Our rockery is a hard place!

Ruth gives tips for a happy rock garden and sorts her own

- Ruth Hayes

SUMMER is a good time for rock garden plants and alpines. Although they are used to inhospitable climates, they dislike our winters, when wet ground can cause low-growing varieties to rot.

They usually thrive in warmer weather, though the cold, wet spring and sodden middle of June won’t have done them any favours this year, so they may need some extra TLC.

Low-growing, mat-forming plants such as aubrietia may have collapsed outwards after flowering, leaving their straw-like heart exposed. Cut them back hard and water well and they should soon recover. If you look carefully, you should be able to spot new foliage developing from the centre.

Keep replenishing the gravel around the plants as it keeps the rockery looking neat and helps lift lower shoots off the soil, reducing the risk of rots developing and raising them out of the way of pests. Do this after watering, as the gravel helps keep moisture in the soil.