I've never been a big fan of rock gardening, but maybe that's because I don't know much about it. I might change my mind after perusing the new book by Joseph Tychonievich, Rock Gardening: Reimagining a Classic Style
The author worked at the Shibamichi Honten Nursery in Japan, was the manager at Arrowhead Alpines, a first-class rock garden nursery in Michigan, and he's also been a frequent guest on the NPR program The Splendid Table.
As Joseph notes in the introduction, rock gardening is growing in popularity for a couple of reasons: "... rock gardening allows an urban gardener with an apartment balcony or tiny plot to grow a bewildering diversity of different plants in a small space, and maintenance takes a fraction of the time required to deal with a similar number of plants in a large perennial border." He also notes that most rock garden plants do well in dry conditions, the new normal in many parts of the country.
The book profiles 10 stunning rock gardens with scads of gorgeous photos. The author then discusses proper techniques to install a rock garden, and finally devotes the back of the book to the plants you might want to consider for your garden.
Since I'm now a balcony gardener (missing the larger landscape) ... perhaps I'll have to try my hand at something new. This is the perfect book to get started.
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