There's no rule that says you have to stick to "alpines" when establishing a rock garden, so why don't you fill in the gaps with annuals this first year? Granted, some are out of scale with your rock plants and might inhibit their growth by taking over, but portulaca, for instance, is a great plant that looks right at home in a rock garden, blooms all summer, and reseeds (although I've never had it become weedy). Nasturtiums can be direct seeded into the garden and will spread over rocks to soften edges; they also bloom better if grown in leaner soils and not irrigated so much. Gomphrena globosa, in purples and reds, is sun and heat tolerant and will provide some visual interest without taking over space you want your perennials to occupy in future years. I'm sure there are lots of others, but this would be a great way to buy some time while your slower growing plants get established. Whatever you do, don't try to rush things by planting aggressive perennial groundcovers like Vinca major or Asiatic jasmine; trust me (the voice of experience), you'd live to regret it!

I'm with Rob about the burying of rocks, I would like to add that if the rock has a rounded side and a flat side, setting the flat side down usually looks more natural, and the rock won't need to be buried quite as much, but so much depends on the types of rocks. You can use different types of rocks and mix the grain if you want to make the garden look more like an old flood area where the stones were brought together by water flow. This is how my most recent rock garden was designed, although the colors and textures were similar. The only type of fence structure I like in my gardens is the 4" round or square posts set upright, side-by-side, at differing lengths, but it stays low, no higher than 24", and tends to meander. I would have had some pictures of this last garden to show, but ding-a-ling me took pix with no film in the camera, but I have some other rock gardens on my Webshots albums, these made with our local limestone. Here is a link that might be useful: My Gardens and More

Pulsatilla vulgaris (Anemone pulsatilla) is a very adaptable species. It can grow in practically pure sand or typical garden soil, as long as there is excellent drainage. Campanula rotundifolia seems to like more fertile, and open ground, at least way up here in Minnesota. It grows here abundantly in the cracks of basalt outcrops, where typical compost materials collect. But it too must be very adaptable, as its distribution is circumpolar. Draba rigida I have only grown in troughs, in rocky alpine soil - excellent drainage and low fertility. But I can't say what it would adapt to. More troublesome is the heat you have. Alpines don't like it. You will have to grow them in part shade.

Not exactly what you asked, but..... If your situation is chronic, I would strongly recommend you consider an "electric chair"....one of those recliners with an electric mechanism built-in that raises or lowers the occupant. They are capable of raising the occupant to a 1/2-standing position allowing much easier access to a compromised person. From experience with my aged/demented mother, I came to regard them as nearly indispensable. Link to examples provided. I have no association with any vendor other than as retail customer. Here is a link that might be useful: pictures of lift-chairs