I have a daylily bed that’s surrounded by large stones. I like to tuck rock garden plants into the areas between the stones to keep the lawn from creeping into the bed. Some of the plants have thrived and other have disappeared entirely.
This year I purchased an adorable little sea thrift (Armeria maritima) with a cutesy name…’Nifty Thrifty’.
I was enchanted the plant’s variegated foliage and diminutive size. A friend was holding it as I was inspecting some other plants at the garden center, and an employee even stopped to ask her what it was because it’s so darn cute.
‘Nifty Thrifty’ will eventually send up little pink flowers. The plant only grows 4 inches tall (the flowers reach 8 inches) with a 6-inch spread.
Sea thrifts prefer well-drained soils that lean toward the dry side. ‘Nifty Thrifty’ is drought tolerant, prefers full sun to partial shade and is hardy to Zone 3.