New Delivery Charges from 1st February 2023

After a period of quite severe inflationary pressure where we have absorbed supplier price increases as far as possible, to ensure we can maintain our service levels we have made the decision to introduce a charging mechanism that more accurately reflects the actual costs incurred in making a lorry delivery to our customers.
As many of you will be aware, these are the first changes to our delivery charges since Madingley Mulch began trading in 1999!
The following changes will be made from 1st February: Our minimum order value eligible for delivery will increase from £40 to £50 Delivery charges will now be applied to all orders to reflect the combined cost of distance travelled and space taken up on the lorry.
Please see our delivery page for more information about the new charges.

Creating a Perfect Garden Rockery with Madingley Mulch

Rockery stones Cambridge – from Madingley Mulch

One of the key elements of many gardens is the rockery – particularly if the soil or the climate rules out many more conventional plants and colour schemes.

Madingley Mulch supply rockery stones to customers in Cambridge and the surrounding area. Here, we look at the history of this particular feature, how it can be used to brighten up an otherwise uninspiring outdoor space, and how we can help you create a versatile and attractive addition to your garden.

 

The History of the Rockery

A rockery is also known as a rock or alpine garden. The feature originated in oriental culture, where the focus was on religion and rocks rather than the plants. The rock formations were supposed to attract mythological immortals, who lived in the mountains, down into the garden.

In Europe, rockeries first took the form of alpine gardens, which became more popular in the early Victorian era, as people began to travel and bring non-native plants back with them to the UK such as mosses, lichens, and grasses. These were typically found in alpine regions – hence this particular name. Today, the terms ‘rockery’ and ‘rock garden’ are generally interchangeable, although the latter are more likely to replicate a rock formation found in the mountains.

 

Advantages of Rockeries

Rockeries are good in poorly irrigated soil, and they are also an attractive option if your garden has lots of bumps and slopes. When planning one, you should ensure that the plants you choose are hardy and look good all year round.

Rockeries are also very sustainable and easy to maintain – they won’t need much watering or ongoing maintenance and are a great habitat for wildlife such as butterflies on the plants and bugs in the nooks, crannies and crevices of the rocks.

As the overall idea behind a rockery is fairly simple, there’s plenty of choice in terms of plants and what you want to do with it – for example, you may decide to include water features.

 

Creating a Rockery

When creating your rockery, start by marking out the area with pegs and string where you want your rockery to go. Make sure it’s weed-free before you start planting or placing stones – these unwanted invaders will not only inhibit your own plants’ growth but could destabilise the structure of you rockery over time. You should add a layer of landscape fabric or weed suppressing membrane over the area to protect the rockery from any weeds in future

Next, lay some coarse rubble, broken bricks and pea shingle as the base. Then put the largest rocks, or keystones as they are known, in position. Continue to build up your rockery with smaller rocks, taking care to add topsoil to bed them into position.

When it comes to adding plants, place them in their pots first to have an idea how they will look; only when you are sure should you take them out of their pots and plant them.

Lastly, don’t forget mulch! Gravel may also work, depending on your climate, although you may be better off with a more conventional soil conditioner or compost. We offer bags of gravel in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and the surrounding area, as well as conditioners and compost.

 

Rockery Stones in Cambridge from Madingley Mulch

At Madingley Mulch we stock everything you need to create the perfect rockery in your garden.

For your sub-base (whether it’s of hardcore, rubble or ballast), check out our range of price matched aggregates here – some of our options may be suitable for keystones as well. We also stock weed-suppressing membranes which can also be suitable for patios and other garden projects where weeds need to be kept at bay.

When it comes to your base, check out our range of decorative stones – we stick a wide variety of stone styles, sizes and colours, some of which you may be able to use as a mulch. We also have a range of mulches and soil conditioners and composts as well, ensuring that all your bases are covered.

Remember we can deliver all these to you – for more details check out our deliveries page here and, if you have any questions, you can also call us on 01954 212144.


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