Foster Rock Garden

Gardeners often build rock or alpine gardens around existing large, natural formations — like the rock at the center of this one. They also introduce rocks to imitate a geological formation. This example weaves together both natural and introduced rocks.

It's Not All About the Rocks

The rocks in this garden provide the setting. But it's the plants that bring the garden to life. Rock gardens generally feature plants that thrive in alpine environments (high mountain habitats around the world, not just the Alps). They are adapted to cool, rocky, freely draining soil, and survive in harsh conditions such as intense sun, high winds and drought. Most alpine plants bloom early in the short mountain summer so that they have time to set seed and reproduce before the fall chill arrives.

The Berkshire Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society (BNARGS) created this rock garden in the early 1990s to honor Timmy and Lincoln Foster, two of its founding members. The society has long ties to the Berkshire Botanical Garden, and its members meet here regularly during the year.

Did You Know?

Most rock garden plants are straight species, not cultivated varieties, so they come true from seed. Rock garden societies often have seed and plant exchanges through which members share their prize possessions — a rock gardening tradition.