6 Alpines
Alpines are small, hardy plants that naturally grow in mountainous regions where conditions are harsh. Rocky soil, sharp drainage, strong sun, and cold winters. In gardens, they're prized for their compact size, colourful flowers, and ability to thrive in rockeries, gravel beds, walls, and troughs.
Key Features of Alpines
- Size: Compact, low-growing, often mat or cushion-forming.
- Soil: Thrive in gritty, free-draining compost/soil.
- Light: Most love full sun (though some prefer partial shade).
- Watering: Drought-tolerant once established; dislike waterlogging.
- Use: Perfect for rock gardens, crevices, gravel beds, raised troughs, pots, and green roofs.
Popular Alpine Plants
Spring Colour:
- Aubrieta: Purple spring carpet
- Arabis (Rock Cress): white/pink blooms.
- Phlox subulata: mossy mats with masses of pink/purple flowers.
- Saxifraga: rosettes with dainty flowers.
Summer Interest:
- Campanula carpatica (Carpathian Bellflower): blue/purple bells.
- Dianthus (Alpine Pinks): fragrant pink/red flowers.
- Thymus (Creeping Thyme): aromatic mats with purple blooms.
- Sedum (Stonecrop): star-shaped flowers, drought-proof.
Evergreen / All-Year Appeal
- Sempervivum (Houseleeks): rosettes, very tough.
- Lewisia: evergreen rosettes, brightly coloured flowers.
- Gentiana: striking blue trumpets.
How to Grow Alpines:
- Planting Sites: Rockeries, troughs, raised beds, walls, gravel gardens.
- Compost Mix: Equal parts loam, sharp sand, and grit for best drainage.
- Feeding: Minimal feeding; too much fertiliser makes them floppy.
- Maintenance: Trim after flowering; remove dead leaves to prevent rot.
Design Ideas
- Rockery Garden: Mix trailing (aubrieta), mound-forming (saxifraga), and rosettes (sempervivum).
- Alpine trough.rot: 5-7 different aplines, spaced closely for a miniature mountain landscape.
- Wall Planting: tuck alpines like Arabis or Campanula into cracks/crevices.