Check your light and drainage before you buy: most plants that grow between stones want full sun and fast-draining soil.
Shade changes the list. Ramondas and Soldanella alpina suit the north-facing side of the rocks, while lavender and rosemary will fail in a soggy or shaded corner.
1. Low-Growing Groundcovers
Aubretia gives the most spring color along a rock edge: purple flowers on a plant about 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide.
Sedum ‘Atlantic’ (Sedum takesimense) is smaller, about 12 x 12 inches. It has variegated, serrated leaves and lime green flowers that draw bees, and it suits the edge of a border.
Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) forms aromatic mats with small flowers, so it softens stone without crowding it. Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) works well among a mix of larger and smaller rocks.
Lithodora and the other sedums tolerate drought, which makes them the better pick for a low maintenance bed. A layer of gravel mulch around all of them keeps weeds from moving in.
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2. Succulents and Rosettes
Hens and chicks, houseleeks and sempervivums are the same group of rosette-forming plants, and their tight rosettes tuck between stones where little else can root.
They are drought tolerant and want lean soil with sharp drainage, which a crevice supplies: water drains through the gaps instead of sitting around the crown.
Push them into the cracks of a dry stone wall, or the dips along its top, with a few sedums, and they give year-round interest once established.
In a flat bed, spread gravel around them to speed drainage and keep weeds down.
For height, add a yucca. Its bold, upright foliage and dramatic flower spikes give the low rosettes something to sit beside.
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3. Alpines and Compact Perennials
Small flowering perennials fit the gaps between stones, and most of them grow best in full sun with sharp drainage.
- Saxifraga: low plants that tuck into gaps between rocks.
- Campanula betulifolia: the campanula to choose for crevices.
- Pinks: cottage pink (Dianthus plumarius, also called feathered or garden pink) and Dianthus haematocalyx subsp. pindicola.
- Pasque flowers: suited to the same sunny, gritty spots.
- Kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria): supplies pollen and nectar for pollinators.
- Lewisia longipetala hybrida: a good choice for sunny gaps between stones.
- Iris reticulata: about 6 inches tall, with tiny blue flowers in late winter. It is the best pick for troughs.
For the north-facing side, try ramondas, Soldanella alpina, and saxifraga.
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4. Aromatic Herbs
Lavender gives a sunny gravel garden its color and its scent in one plant.
The gray-green foliage looks right against pale stone, and the purple flower spikes bring bees. Set it where you’ll brush past it, such as beside a path or step.
Prostrate rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’, does a different job. It trails, so plant it at the top of a rock or along a wall and let the needle-like evergreen leaves spill over the edge.
Both herbs want full sun and gravel that drains fast. If your spot stays shaded or soggy, skip them and choose something else.
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5. Small Evergreen Shrubs
Pine-leaved penstemon (Penstemon pinifolius) is the best pick for a small rock garden. It stays evergreen, reaches about 8 inches tall and 20 inches wide, and carries tubular red flowers over needle-like leaves from May to July.
Euphorbia myrsinites is smaller, about 6 inches tall by 12 inches wide, with blue leaves and lime-green flowers from April to July. Calceolaria biflora fits a tight gap at 6 x 6 inches, with evergreen leaves and yellow flowers from April to July.
For the permanent framework, plant dwarf Japanese garden juniper (Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’), Daphne x hendersonii, or a rockrose (Cistus, or Helianthemum nummularium).
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6. Grasses for Year-Round Interest
Blue sedge (Carex glauca) forms a fine, steel-blue tuft that holds its color after the flowers around it have faded. Native grasses add movement, and many turn straw-colored in fall, so the bed keeps some shape through winter.
Pair them with plants that look nothing like them. Set fine, arching blades against broad rosettes and rounded mounds, and vary the heights: taller grasses beside a large boulder, the sedge tucked low between stones.
That contrast keeps the eye moving through every season, including the months when nothing is in bloom. Choose native grasses suited to your region, since they cope with local heat and dry spells with less fuss.
Match Plants to Your Site
Sort the six groups by what your site gives you, in this order:
- Start with climate, sun, soil and moisture. Rock gardens work in climates from hot and arid to cold and wet, so match plants to your zone before anything else.
- Most alpines want full sun and good drainage. Put shade plants on the north-facing side of the rocks.
- Next, check compatibility, mature size, seasonal interest and how many of each plant you need.
- On a slope, plant to hold the soil in place.
- In a small yard, a stone trough or raised bed works as a rock garden.
- Choose natives where you can. They help pollinators, and plants native to dry, rocky habitats often need little irrigation.
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Rocks and Soil Mix
- Clear the weeds from a sunny, well-drained spot. Buy local stone, since it matches the surrounding ground and looks like it belongs. Mix large and small rocks, and rough and smooth surfaces.
- Set the largest rocks first. Bury about a third of each rock’s depth and tilt it slightly backward. On a slope, buried rocks stay put instead of shifting.
- Place the smaller stones around the big ones.
- Fill the planting pockets with 1 part loam, 1 part horticultural grit and 1 part leaf mold. This loose, open mix lets native plants grow deep roots, so they need little watering once established.
- Spread gravel in the gaps between stones and plants.
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Water and Upkeep
A rock garden cuts down on weeding, mowing and other labor, but the plants still need water, and new alpines need the most.
Water your rock garden regularly after planting. Alpines need watering until they are established, especially during hot summers.
Water new plantings often through their first hot summer, then ease off once they are rooted in. Don’t overdo it, since these plants prefer dry, well-drained soil.
A layer of gravel mulch around each plant keeps weeds from competing for water and helps keep slugs and snails off young growth. Once a season, prune dead growth and spent flowers.
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For best results, plant in USDA Zone:5-8 - Mature size: 12-24in H x 15-18in W
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Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the difference between a rock garden and a rockery?
There is no difference.
Rockery is just another name for a rock garden. Both describe a raised feature built from rocks and soil, planted with alpines, dwarf shrubs and small perennials.
What is the point of a rock garden?
A rock garden gives a yard a focal point and adds structure.
It also recreates the gritty, fast-draining conditions of mountain slopes, so alpines and other small plants with the same needs can grow together. It cuts down on weeding and mowing too, though new plants still need regular watering.
