By: Louise Coleman
Miniatures are the "darlings" of the rose world. They bloom all season, are winter hardy and little enough to beautify even the smallest spot in the yard. Its no wonder they have become so popular in recent years. Minis will tolerate less than a perfect location and do well in as little as 3-4 hours of sunlight but need good fertile soil to grow strong.
Every year so many new miniatures are introduced and I soon ran out of space in my miniature bed, which forms a border around the patio. I wanted to plant some of the new varieties and looked around for a "spot". That's when I decided to build a rock garden in a corner of the yard.
I picked the sunniest corner formed by the stockade fence and the back of the yard. I marked out a triangle with two sides formed by 4 ft along the right angle sides of the fence. I loosened the soil two spades deep. I rolled big rocks in to form the outline of the "garden". Then placed a few strategically in the center. I made a soil mix of topsoil, composted cow manure, sand, peat moss with a dash of lime and super-phosphate. I filled in the spaces between the rocks and watered well to settle the soil.
To my surprise, much of the soil mix and water ran out between the outside row of rocks. After some thought, I decided to line the inside of the outer row of rocks with heavy gauge plastic. I filled in with the soil again and watered but this time the soil stayed put. Now I put a second row of rocks for height and toward the back of the triangle, placed a few higher rocks. I filled all the spaces with the soil mix and watered it down and refilled where the soil settled.
I chose varieties of medium height and mixed colors to make this a bright corner. I planted Fireworks (red/yellow), Flower Basket (red, white, burgundy hand painted) Flying Colors (low growing red/yellow), Gone fishin (bright orange), Jackpot (yellow), Lovers Only (red/yellow reverse) Texas (yellow) Red Minimo (red) Rosie (pink/white) and Sparks (glowing red).
In the back corner of the triangle, I planted a Jeanne LaJoie (med pink mini climber). I know in just a few years it will cover the fence and make a soft background for the minis. Then I planted the small bushes at the higher level first, then the lower level. I knew it would take at least one growing season for the bushes to develop.
A weekly spraying schedule with insecticide, fungicide and liquid fertilizer and plenty of water kept the garden clean and healthy all season. The second year, as the bushes filled out, this simple little rock garden was always filled with bloom. This became such a bright little corner I might fill in the other corner this year. After all, there will be a whole new group of minis this year!!