Rocks I would like to have!

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General Alpines

When I am out for a hike I often find larger and smaller rocks I would like to have in my rock garden. Unfortunately they are either too large to move, or in National Parks or similar areas.
But I can take pictures!

The Oslo Rift is known for it's special geology. I won't tire you with details (I am no expert either) but some of the rock is Cambro-Silurian limestone, rhomb porphyry lavas and breccias. Especially the eroded limestone would be nice in a rock garden!

The island Jomfruland is glacial moraine and consist of clay, sand, and any kind of rock mainly from the Oslo Rift but also from the continent (Denmark). Flintstone from Denmark was and still is, transported by the sea ice in winter.

Here are some of the stones, most are limestone:

The two last are breccias (I hadn't any pictures of rhomb porphyry, sorry!):

I guess some of you can contribute with rocks from your area ;)

Comments

cohan's picture

cohan (not verified)

Mon, 08/13/2012 - 11:29am

Great rocks, Trond! As I'm building a rock bed right now, I just want rocks, period! I have a feeling this one is going to end up being more of a soil and gravel berm, unless I get lucky finding more rocks on the property (where my mom or aunt put them around plants years ago and they have been overgrown- but mostly nothing big)..
Driving around, I see some nice big rocks -by big I mean from the upper limits of what you could roll by hand to some a couple notches up from that (left by glaciers) in ditches where farmers have dragged them out of fields... I'm sure I could take them, but no way to get them home... oh well!

Trond Hoy's picture

Trond Hoy

Mon, 08/13/2012 - 11:12pm
cohan wrote:

Great rocks, Trond! As I'm building a rock bed right now, I just want rocks, period! I have a feeling this one is going to end up being more of a soil and gravel berm, unless I get lucky finding more rocks on the property (where my mom or aunt put them around plants years ago and they have been overgrown- but mostly nothing big)..
Driving around, I see some nice big rocks -by big I mean from the upper limits of what you could roll by hand to some a couple notches up from that (left by glaciers) in ditches where farmers have dragged them out of fields... I'm sure I could take them, but no way to get them home... oh well!

Don't you have a wheelbarrow  :o ....and take a long walk ;)

Fermi wrote:

Your second picture looks like it's ready to be planted up as a crevice garden! ;D
cheers
fermi

Exactly what I wanted had I had it in the garden ;D

cohan's picture

cohan (not verified)

Tue, 08/14/2012 - 3:08pm

yes, but to go 5, 10, 15 miles with the wheelbarrow would be a bit timeconsuming..... :-\

Trond Hoy's picture

Trond Hoy

Wed, 08/15/2012 - 1:49am
cohan wrote:

yes, but to go 5, 10, 15 miles with the wheelbarrow would be a bit timeconsuming..... :-\

Do it in stead of your afternoon walk ;D ;D

Toole's picture

Toole (not verified)

Wed, 08/15/2012 - 2:58am
Hoy wrote:

cohan wrote:

yes, but to go 5, 10, 15 miles with the wheelbarrow would be a bit timeconsuming..... :-\

Do it in stead of your afternoon walk ;D ;D

;D

About 10 hours traveling time up the east coast of the South Island from where i live ,is the township of Kaikoura, a tourist mecca for whale watching ,however whenever i pass through there i'm only interested in rocks ...and across the road ,wildflowers !!  8)

Cheers Dave.

Tim Ingram's picture

Tim Ingram (not verified)

Wed, 08/15/2012 - 6:12am

Dave - I begin to see what turns geologists on! A crevice bed beckons ever more. I remember seeing superb plants of shrubby echiums in Tasmania, but the Valerian looks as though it could become a rather beautiful menace

cohan's picture

cohan (not verified)

Wed, 08/15/2012 - 11:17am
Hoy wrote:

cohan wrote:

yes, but to go 5, 10, 15 miles with the wheelbarrow would be a bit timeconsuming..... :-\

Do it in stead of your afternoon walk ;D ;D

I think I'd need to leave at dawn.....lol

cohan's picture

cohan (not verified)

Wed, 08/15/2012 - 11:21am

Dave- those rocks are really beautiful! And the flowers just as impressive :) As interesting as whales are, I'd have difficulty keeping my eyes on the water...- okay, who am I kidding, I wouldn't be trying very hard...lol

Trond Hoy's picture

Trond Hoy

Thu, 08/16/2012 - 10:23am
Toole wrote:

About 10 hours traveling time up the east coast of the South Island from where i live ,is the township of Kaikoura, a tourist mecca for whale watching ,however whenever i pass through there i'm only interested in rocks ...and across the road ,wildflowers !!  8)

Cheers Dave.

Those rocks seems a bit difficult to bring home in one piece!

Very special indeed - and the flowers too.

Toole's picture

Toole (not verified)

Sat, 08/18/2012 - 1:55am
cohan wrote:

Dave- those rocks are really beautiful! And the flowers just as impressive :) As interesting as whales are, I'd have difficulty keeping my eyes on the water...- okay, who am I kidding, I wouldn't be trying very hard...lol

If only the whales came in close to the bay.. then it would be a triple whammy  ! Cohan  ;D ;D ;D

Tim wrote:

Dave - I begin to see what turns geologists on! A crevice bed beckons ever more. I remember seeing superb plants of shrubby echiums in Tasmania, but the Valerian looks as though it could become a rather beautiful menace

If i had the space in the garden here and access to similar rock I'd definitely be keen try to replicate the look of my first pic above Tim ,as in my eyes it's just about par excellence in terms of crevice work ...the only difficulty would be the number of plants required to fill all the nooks and crannies...

Booker wrote:

Super shots as always, Dave.

Hoy wrote:

Those rocks seems a bit difficult to bring home in one piece!

Very special indeed - and the flowers too.

Thanks Cliff,Trond.

Cheers Dave.