Has anyone tried a rubble garden?

twopenny

It's new and experimental at the moment I think and there isn't a planting mention for the title photo but I'm curious as a way to deal with droughts

https://www.positive.news/environment/theyre-resilient-low-effort-and-beautiful-how-to-plant-a-rubble-garden/

I think it maybe tempting floods next year.

But with getting older so traditional gardening is becoming harder I'm interested and in anyone who's successfully made a gravel garden. Can you get a succession of colour? Does it need watering? Getting weeds out?

Brie

Thanks for sharing that article - it's very interesting.

I've been looking at a middle section of our garden where once there may have been some ponds or perhaps a stream. A previous owner had outlined a section in large stones, likely Purbeck, and infilled with shale/slate. I've managed to add more stones and have been seeing what I might try to put in and around to be low maintenance.

I know one of the things that has done well in the past with little water or soil is iron cross clover, sold as bulbs at Lidl as Gluck Glee most years in the spring. It's a natually occuring 4 leaf clover with a deep red green stripe on the leaves and a simply bright pink flower. It doesn't show itself until the end of May but puts on a lovely show for a few months before retreating for the winter. I've used it at a previous property where the ground was impossible and covered in stone and it thrived. There was also a lot of grape hyacinth which are colourful when in flower and provide a good green base but spreads worse than bamboo.

twopenny

Thanks for the tip Brie. I haven't come across that and will keep my eyes open.

I've got forget me nots growing in the stones around my pond. Dark leaved violets, wallflowers and mini cyclamen rooted themselves into gravel drains.

I have some of the original verbena (one of the 7 mystic herbs) which is modest appearance but sways in the wind and bees love it.

Eriginon of course.... I've seen a whole high mound of that and it was spectacular.

I'm taking myself into this aren't I 😊

RAS

I'd look at everything available about Derek Jarman's Dungeness garden. You may not have the salt spray problems but his success list might be a starrting point?

Farway

Have you seen last weeks Gardeners' World? Visited some garden where they are deliberately growing on sand. Plant Library I think it was called, Rachel de thingy visited

Maybe just terminology, but would rubble gardens be a variant of prairie gardens, same idea, poor soil,dry & un-watered.