A rock garden consists of a collection of rocks, plant groupings, waterfall, water and other elements. Terrains that are wavy or naturally hilly are quite appropriate for creating rock garden designs. These low- maintenance designs boost the look of your landscape by combining an interesting balance of the soft and the hard.

Many gardeners and home owners will position a rock garden in the back yard and the front yard, running along the garage or the house or the sidewalk. Rocks of all sizes and all kinds and colors and shapes can be used. No right or wrong way exists to create a rock garden.

Any rock garden you create is best filled with plants that are low growing and that lie amongst several rocks. The better looking gardens will be those that utilize various sizes of rocks, but yet still, be certain to select rocks that can be moved with ease by a few people, else you may need to hire a contractor to move and position large rocks or boulders.

In order to look good, the rocks you choose should not overwhelm the rock garden's size. When you use rocks that are of similar kinds of rock, your garden will appear to be more natural looking than it would if it were put together using different kinds of rocks. It is a good idea to use porous rocks to allow mosses and lichens to take root. Using a sloping landscape would be the best way to develop a rock garden since they easily resemble the look of a mountainside or the natural hills. Earth can be added to lift the height of a flat area to give a hillside effect.

Usually the plants of a rock garden need full sun in the day or a minimum of 6 to 8 hours. Plants used are usually drought resistant and do better in well-drained soils. The plant will enhance the appearance of the rocks as they provide wonderful colors and textures during the growing season. When you design the gardens it may be a good idea to place them along a patio, a walkway or next to any location from where they can be seen easily and appreciated.