Not sparse: there is a huge range of suitable gravel garden plants. Subshrubs, perennials, annual plants as well as bulb and tuber plants dominate here. A few small-crowned trees or shrubs that do not grow too luxuriantly form the framework for the planting. The main characters in the gravel garden are the subshrubs and perennials, while the bulbous and tuberous plants only appear at certain times.
Perennials, ground cover and small shrubs bring the gravel garden to life
Versatile perennials
Perennials play the leading role in the gravel garden. They are perennial, herbaceous plants that sprout every spring from buds that are close to the ground or just hidden under the ground. The various types of thistle, for example, definitely belong in a gravel garden, but also succulents such as the ice plant, the stonecrop or the bacopa. Short-lived perennials such as dyer's chamomile, crown campion or silky mullein provide visual highlights during the summer months.
Ground cover for the gravel garden
Also not to be missed are low-growing, ground-covering perennials that sometimes form attractive carpets of plants. Examples of the gravel garden are:
- Small-leaved prickly nutlet (Acarena microhylla)
- Silver hornwort (Cerastium tomentosum var. columnae)
- Rockrose (Helianthemum nummularium)
- Cambridge cranesbill (Geranium x cantabrigiense)
- Early flowering thyme (Thymus praecox)
flowers according to the seasons
When choosing perennials, be sure to purchase species with different flowering times. The gravel garden blooms all year round and not just in certain months. There is a large selection of spring bloomers (e.g. Whitsun, spring Adonis, speedwell or pasque flowers), summer bloomers (e.g. bluebells, knapweed, sword elecampane, orange porcupine, flax, cinquefoil…) and autumn bloomers (e.g. B. various asters, stonecrop, dost). In addition to perennials, you should also use various bulbous and bulbous plants.
shrubs and subshrubs
The drier the living environment, the rarer are large trees. That's why you should also use small shrubs in the gravel garden that don't cast deep shadows and don't crowd your neighboring plants too much. Trees that grow in a columnar form, such as conifers or (rocket) juniper, are very well suited, but the following are also perfect:
- Narrow-leaved summer lilac (Buddleja alternifolia)
- Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii)
- Common Bladder Shrub (Colutea arborescens)
- Purple goat clover (Cytisus purpureus)
- Spanish broom (Genista hispanica)
- Summer tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima)
- Pike rose (Rosa glauca)
- Common Judas Tree (Cercis siliquastrum)
- Smoke Tree (Cotinus coggyria)
- Sade tree (Juniperus sabina)
subshrubs
These are long-lived plant species that form a woody basic structure near the ground, from which new, herbaceous shoots sprout every spring. Many Mediterranean herbs, for example, belong to this group. These types are particularly suitable for the gravel garden:
- Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
- Common lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Blue rue, Perovskia (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
- Lemon Thyme (Thymus x citriodorus)
- Spice Sage (Salvia officinalis)
- Evergreen candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
tips
Many grasses are also predestined for the gravel garden. There are numerous interesting species, for example with blue leaves (e.g. blue fescue, Magellanic bluegrass) or with pretty flower or fruit clusters (e.g. fountain grass, feather grass, silver spike grass).