Aubrietas, sometimes spelled Abrietia, come from the Mediterranean and Near East. They are alpine plant preferring a cool temperate climate and will flower profusely. In warmer climates flowering becomes erratic.

Aubrietas make carpets of colour and are good for growing at the front of flower beds, in rockeries or cascading down retaining walls. Growing just 15cm (6in) tall and spreading several times their height they are covered in Spring with 4-petalled flowers in shades of red and purple.

A short-lived perennial, they can be grown from summer cuttings every 3-4 years or they are readily propagated by division of the rhizomatous rootstock.