April Plant of the Month

On a recent trip to the windswept island of Lindisfarne, I was reminded of the tenacity of this classic rock plant. Within a short distance of the shoreline and with a keen east wind blowing, the cheerful purple flowers of this low growing plant were in full flower on top of a drystone wall.

This scrambling perennial is ideal for growing in the hollow tops of walls where it can cascade down over the sides. On Lindisfarne, the Edwardian plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll used aubrieta to top the walls of the small walled garden to the castle where it survives to this day.

Aubretia are deservedly popular rock plants as they are easy to grow and reliable. They form spreading carpets of flowers from March to May in shades of purple, lilac, pink and there is a variegated form – Aubrieta ‘Argenteovariegata’. Useful as an edging plant (as not all of us have drystone walls) they like free draining soil in full sun.