GARDENS C R E V I C E

Rocks are partly buried and partly left exposed to create a berm that is both attractive and practical: It allows plants to take root in pockets between the rocks and ensures good drainage.

ATURE WILL find a way. From dandelions pushing through a crack in the pavement to an eastern red cedar clinging to a rocky ledge, plants are driven to survive despite the odds.

Crevice gardens—landscapes that depend less on water and more on rocks—rely on those survivors to beautify rugged spaces and thrive with little human intervention. As water conservation and the changing climate become critical concerns for horticulturists and home gardeners alike, these sustainable and stunning designs are trending across the country.

“Crevice gardening, and water-wise gardening on the whole, are increasingly popular styles in which gardeners work with, instead of against, natural hardscapes and ecological microclimates,” says Hadley Mueller at High Country Gardens, a mail-order specialist in plants for sustainable gardening.

An extreme iteration of a classic rock garden, crevice gardens are purpose-built to allow only tiny spots in or between rocks for plants to grow. Mueller says these features are part of a larger sustainability story in the industry because, like most rock gardens, they are relatively low-maintenance and demand less water, since the rocks help divert water or snowmelt to plants’ roots.

You don’t need a rocky outcrop in your backyard to explore the technique, says master gardener Molly Janicki, whose Massachusetts-based business Molly Janicki, Horticultural Services, is devoted to working with native features to create beautiful, sustainable ecosystems. At its simplest, she says, you can start a crevice garden by sprinkling some bluet seeds in the cracks of your patio. “I see crevice gardening as part of a larger trend of observing plants more,” she says. “Crevice gardening is finding the little niches where plants will grow, which is just recognizing that plants will grow everywhere and anywhere that we give them the opportunity.”

In New England, which is blessed with rich soil and rarely experiences the extreme droughts seen in other