Rock Outcrop Gardens

A Rocky Protrusion Become a Garden Feature

You can surround rock outcrops with deer resistant white daffodils as shown here at Sleepy Cat Farm in Greenwich, Ct. The green threadleaf Japanese maple (Acer palmatum dissectum)makes a beautiful background.

A rock outcrop jutting up from the earth is often looked upon with dismay by property owners.

These rocky protrusions get in the way of having a level lawn and may impede easy access to other parts of a landscape. But instead of seeing them as a problem, I suggest you think of them as an opportunity! Dig away some soil, expose the outcrop and plant an eye-catching display around it that dazzles in all seasons.

There is nothing as lovely as a rock outcrop in spring ringed with flowering daffodils of all kinds. The flowers are deer resistant, come back every year and do not mind rocky soil conditions. You can prolong the display by adding early blooming snowdrops (Galanthus sp.), glory of the snow (Chionodoxa luciliae) , grape hyacinth (Muscari), rock garden tulips, allium and crocus. After they finish blooming, the outcrop can naturally morph into a summer garden, providing you have enough soil and water to sustain it through the hottest days.