Imagine hiking down a beautiful mountain.

First, you encounter the tall trees and waterfalls, then the rocky cliffs and understory plants.

As you travel downward, the ground is covered with large boulders. As you descend further, the rocks become smaller. At the foot of the mountain where the rocks are eroded and form extensive natural gravel, you will encounter the scree garden.

Creating a scree garden at home is not too difficult and requires little maintenance once constructed. I have read that a scree garden takes up only one hour of your time a year!

I am building my garden on a sloped area that is 24 feet long by 8 feet wide. The ground is rock and clay, typical for this area.

There was a Butterfly Bush garden here for the last six years, but the soil was so bad that they have all but died off. A great place for a rock garden!

I considered spraying the existing weeds with a weed killer, but as I was weeding, I encountered a nest of rabbits and decided to mow and leave the space around the rabbits alone for now, even though I am sure they are the culprits that ate the tops off my tomato plants.

First, I amended the soil about 4 inches down with peat moss, gravel and coarse sand to improve drainage. This was the most difficult part but working on one section at a time over a few weeks made it an easier task.

Once this part was completed, I built steps into the center of the garden using flat rocks to allow easy access for planting and weeding. We added the largest rocks first, working from the top of the garden down and excavating out the area so I could place them partially into the soil for a more natural effect.

Then, I added the smaller rocks as I worked downward, finishing the bottom edge with a row of dug-in rocks to hold in the gravel. Once all the rocks had been added, one scoop — C\v ton — of half inch gravel was spread over the area and worked in around the rocks.

Planting the garden was the most interesting part as there is such a wide variety of rock garden plants available!

My favorite types are Spring Charm Rock Cress, Sedum Sieboldii, Aubrieta Purple Cascade, Whitewell Gem Purple Rock Cress, Angelina Stonecrop, Sedum Arabis Rock Cress and old fashion Chicks and Hens.

Arranging the plants around the large rocks shelters them from washing out until they take root in the soil and protects them from burning in the sun.

Some other plants suitable for rock gardens are Lewisia, Sandwort, Fameflower and American Native Rosemary.

I am looking forward to adding these to my garden next spring.

Diane Walczak is a member of the Butler County Master Gardeners.