You must plan carefully first before planting shrub or perennial beds, including rock gardens. This planning means engaging in a juggling act of sorts.... The first ball you toss up will probably be the aesthetics ball, since we usually establish a planting bed to achieve a certain look on the landscape. But another ball to keep up in the air is sunlight requirements. Do those plants that you think would look so good in that spot need sun or shade? While keeping those 2 balls aloft, along comes another: soil requirements. And just when you think you're doing well to keep 3 balls in the air at once, you realize that there's another consideration: susceptibility to damage from garden pests. This article on Deer-Proof Plants for Rock Gardens may help keep you from dropping the ball -- any ball.