33 Best Rock Garden Plants That Thrive in Sun or Shade

A rock garden—sometimes known as a rockery or alpine garden—is a planting area designed with a hardscape featuring a selection of gravels, rocks, or boulders. It typically includes a softscape of perennial and annual plants suitable for a rocky substrate, sometimes with no soil.

The beauty of a well-planned rock garden is the rocks and plants work together to enhance the total impact; it’s organized but, when done well, looks natural and not forced.

When arranging plants with rocks, you can get a natural look by not planting in rows or patterns; instead, use a variety of plants and different heights, like perennials, ornamental grasses, small shrubs, and creeping groundcovers to balance the hardness of the rocks. Also, consider giving the rock garden contrast with outcroppings of tall plants along a plant border, shoots of whispy texture, or a small burst of color with seasonal flowers.