One of the joys of gardening is that you have a variety of themes to base your garden on. Over the years, there’s been one particular theme that often stands above the rest; Alpine gardens.
In a fundamental sense, an Alpine garden looks to mimic traditional gardens found in the Alps. It can be such a gorgeous theme, but there are a few things you must do for your garden to fit this classification. As a general rule, you need to ensure that your Alpine garden has these three crucial elements:
Raised beds
When planting things in your garden, the obvious decision is to plant them on the floor. You create flowerbeds and then plant your seeds and let them grow. But, one significant change in Alpine gardens is that you need to have raised beds. This is because it helps to mimic the effect of plants growing at different levels in the mountainous region of the Alps. If you really want to make an impact, you will have beds of different heights, almost creating that very typical Alpine effect. It’s easy to build flower beds like this, and you only need a few materials. The key thing is that you don’t forget them!
Stones and gravel
As we’ve kind of just touched upon, a significant aspect of the Alps is the mountain ranges. You reflect this with raised beds, but you also mimic it with stonework and gravel. This is where it’s really useful to get your hands on some Kelkay gravel products. We find the French Pearl is absolutely tailormade for Alpine gardens. You’ve got the French element in there which nods to the French region of the Alps, and the white stone colour really looks quite mountainous. Lay this on the raised beds to really create the Alpine effect you’re going for. But, you can also use it in pathways or on your patio to bring the whole garden together into a thing of Alpine-inspired beauty. Large stones work well too, so think about using a mixture of the two in very natural colours.
Alpine plants
The final element relates to the plants themselves. It might seem like some very obvious advice, but you’ll be shocked at how many people want to create Alpine gardens, then plant any flowers or plants they like. No, what you must do is use Alpine plants from this region of Europe. This is essentially what makes it an Alpine garden because you’re making it look like part of the Alps. There are plenty of species that grow in this area, so have a quick look online. Then, get everything you need, and plant away!
As long as you have these three things in your garden, then you’ve pretty much nailed the Alpine theme. Anything else you add to it is basically just personal preference to tie the garden together. We think it’s a brilliant theme to consider, and possibly one of the simplest too - which makes it great for gardening or landscaping beginners.