You will want to get rid of large rocks (over 4 inches)in upper foot of ground. You will have to bring in top soil to fill in though. Small rocks are no big deal. I live on rocky soil an and it can be a pain in the butt when it comes to planting trees and shrubs...

If you want to work with what you have rather than against it, you could start by looking at the 'grass and weeds' which had made their home there. They will be an excellent indication of the kinds of plants which you could use. For instance, how about ornamental grasses if wild ones are happy there? The nearer you can get to the native flora, the less work the bed will be and the less it will require artificial irrigation and amendments.

I could only recommend you use seedlings of Picea omorika - Picea orientalis - Pinus aristata - Picea engelmannii - Pinus flexilis. If you want to grow dwarf and miniature conifers - they will need to be grafted to the above seedlings for rootstocks. This will require that you have plants, custom-grafted. Gee Farms I know will custom graft. You'd also be best-suited to stick with these conifer species of dwarf and miniature, too. So you will want, Pinus flexilis cultivars grafted onto Pinus flexilis or Pinus aristata (or vice-versa) and all the Picea's (spruce) grafted to one of the species, mentioned. Also, add Pinus heldreichii (leucodermis) to your selection(s). Pinus heldreichii/leucodermis is a 2-needled pine and is different from aristata or flexilis so all Pinus heldreichii will need to be grafted to the root systems/rootstocks of Pinus heldreichii, only. Maybe I'll think of some more options. While my own soil is 7.0, it has no gravel (your ph might be much more). Get yourself a 5 or 10 dollar ph tester and see what the meter reads. I think you should do that first. The good thing about your gravel is that is provides the ideal conditions that the Rocky Mountain conifers, want: Pinus flexilis Pinus aristata Picea engelmannii I'll read about Abies lasiocarpa as that well could be another addition to your plantings. Dax

Sedums! There are dozens of varieties that would even thrive in the conditions you described. I would look for s. reflexum, s. oreganum, or similar low-growing varieties that spread by runners. Over a couple of years, these will form a nice dense mat that will hold itself in place. Many sedums grow happily on sheer rock cliffs where you'd think nothing could hold on... but they do. Google around for "sedum" and find a few varieties that tickle your fancy. If you are the frugal sort, don't get a lot of plants... you can divide even a 4" pot into several plants and they will just take a little longer to fill in. I prefer to spend my money on variety rather than volume, so I get several different kinds, but only one pot of each. Do double-check the hardiness, however anything you buy from a reputable nursery in your area should grow in your area. Here is a link that might be useful: Sedum photos