Program Contact: Loren Imes
360-639-6059 • loren.imes@wsu.edu
A crevice garden is a type of rock garden that emulates an alpine rock environment, where plants grow in crevices between slabs of rock. The slabs are set on end or at a slight angle, creating a dramatic effect. A crevice garden can be built on a mound, in a large pot, or as a distinctive substitute for a traditional rock wall.
The crevice garden concept was first popularized by Czech rock gardeners in the mid-1980s and is now spreading in popularity in the United States.
Crevice gardens have unique advantages over traditional rock gardens, a key benefit being water conservation. Plant roots travel deep into narrow crevices, thus providing more consistent moisture as well as protection from evaporation and fluctuating weather conditions on the surface. Once a crevice garden is established, maintenance is minimal.
The micro-climate created within crevices provides environmental conditions that allow a variety of alpine plants to thrive in our lowland gardens, thus allowing for preservation of plants that might be endangered from climate change in their native habitat.
We built two examples of crevice gardens from the ground up – one with quartzite flagstones and the other with urbanite (repurposed concrete) – and a third example in a planter box. Together, they show how different effects can be created by varying materials and designs.
Plantings continue to evolve, with the following plants already in place, identified by the number on the gray tag next to each plant in the garden and listed below by botanical name, followed by common name.
1 – Sedum spathulifolium ‘Cape Blanco,’ Broadleaf Stonecrop
2 – Lewisia columbiana, Columbia Lewisia
4 – Daphne x hendersonii ‘Fritz Kummert’, Daphne
5 – Sedum lanceolatum spp. nesioticum, Spearleaf Stonecrop
7 – Penstemon davidsonii, Davidson’s Beardtongue
8 – Lonicera crassifolia, Creeping Honeysuckle
10 – Polemonium caeruleum, Jacob’s Ladder
11 – Androsace sempervivoides, Rock Jasmine
12 – Arenaria tetraquetra, Spanish Sandwort
13 – Leontopodium alpinum, Edelweiss
14 – Potentilla anserina, Silverweed
15 – Potentilla arenaria, Cinquefoil
17 – Delosperma dyeri, Red Mountain Ice Plant
18 – Sedum oreganum, Oregon Stonecrop
19 – Helianthemum nummularium ‘Dazzler,’ Dazzler Sun Rose
20 – Sempervivum ‘Coral Red,’ Coral Red Sempervivum
21 – Thymus pulegioides ‘Foxley,’ Foxley Thyme
22 – Thymus x citriodorus ‘Lemon Frost,’ Lemon Frost Thyme
23 – Lewisia, Lewisia
24 – Lithodora diffusa ‘Grace Ward,’ Lithodora Grace Ward
25 – Sempervivum ‘Sunset,’ Sunset Hens and Chicks
26 – Sedum ochroleucum ‘Red Wiggle,’ Red Wiggle Stonecrop
Resources for more information:
- The Crevice Garden: How to make the perfect home for plants from rocky places, by Kenton Seth and Paul Spriggs, Filbert Press, 2022. A complete guide to all aspects of crevice gardening, including a detailed how-to section and illustrated list of plants.
- Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy, Port Townsend, video interview with Kenton Seth and Paul Spriggs about the crevice garden built at the Conservancy.
- Why You Should Try Crevice Gardening: ‘This Is the Future,’ New York Times, August 3, 2022.