Stone beds are often planted with grasses and trees. It looks elegant, is easy to care for and is often wintergreen. But even in a rock garden you don't have to go without flowers. Find out below which flowers are best suited for stone beds.
Which flowers are suitable for a stone bed?
Ground covers such as Andean cushionwort, mountain chickweed, blue cushion and carpet phlox are particularly suitable for a flowering stone bed. Perennials such as bitterroot, chamomile, mullein, soapwort and Spanish man litter are also suitable options for colorful stone beds.
The site conditions in the stone bed
Stone beds are usually in the sun, so the plants have to tolerate a lot of sun and should be drought tolerant. In addition, the soil in the stone bed is usually sandy, permeable and poor in nutrients. When choosing your flowers for the stone bed, make sure that they can cope with these requirements.
Designing a stone bed with flowers
A stone bed depends on the fact that it is only planted selectively and the free areas are covered with beautiful pebbles. You should therefore only use flowers selectively. In addition, rock gardens should cause as little work as possible. So make sure you plant perennial flowers in your stone bed so you don't have to do it every year. Flowering ground cover plants are often used for the rock garden, as they form a beautiful, colorful carpet of flowers on the stones. But drought-tolerant perennials are also conceivable for patch-like planting in stone beds.
The 10 most beautiful flowering ground cover plants for the rock garden
| Groundcover | Flowering time | Flower color | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andean cushion herb | May to June | Yellow | Evergreen |
| Mountain chickweed | May to June | White | Attracts butterflies and bees |
| Blue cushion 'Hamburg City Park' | April to May | Violet-blue | Wintergreen |
| Cambridge cranesbill 'Biokovo' | June to July | White | Beautiful autumn color of the leaves |
| Dalmatian cushion bellflower 'Birch' | June to August | Dark purple | Wintergreen |
| Evergreen Candytuft | April to May | White | Evergreen |
| Olymp Rockflower | March to April | Yellow | Richly blooming bee pasture |
| Scarlet field thyme 'Coccineus' | June to August | Purple | Evergreen |
| Star Moss ‘Irish Moss’ | April to May | White | Evergreen |
| Carpet flame flower 'Scarlet Flame' | April to May | Red | Wintergreen |
The 5 most beautiful flowering perennials for the stone bed
Perennials are hardy, usually quite resistant and sprout every year. They are therefore an optimal solution for the stone bed.
| Perennial | Flowering time | Flower color | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitterroot ‘Sunset Strain’ | May to June | Pink, rose red, orange or yellow | Winter protection recommended |
| Dye’s chamomile ‘Kelwayi’ | July to September | Yellow | Straight flowers |
| mullein ‘Southern Charme’ | May to July | Pink | Wintergreen |
| Soapweed | July to September | Pink | Clove plant, formerly used for washing |
| Spanish Man Litter | July to August | Bluish-violet to silvery | Large, star-shaped flowers |
