Rocks gardens are a simple elbow room todesign a gardenwith optical stake , peculiarly if you endure in an area where keeping a lawn full of weed alive is challenging . rock-and-roll gardens are often home to drought - kind plant , as they most usually mimic desert or mountainous environs . sluttish to set up and unproblematic to maintain , the only head bequeath is what will you plant in it ? There are many selection , but if you want to know where to start , then you ’re in the right place ! This lean of a few of our favourite plant life for rock-and-roll garden will avail you set about to contrive your very own gorgeous rock garden .
What types of plants grow best in rock gardens?
Rock gardens are best suited fordrought - tolerant plantsthat can grow in wretched , rocky ground . While you’re able to grow other type of plant in a rock garden , it will take more effort on your part . Mixing compost into filth that ’s full of rocks can be dodgy , for object lesson , so growing plant that need plenteous dirt is more challenging .
Desert and mountain plant are among the practiced industrial plant for rock-and-roll gardens , as they well adapt to these status . Native wildflowers and cacti species are among the best choice , and it ’s easier to give care for your rock garden if you choose perennials or ego - seeding annuals . scram in between the rocks to replant your garden every year is n’t impossible , but it can be inconvenient .
Ice plant
shabu plants , or delosperma , are beautiful flowering succulents that often grow in containers or as ground cover . Native to share of Africa , ice plant thrive in strong , stony soil and are stunning to look at . They have small rounded leaves that are a frosty green color , and the flowers derive in an raiment of vibrant colors , fromdeep burnt orangeto bright reddish blue .
There are plenty of multicolored varieties as well , some of which have unique color combos , such as orangish and reddish blue . Delosperma is a groovy choice for small-scale rock candy gardens or for filling gaps in a gravid garden . They stay fairly short , but can spread if given the room to do so .
Penstemon
Penstemon , sometimes called beardtongue , is a great pick fordrought - tolerant pollinator gardens . Bees and hummingbirds both love the promising , subway - shaped flush on this adorable perennial . Penstemon flowers are found in dark glasses of low-spirited , pinkish , purple , and red , and while most multifariousness have light-green leave , there are a few with cryptic empurpled foliage that will stand out against easy - colored rock candy .
Penstemon peak spike can grow up to 3 foot tall , so check that to give them a bit of room to grow when you embed them . It ’s also a skillful estimation to plant them behind shorter flush , so they wo n’t block the small plant life from view .
Hen and chicks
biddy and biddy , named for the plant ’s habit of grow several smaller rosette around the larger independent one , can also sometimes be prognosticate vulgar houseleek or sempervivum . These lovely succulents look similar to echeveria , with thick leave of absence that form spiral or blush wine - like shape .
biddy and skirt will circularize to create a carpet of colored leaves , making it staring for occupy in section of a sway garden . If you take older rocks with cracks in them , you may even plant these endearing succulent in the rocks themselves ! to boot , while many hen and chicks start off as red , immature , or yellow , they can change color each season , and sometimes have dramatic color shifts .
Stonecrop
You might fuck this industrial plant as stonecrop or sedum , but no matter what you call this gorgeous succulent , it makes a with child addition to any rock garden . If you want a lot of variety without much effort , stonecrop is the way to go . It comes in many sizes , shape , and colors , from the wooden-headed , trailing leaves of burro’s - nates sedum to the beautifully floral autumn joy stonecrop .
No matter what sort of aesthetical you are aim for , there ’s indisputable to be atype of stonecropthat matches . This variety also means it can make full a issue of roles in your rock garden , from a low - lying groundcover to a taller , showier instruction piece .
Lewisia
Lewisia is a lovely inflorescence industrial plant native to the western U.S. , where it is common to find on jolty drop-off side . With beautiful , smooth flowers that get in many shade of pink , orange , red , white , and yellow , these evergreen perennials are right-hand at home in any rock garden .
They have flat , unripe leaves that tend to stay close to the ground , with marvellous , narrow stems top with bright flowers . The base can clump together in a lifelike bouquet of colour or splay out for a more unique appearance , depending on the industrial plant . These native smasher are sure to delight you and your guests when you see them nestled among the rocks .
These plants for rock gardens are just the start point , but they do make for a solid foundation . From here , you may settle what form of aesthetic or surround you want your rock garden to centre on . For a lush garden , start with sempervivum and sedum and search more succulents and cacti . For a more flowered garden , pluck up some genus Lewisia and penstemon and go from there . There are so many fun alternative to explore !
