Perennials: Rock gardening in non-alpine climates, 4 by Loretta_NJ

Loretta_NJ wrote:
Funny thing about California poppies. The only time I had success with them was in hard baked clay. I\'ve never been able to grow a single one in my well draining yard now. And Pulsatillas, love them but they act like biennials for me. I\'ve never got a seed to germinate either.
Bird, I\'ve worked with rain gardens before. Not for myself but with the extension program. Basically, we dug out the area, filled it with a layer of large rocks, then smaller ones, fabric, then garden soil and compost and planted. I never went back to see how it did. We do have a large one in town and that looks good still.
I\'ve also dealt with an area in front of my own house by mixing stonedust with 3/8 stone and laid it down 3\" thick. That absorbed the water very well. However, I don\'t have a drain to worry about and I don\'t plant in it. I drive on it. If I built it up with soil, I\'m sure it would support grass.
Then there is something called gravel stabilizers and you can fill them with soil or gravel. I\'ve never used them yet but looked into it. Here is one and there are youtube videos on installing them as well. http://www.amazon.com/Core-Path-Stabilizer-Attached-Membrane...


Here are a few pictures I took at Wave Hill. (Unfortunately, not my yard).
1. Kenilworth Ivy growing out of a rock wall - I had this plant once and it lasted a few years.
2 & 3 Kent Beauty oreganum - tried this one twice but doesn\'t always overwinter.
4 A shot of the alpine house - I guess these are rain lillies - never tried them.