Things to plant in very shallow poor soil

MayBee, that's funny because I have just cleared a load of Vinca Minor from the back garden as it was all getting out of hand. It came through the fence from next door originally, so I've perhaps not appreciated it as much as I should have done!

Late to make a suggestion but Mexican Fleebane grows really well in any dry spot or wall and flowers all summer. Just strim it back in the spring

Trying again

Ajuga takes over here, so be careful. I've been given some, and had to dig it out, was given another two lots in a collection of plants and so I'm growing the ajuga in two pots.

Oregano was another thought for your gravel garden, but that tends to seed everywhere.

Chives grow in cracks in the paving slabs, but not nicely in a pot! Sage has rooted itself in cracks too, but given up in the herb bed.

If you fancy a taller plant , verbena bonariensis does well in poor soil and once established seeds freely - maybe a bit too freely but easy to pull up.

I'm doing well with Russian Sage in similar conditions, if you fancy something taller. Needs sun however, but appears to thrive on neglect.

I’d go for really tough plants like sedum, thyme, or creeping rosemary
They cope well with heat and hardly any soil
A few small grasses can work too

I’d go for rock-hardy plants like sedums, creeping thyme or sempervivums, since they barely blink at shallow soil
If you can tuck in a bit of compost under each one, they settle even better
For spots where nothing roots well, I’ve filled a couple of pots with houseplants www.houseplant.co.uk/collections/house-plants-indoor-plants to add some colour without wrestling with the gravel, and that’s been an easy workaround

Tickseed.

I think these are pretty good conditions for a simple gravel garden. I’d try sedums, saxifraga, aubrieta, armeria, maybe some dwarf lavender varieties as they all cope well with a shallow soil. Also erigeron and small ornamental grasses (like festuca glauca maybe) work nicely too. There are programs like Gardenbox 3d or Sketchup for visualizing the overall look in advance, especially if you aren't sure if everything would work together, so drawing a "plan" could also be worth it.

I have started a heather bed in a patch of dry poor soil that runs the length of my driveway. They tolerate dry conditions and poor soil. They’re doing very well and eventually they will knit together to make a sort of patchwork, as has happened in one of my rockeries.

Mediterranean herbs should do well.

Churchview

Oregano seems to thrive on next to no soil in my garden and spreads itself around freely. Absolutely lovely when in bloom and wonderful for bees.

Beth Chatto famously made a wonderful garden in gravel. Lots of information and videos on the net about it and also her book 'Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden: Drought-Resistant Planting'.

This might be really helpful too. www.bethchatto.co.uk/conditions/plants-for-scree-gardens/

Her beautiful and rather wonderful garden is very close to our holiday lodge, we’ve been and it’s a wonderful place!

Beware grape hyacinths. They are thugs and will soo take over your whole garden.

While they are still in manageable clumps dig up any outliers or small spreading clumps.

I speak from experience. In our last house I loved the few clumps of GH that were in the borders, but they soon took over whole beds and I had days of digging them up and reducing their numbers to manageable amounts.

I was also going to suggest alpines. My dad used to grow them in his rockery which was always in full sun.

Creeping purple thyme grows well in shallow soil.

An assortment of bulbs can add splashes of colour over the year.