What to Plant in A Rock Garden
Once you’ve half killed yourself!
The building of a rock garden is real drudgery, so isn’t it good to know that when you’ve put in all that hard labour the fun can really begin.
Annuals
When you invest in a rock garden you might find you don’t have too much money left over to stock it, so it’s good to know that for the first couple of years you can make a great show simply with annuals sown from seed. Particular favourites for the ‘pretend’ alpine garden include Alyssum, Candytuft, Forget-me-not and dwarf Snapdragons. The Kochias look exactly like little cypress trees and make a fantastic show in a single year and Mesembryanthemums give beautiful opalescent colour like tiny moonflowers. Aubrieta are the rock garden standby and a packet of seed with give you a show like nothing else.
Shrubs
Some of the smaller Cystisus (broom to you and me) varieties make lovely rock garden plants, especially planted right at the top of the garden because they are very drought resistant and can fall from there in cascades of spring blossom. Ericas give year round colour and are ridiculously cheap, so the money you save on them can be invested in a dwarf lilac, both for its colour and its fragrance. Small azaleas make a great addition to the rock garden and their showy flowers bring late spring to life.
Bulbs
Snowdrops, Scillas, Dwarf Alliums, and Anemones are all good and inexpensive rock garden plants. Perennials Sempervivums (House Leeks) are an odd and charming plant, great for filling in crevices, need very little soil but must not get waterlogged, when in doubt, plant with an extra handful of sand to ensure drainage. Lithospermum – the beautiful prostrate spreading mats of brilliant blue are simply wonderful, but as this plant hates lime, you need to have it set in peat with good drainage. Dianthus, or Pinks, are another rock garden standby and they cannot be beaten for solid colour, ripe fragrance with cinnamon notes and watch them fill the air with brightness and scent.
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