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Ideas/Suggestions needed for building a Rock/Fossil Garden
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Posted by VGary z6KY (My Page) on Sat, May 14, 05 at 10:58
Good morning Posters, I generally post in the Tomato/Recipe threads
I have enjoyed your posts on using rocks in your gardens. . Perhaps you may have some suggestions for me. My godson's family is moving to a new house. I plan to help him plant a small garden for some tomatoes, Peppers, radishes, sunflowers, and a few other things; this I have done for several years to enjoy quality time with them. They do not have pets, but the new house they are moving into has two state of the art dog runs with concrete slab and chain-link fence. Although he is only a second grader, he has an amazing knowledge on dinosaurs; he amazes everyone with his knowledge, even the staff trained for the natural science museum Dinosaur exhbit. He is interested in rocks and fossils. I want to nurture his interests!
For sometime I have been collecting a few rocks and fossils; our area of Kentucky has wonderfully exposed seabeds where the creeks and brooks have washed away most of the dirt and grime. I plan to make one of the runs mentioned above into Ian's Rock and Fossil Garden. Would love any suggestions you may have. Thanks!
Gary/Louisville |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Ideas/Suggestions needed for building a Rock/Fossil Garden
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| Hi VGary, What a great idea! A gardener in my area turned a set of crumbling concrete steps into a visual treat by artfully arranging attractive rocks, broken clay pots, and seashells. She also put some in the gardens around the steps, to blend the rock arrangement into the scenery. You could even arrange some of the rocks to hold pockets of soil into which you could plant sedums, hen & chicks, maybe even ferns native to your area. Ferns that like to grow on exposed rocks might do very well. Just make sure whatever you plant is bone hardy to your region, or plan to replant annually, because winter cold can damage roots in this situation. A book you will find helpful is George Schenk's GArdening on Pavement, Tables, and Hard Surfaces. He's grown many gardens in just the situation you are describing. My mothers's folks are from Kentucky, and I fondly recall rambling through hollers in Wolfe and Estill counties, finding fossils and interesting weathered sandstone rocks. Best of luck to you and your grandson! |
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