Best plants for rock gardens

If you want to landscape a rock garden, you should focus on a clean and distinct design to match the plants with natural stone. You can opt for a colorful and cheerful landscaping or a more traditional one, single color flowers, or even non-flowering plants, based on your taste and the interior design style. Natural stone fits many styles: wide color variation and designs for slabs and also decoration elements (such as statues, garden fountains or massive pots).

When it comes to decorative plants for landscaping your backyard, you have an even more abundant diversity. Here are some plants to consider when landscaping your garden:

Dwarf plants

Aurinia Saxatilis is one of the most suitable dwarf plants for the garden; it belongs to the herbaceous perennial plants, have yellow color and perfect fit for a cheerful garden.

Aurinia Saxatilis Photo source: www.waterwiseplants.org

For a purple chromatic, you can use Mesembryanthemum cooperi. For an eternal green landscaping, use Sempervivum tectorum – juicy dwarf perennials plants, green all year round. The varieties of thymus vulgaris will keep your backyard scented most of your time and moreover, can also be used as spices, for savoring the most exquisite dishes.

Mesembryanthemum cooperi Photo source: www.llifle.com

Festuca glauca is a herb which is a ideal for rock gardens, as long as the soil is well-drained and loosed. Cerastium tomentosum are flowering plants that develop into fast-growing huge shrubs; their buds have white color, contrasting with the deep green of leaves. Another white and ethereal flower is Iberis sempervirens, which fits perfectly in a garden landscaped with limestone or slate; rough, unfinished rocks could be used for such a landscaping, the result being most suitable for a mountain garden. Besides, dwarf plants are perfect for this mountain setting.

For a blue splash of color, landscaping experts recommend the plant called Ajuga Reptans, and if you prefer lavender you can opt for Phlox subulata. Pulsatilla vulgaris, whose flowers are purple, are also dwarf plants suitable for a rock garden. The flowers of Iris reticulata will convey into your garden a Royal air, while Euphorbia amygdaloides Purpurea is more suitable for rustic gardens, inspired by the American western style.

Medium-sized plants

If you plan to have a boho-chic garden, Coreopsis verticillata should be your first choice; her yellow and perfectly symmetrical flowers will turn your garden into a real temple of hippie culture. Lavandula could add an extra scent to your garden at the end of the summer, conveying also a Provencal air.

Achillea Millefolium is a plant with small and dense flowers and an extremely appealing shade: red-crimson. If you still want something more discreet and you like the retro/vintage gardens, Sedum could become one of your favorite plants; his flowers are abundant and their color is an irresistible dusty pink. Veronica Spicata, commonly known as "Mullet", can successfully replace Lavender. If you have not seen yet some gorgeous flowers with petals in totally contrasting colors – pale yellow and dark violet – you can buy some Aquilegia canadensis seedlings. Chrysanthemum maximum – ordinary chrysanthemums – are some of our favorites, when it comes to landscaping with natural stone. Also a perfect match next to these are the cheerful yellow flowers Rudbeckia hirta. Consider also the sage, but also Nepeta racemosa, with small, purple and abundant flowers that can truly cheer your green corner.

Read also the article on Best tips for creating a traditional Greek garden!

Large-scale plants

Even though the appearance of rock gardens – especially with rough, unfinished look – can give you the feeling of rockery, this does not mean that you should have no trees and shrubs in your garden. As a result, Pinus Mugo should be your first choice, precisely because it is always green and will fill with energy the space in your garden. Perovskia Atriplicifolia is a huge herb with lilac flowers that fits beautifully in areas where you already have dwarf plants or white backgrounds. Cotoneaster horizontalis grows fruits that looks like Rosa canina (commonly known as dog rose), except that they are smaller and rounder; these fruits are alone the main points of attraction in your garden.

Also in the category of dwarf trees and shrubs comes the Japanese maple, a little tree with reddish leaves, perfect for people in love with the colors of autumn. And if you want to highlight against an authentic Japanese setting, you can associate it with azaleas; you will thus achieve a red-green contrast that pleases the eye. Another small tree, you can also use in a smaller garden, is the dwarf lilac, with a fragrance that will delight your senses.

For further details on choosing the natural stone best suited to your project give us a call at +40318.222.333, or send us an email at export@piatraonline.com!