The rosemary near the small deck conceals what was previously a small waterfall, built by the previous owners using artificial cement boulders. We knew we wouldn’t be using it for a waterfall and we also knew we didn’t like the look of the fake stones. But since we were doing most of the job ourselves, it would be too taxing and back breaking to remove those massive stones by hand.
This is how the fake rocks looked like before we planted it with rosemaries.
With the motto to try and utilise what we had, we firstly had the idea to start a rock garden which was completely abandoned because of the relentless power of the neighbouring ivy which every year tries to take over more of the growing space by sending out lots of new shoots. After our first attempt failed, we then planted trailing rosemaries (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’) which cascades down the artificial rocks and helps to soften them, almost hiding the fake rocks from view. With a little help, the rosemaries seem to be standing their ground well against the 'all powerful Ivy Wall'.
The waterfall just after we planted the trailing rosemaries.
The ‘rosemary waterfall adds height and interest in itself but we felt the decision to let the rocks stay where they were was the right one when we we discovered a bumble bee nest in the rock cavity last Summer. Without fully knowing it, and by the law of minimal effort (less is more!), we had facilitated a different habitat within our garden, which helps to encourage biodiversity.
Other ways to create different habitats in your garden is to embrace - or create - different ground substrates (sandy, stoney, clay, decomposing buried wood, log and compost piles) which will harbour plants and invertebrates that can thrive in each of these different environments.
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