Rock gardens are particularly suitable for particularly sunny areas. They are modern and easy to maintain as they are mainly made of larger stones and gravel. Strong, green plants break up the bright area. Below you will find numerous planting ideas for your rock garden.
Which plants are suitable for planting in a rock garden?
Easy-care, sun-loving and winter-hardy plants such as trees, ground cover, flowering plants, succulents and grasses are suitable for planting a rock garden. These include, for example, barberry, cotoneaster, blue cushion, alpine aster, hardy succulents such as Echeveria or Sedum species and grasses such as bluegrass or feather grass species.
The best plants for the rock garden
Flowers are rarely found in the rock garden, but are certainly possible to add a nice touch of color. Evergreen trees, ground cover and beautiful grasses are often used.
- Woods
- Groundcover
- Flowering plants
- Succulents
- Grasses
Woods for the rock garden
If you have a creative gardening streak, you should buy pruning trees for your rock garden and cut them into shape. If you want to enjoy your rock garden in winter, you should plant evergreen shrubs and trees. Below is an overview of beautiful trees with which you can plant your rock garden:
| Name | Evergreen | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Barberry | No | Edible fruits |
| Boxwood | Fan Maple | No |
| Cotoneaster | No | Red fruits |
| fingerbush | No | Beautiful yellow flowers |
| Japanese Japanese Maple | No | Red leaves in autumn |
| Carpet cotoneaster | Yes | Poisonous |
| Creeping spindle | Yes | Can be grown as both a ground cover and a shrub |
| Mahony | Yes | Poisonous |
| Stone broom | Yes | Yellow flowers in May/June |
| Dwarf Gold Spiere | No | Long flowering period |
Plant the rock garden with ground cover plants
Some ground cover plants spread quickly and overgrow the beautiful gravel. Therefore, smaller carpet plants should be chosen for the rock garden. They should also be winter hardy. The following ground cover plants remain small and are also wintergreen:
- Mountain Stonewort
- Blue-gray fat leaf
- Blue pillow
- Brown Feather Pad
- Colourful Leaves
- Compact Hornwort
- Olymp Rockflower
- Cushion Bellflower
- Hot Stonecrop
- various cranesbill varieties
- Carpet Flame Flower or Upholstery Flame Flower
You can find more evergreen ground covers here.
Flowering plants for planting in the rock garden
Plants in the rock garden should be as easy to care for as possible and can tolerate a lot of sun, which significantly limits the selection of flowering plants. Flower-bearing plants that require little water include:
- Alpine aster
- Alpine Edelweiss
- Alpine toadflax
- Blue Diamond
- Bitterroot
- Echinacea
- Sweet Thistle
- Vervain
- Gentian
- Fuchsia
- Carnation
- Junker lily
- mullein
- Lavender
- Girl's Eye
- Carnations
- pearl basket
- Pink Evening Primrose
- Roses
- Sage
- Ribbon flower
- Shrub rose
Succulents for the rock garden
Succulents need very little water and do well in full sun locations. Therefore they are a very good choice for the rock garden. However, make sure your succulents are hardy so they don't freeze in the winter. Some hardy succulents:
- Mountain Cactus
- Echeveria elegans
- Echeceria agavoides
- Echinocereus viridiflorus
- Prickly Pear Cactus
- ball cactus
- the Opuntia species: Opuntia ficus-indica, Opuntia imbricata, Opuntia tortispina
- Sedum species
- Sempervivum species
- the Yucca species: Yucca baccata, Yucca elata, Yucca brevifolia, Yucca filamentosa
You can find more information about hardy succulents and their care needs here.
Grasses for the rock garden
Rock gardens are reminiscent of the south and warmth. This effect can be enhanced with light grasses swaying in the wind. The twelve most beautiful grasses for planting in the rock garden are:
- Bluegrass
- Feather grass species
- Oats
- grove ledges
- Pennisetum grass
- Mosquito grass
- Pearl grass
- Purple Love Grass
- Rainbow Fescue
- Schillergrass
- Fescue species
- Sedge species
Tip
Create a small stream in your rock garden. You can also plant moisture-loving plants near water. Find out how to do it here.
