Five-Star Plant Selection

Percy Thrower concludes his series with the best rock plants

- Percy Thrower

THERE are many kinds of rock plants with very different characteristics and origins. Some are small herbaceous plants and some are tiny shrubs. Some are genuine mountain plants or ‘alpines’, while others come from lower latitudes, even from the seashore, where they find congenial conditions among the rocks. About the only two things they have in common are their relative smallness and an ability to prosper in places too stony for most other plants.

Both of these characteristics make rock plants of supreme interest to gardeners, and especially those numerous gardeners today who have only tiny plots. No difficulty should be found in growing any of the following, all of which I regard as being of five-star quality. Spring is a good time to plant, preferably using pot-grown plants.

10 Veronica

The best of these for a rock garden are the varieties of Veronica prostrata, a carpet-forming plant covered each May in short spikes of blue flowers. The varieties differ mainly in the shade of blue, though there are also some with pink flowers, if that is what you want. But in my view the blues are best, V.p. ‘Loddon Blue’ if you want a deep colour, and ‘Spode Blue’ if you prefer a lighter shade.

11 Hypericum

Some kinds of hypericum are big shrubs and some are rampant sprawlers, but there are also neat little shrublets that are ideal for rock gardens. My pick is H. polyphyllum, which can cover a square foot of ground with its sprawling stems, narrow grey-green leaves and gleaming yellow flowers, but is unlikely to exceed 6in (15cm) in height. It is offered in a number of forms, differing in size of bloom and precise shade of yellow, and of these, if there is only room for one, ‘Grandiflorum’ should be chosen.

12 Linum