare occasions that a bushel of compost of any one of the seed mixtures will be required, I will give the size of the box which can be constructed easily to hold a quarter of a bushel, an amount more in keeping with the average amateur's need. The inside measurements of the box, which is best made of wood are 10 by 10 x 5.5 inches deep (25 by 25 x 13.25 cms). By doubling the depth a half bushel measure is available.

Compost 1
A mixture that has been found suitable for all the ordinary and easy types of alpine seed is the John Innes seed compost.
It can of course be mixed at home as required. Only the amount needed at the time should be made for its lasting qualities are strictly limited. All the following ingredients are mixed by bulk, not weight, and are best used dry after mixing, storing the compost for a day or 2 before use.

• Take 2 parts of medium-heavy sterilised loam from a reliable source, full of rotted grass roots. The soil should be rubbed down between the hands into a light granular texture. All fibrous material must be retained and if large; cut into small pieces with scissors and mixed into the loam. On no account should the loam be sieved. This will spoil the texture of the finished compost and cause it to pack readily, a state of affairs to be avoided, for it is essential that the soil be open and granular in texture.
• Add 1 part of sieved peat,
• 1 part of Cornish sand

and well mix the whole together dry. Afterwards to this is added

• 1.5 ounces of superphosphate of lime and
• 0.75 ounces of chalk

to each bushel of compost. If this mixture is to be used for plants which are lime haters, the chalk should be omitted.

Compost 2
The more difficult and rare plants need a light, open soil in which to germinate and the following has been tried and found suitable. Equal parts by bulk of medium heavy fibrous loam and leaf-mould. Both the loam and leaf-mould should be sterilised and then rubbed down to a fine granular texture. The particles are better if small, but should not be sieved. To this is added 2 parts of Cornish sand, after sieving through a 1/16 inch sieve (2 mm) as the larger particles are not needed.

Compost 3
Shade-loving dwarf rhododendrons and other ericaceous and woodland plants like a more spongy yet still open medium. This consists of equal parts leaf-mould, peat and Cornish sand. The leaf-mould must be sterilised and rubbed down fine, the peat and sand should be sieved though a 1/16 inch (2 mm) sieve, and the wole well mixed together.

Both composts 2 and 3 need a very fine sprinkling of superphosphate of lime, just under 0.5 ounce for a a quarter of a bushel of mixture or to be more precise 3/8 of an ounce. The superphosphate is needed by the seedlings in their early growth. In fact it is essential as a plant food as soon as the seed starts to germinate, so it must be mixed with the composts, not applied afterwards. " from Collector's Alpines by Royton E. Heath published in 1964 by Collingridge Limited.

There are other pages on Plants which bloom in each month of the year in this website:-

• 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index
• Plants Blue, Orange, Red, Yellow, White, Other Colours which lead on to other pages
• Colour Wheel - All Flowers per Month 12
• Bedding
• Bulb
• Climber
• Deciduous Shrub
• Deciduous Tree
• Evergreen Perennial
• Evergreen Shrub
• Evergreen Tree
• Herbaceous Perennial
• Rhododendron
• Rose
• Wild Flower

• Plants for Cut Flowers in
  January
  February
  March
  April
  May
  June
  July
  August
  September
  October
  November
  December
• Climber 3 sector Vertical Plant System with flowers in
  Jan,
  Feb,
  Mar,
  Apr,
  May 1, 2
  Jun,
  Jul,
  Aug,
  Sep,
  Oct,
  Nov,
  Dec
   

• Indoor Bulbs for
  December
  January
  February
• Indoor Bulbs for
  March
  April
  May
• Indoor
  Bulbs for
  June
  July
  August
• Indoor Bulbs for
  September
  October
  November
• Plant Bloom
  Dec-Jan
  Feb-Mar
• Plant Bloom
  Apr-May
  Jun-Aug
• Plant Bloom
  Sep-Oct
  Nov-Dec

THE 2 EUREKA EFFECT PAGES FOR UNDERSTANDING SOIL AND HOW PLANTS INTERACT WITH IT OUT OF 15,000:-

• THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE 2 QUARTZ GRAIN SIBLINGS, and
• HOW ROOTS OF PLANTS ARE IN CONTROL IN THE SOIL
• before continuing in this website.

Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines Page for those photo galleries with Photos (of either ones I have taken myself or others which have been loaned only for use on this website from external sources)

or

when I do not have my own or ones from mail-order nursery photos , then from March 2016, if you want to start from the uppermost design levels through to your choice of cultivated and wildflower plants to change your Plant Selection Process then use the following galleries:-

• Create and input all plants known by Amateur Gardening inserted into their Sanders' Encyclopaedia from their edition published in 1960 (originally published by them in 1895) into these
  • Stage 1 - Garden Style Index Gallery,
    then
  • Stage 2 - Infill Plants Index Gallery being the only gallery from these 7 with photos (from Wikimedia Commons) ,
    then
  • Stage 3 - All Plants Index Gallery with each plant species in its own Plant Type Page followed by choice from Stage 4a, 4b, 4c and/or 4d REMEMBERING THE CONSTRAINTS ON THE SELECTION FROM THE CHOICES MADE IN STAGES 1 AND 2
  • Stage 4a - 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index Gallery,
  • Stage 4b - 12 Foliage Colours per Month Index Gallery with
  • Stage 4c - Cultivation, Position, Use Index Gallery and
  • Stage 4d - Shape, Form Index Gallery
  • Unfortunately, if you want to have 100's of choices on selection of plants from 1000's of 1200 pixels wide by up to 16,300 pixels in length webpages, which you can jump to from almost any of the pages in these 7 galleries above, you have to put up with those links to those choices being on
    • the left topic menu table,
    • the header of the middle data table and on
    • the page/index menu table on the right of every page of those galleries.

I hope that you find that the information in this website is useful to you:-

I like reading and that is shown by the index in my Library, where I provide lists of books to take you between designing, maintaining or building a garden and the hierarchy of books on plants taking you from

• the coffee-table book where different blue primrose cultivars occur in the prose on pages 17, 90 and 202,
• to ones where there is a table of primrose cultivars with blue flowers on a single page,
• to what plants to associate with those blue primroses and
• companion plants for them.

There are these systems for choosing plants as shown in

• Plants topic
• Garden Style Index Gallery
• Colour Wheel of All Flowers 53 flower colours
• Colour Wheel of All Flowers per Month 53 flower colours
• Flower Shape
• This All Bee-Pollinated Flowers gallery compares 13 flower colour photos per month for many plants from the other Galleries, by clicking on the 1 in the relevant Flower per month Colour in the Colour Wheel down on the right,
• the Bee-pollinated Index Gallery provides the tabular index of another 264 plants with the relevant colour in that respective month:-
  • 51 ANNUALS
  • 2 ANNUAL - VEGETABLE
  • 4 AQUATIC PLANTS
  • 11 BIENNIALS
  • 21 BULBS, CORMS, OR RHIZOMES
  • 4 CLIMBERS
  • 31 DECIDUOUS SHRUBS
  • 26 DECIDUOUS TREES
  • 9 EVERGREEN PERENNIALS
  • 22 EVERGREEN SHRUBS
  • 2 EVERGREEN TREES
  • 2 GRASSES which cause hayfever
  • 4 SEMI-EVERGREEN SHRUBS
  • 66 HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
  • 9 PERENNIAL HERBS

82 rock garden plants (with photos) suitable for small garden areas; split into:-

2 ALLIUM and ANEMONE Bulbs

3 BULBS - Spring Catalogue. For planting in February/ May

2 BULBS - Late Summer Catalogue. For planting in July/ September

7 BULBS - Autumn Catalogue. For planting in September/ November

2 Bulbs - Winter Catalogue. For planting in November/ March

35 COLCHICUM AND CROCUS BULBS.

0 DECIDUOUS SHRUBS

30 EVERGREEN PERENNIALS

1 EVERGREEN SHRUBS

0 HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS

0 ROSES

in the Rock Plant Flowers Gallery.
All the remaining rock garden plants detailed in the Rock Garden Plant Index pages in the Rock Plant Flowers are waiting to receive photos, before they can be added to the 1 of the 52 Rockgarden Colour Wheel - Flowers Pages and then the above list.

I am taking photos of rock garden plants suitable for small gardens and if they do not have their own Plant Description Page in this website, then each photo of each plant will be located at the bottom of the relevant 1 of 52 Rockgarden Flower Colour Wheel pages. Usually a link in *** to that page of 35 will be included in the Name field of the respective Index Page, for:-

15 BULBS, CORMS and TUBERS

4 EVERGREEN SUBSHRUBS

7 EVERGREEN PERENNIALS

2 EVERGREEN SHRUBS

7 HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS

Then a link using More Photos Page links to the Rock Plant Photos Gallery for each of the above 35 Rock Garden Plants