Rock garden

– **History**:
– Rocks as decorative and symbolic elements in gardens trace back at least 1,500 years in Chinese and Japanese gardens.
– Scholars rocks in China and Suseok in Korea were popular.
– Rock gardens for alpine plants gained prominence in England from the 1830s.
– Reginald Farrer’s 1919 book “The English Rock Garden” was a significant work.
– Rock gardens are increasingly popular in tropical countries like Thailand and Canada.

– **Layouts**:
– Rock gardens typically consist of aesthetically arranged rocks with plants rooted in small gaps.
– Plants in rock gardens are usually small and do not grow taller than 1 meter.
– Small trees and shrubs up to 6 meters can be used in woodland rock gardens.
– Plants in rock gardens thrive in well-drained soil.

– **Gallery**:
– Japanese rock garden at Daisen-in.
– Rock garden at University of Alberta, Canada.
– Rock garden in Vatican City with succulents.
– Kew Rock garden in London.
– Hagiwara Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco.

– **See also**:
– List of garden types.
– Rock Garden, Chandigarh in India.
– Nek Chand, creator of the Rock Garden in Chandigarh, India.

– **References**:
– “The Oxford Companion to Gardens” – Oxford.
– “A Little History of British Gardening” by Jenny Uglow.
– “History of Early American Landscape Design” by Anne L. Helmreich.
– Royal Horticulture Society resources on rock gardening.
– “Thai Garden Style” by William Warren.