The rosemary beside the small deck conceals what was once a waterfall, built by the previous owners using artificial cement boulders. We knew we wouldn’t be using it as a waterfall and, truth be told, we weren’t particularly fond of the fake rocks either. But since we were doing most of the work ourselves, removing those enormous boulders by hand would have been a daunting and back-breaking task.
This is how the fake rocks looked like before we planted it with rosemaries.
With our usual motto of making the most of what we already have, our first idea was to create a rock garden. Unfortunately, that plan was quickly abandoned because of the relentless neighbouring ivy, which sends out countless new shoots each year in its ongoing attempt to take over every available inch of growing space.
After our first attempt failed, we planted several trailing rosemaries instead (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’). They now cascade over the artificial rocks, softening their appearance and almost hiding them from view altogether. With a little encouragement from us, the rosemaries seem to be holding their own remarkably well against the all-powerful Ivy Wall.
The waterfall just after we planted the trailing rosemaries.
The rosemary "waterfall" adds height and year-round interest to this corner of the garden - and, if we're honest, we think it looks rather gorgeous too - but we felt especially pleased with the decision to leave the rocks in place when we discovered a bumblebee nest tucked inside one of the cavities last summer.
Without realising it, and perhaps thanks to the law of minimal effort (less really can be more!), we had enhanced another habitat within the garden and, in doing so, encouraged a little more biodiversity.
One of the easiest ways to increase biodiversity in a garden is to embrace, or deliberately create, a variety of habitats. Different ground conditions such as sand, stone, gravel, clay, decomposing wood, log piles and compost heaps will each attract their own thriving communities of plants, fungi and invertebrates, adding multiple layers of life to the garden.
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