Beth Chatto Style Garden
Beth Chatto Style Gravel Garden: Plant List & Layout
A gravel garden inspired by Beth Chatto’s famous Essex garden offers colour, texture and resilience, even in dry summers. By using the principle of ‘right plant, right place’, you can create a border that looks good all year with minimal watering.
Key principles
- Drought-tolerant species that thrive in poor, free-draining soils.
- Dense planting to suppress weeds and shade soil.
- Naturalistic design — flowing drifts of plants rather than single specimens.
Suggested plant list
- Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ – upright purple spires.
- Sedum spectabile ‘Autumn Joy’ – late-season nectar source.
- Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian sage) – silver foliage, blue flowers.
- Stipa tenuissima – airy grasses for movement.
- Echinacea purpurea – bold daisy flowers, wildlife friendly.
- Verbena bonariensis – tall, airy structure.
- Achillea millefolium ‘Terracotta’ – flat heads, loved by insects.
- Lavandula angustifolia – aromatic and drought-proof.
- Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ – silver foliage contrast.
- Erigeron karvinskianus – long flowering daisies for groundcover.
Layout ideas
- Front edge: low plants like Erigeron, Lavandula, Sedum.
- Middle layer: Salvia, Achillea, Echinacea.
- Back layer: Verbena, Perovskia, Stipa.
Maintenance
Cut grasses and perennials back in late winter. Avoid feeding — these plants perform best in lean soils. Add new gravel mulch every few years to keep weeds down.
