If you’re looking to create a resilient and beautiful outdoor space, using Sedum For A Low-Maintenance Garden Design is one of the most effective ways to achieve year-round colour, texture, and interest with minimal effort..  

What is Sedum?

Sedum For A Low-Maintenance Garden Design, commonly known as stonecrop, refers to a large group of succulent perennials known for their low-growing clusters of textural leaves and flowers. Most varieties have thick, fleshy, water-retentive leaves, and their flowers typically bloom from early summer into autumn, depending on the species. Sedums can be bought as sedum turf, small individual plants, clumping varieties, or larger specimens, making them a versatile choice for your planting scheme.

We do we Love it?

At Ivy and Whyte, we celebrate plants that thrive around the UK south coast. Sedum is one of our go to plants, because it is resilient, looks amazing and you can use it in so many creative ways. It offers brilliant low growing interest that draws your eye to every corner of the garden and is exceptionally drought-tolerant and low maintenance. It is also a favourite among bees and butterflies! 

Sedum boasts a wide variety of colour, ranging from deep burgundy to lime green and silvery tones. Sedum is used in most of our designs and we always manage to find a variety that compliments our overall planting scheme. 

Where do we use it?

We commonly use sedum turf in our designs. It’s ideal for softening transitions between materials, creating natural edging, or serving as an alternative to grass in selected areas. Sedum turf also works beautifully on green roofs, where it helps to soften hard surfaces, and can be used decoratively in pots and containers, spilling over the edges.

Larger varieties of sedum are also favourites of ours, as their bold, upright structure adds a sculptural element to contrast with more delicate looking plants. 

Our Favourite Types:

Sedum turf  (mixed varieties)

White stonecrop

Sedum spurium

Hylotelephium spectabile ‘Iceberg’

Hylotelephium spectabile ‘Stardust’

Hylotelephium ‘Purple Emperor’

Hylotelephium ‘Chocolate Cherry’

Top Sedum Tips!

If you’re looking to bring long-lasting colour, texture, and resilience into your outdoor space, sedum is one of the most reliable and rewarding plants you can choose. Using Sedum For A Low-Maintenance Garden Design is a brilliant way to achieve year-round interest without endless watering, pruning, or fuss. These hardy, drought-tolerant succulents thrive in poor soil, cope brilliantly with changing weather conditions, and continue to perform beautifully with very little intervention, making them ideal for both beginner gardeners and seasoned designers seeking simplicity with style.

One of the key strengths of sedum, especially ground-covering varieties, is their ability to knit together and create natural living carpets. They spill softly over edges, fill awkward gaps between stepping stones, and bring structure to gravel gardens or sunny borders. Their fleshy leaves come in a huge range of tones, from cool silvery-greens to rich bronzes and vibrant lime, adding subtle depth and contrast throughout the year. Then, as summer arrives, many sedum varieties burst into flower, attracting bees, butterflies, and pollinators with their nectar-rich blooms.

When incorporating Sedum For A Low-Maintenance Garden Design, consider mixing low-growing creeping sedum with taller varieties like Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ or ‘Matrona’ to add height and movement. The taller sedums hold their shape beautifully and age gracefully into autumn, offering sculptural seed heads that look stunning rimmed with frost in winter. This natural seasonality makes sedum an excellent choice for modern naturalistic and ecological planting schemes.

To help your sedum thrive, plant it in full sun wherever possible, although many varieties will tolerate partial shade, they really shine when given warmth and light. Choose well-drained soil or plant into gravel or sand-based beds; sedum dislikes sitting in waterlogged soil. Once established, watering needs are minimal, making them truly low-maintenance plants. You can even propagate sedum easily, simply take healthy cuttings, allow them to dry for a day, and then plant in gritty compost; they root quickly and spread happily.

Whether you’re creating a wildlife-friendly garden, a contemporary gravel courtyard, or simply want reliable plants that look after themselves, sedum offers beauty, resilience, and generosity in every season. With so many shapes, colours, and growth habits to explore, there’s a sedum for almost every space, proof that sometimes the simplest plants deliver the biggest impact.

Plants sourced from: Palmstead