How deep is the soil? 3 inches? more? What kind of exposure and sun do you have? You might look at native grasses and perennials, if the area gets some sun.

Here is a link that might be useful: East TN Native Plant List

Hi, thank you for your reply. Well, it is about 2" near the rock, and then about 6 -10" away from the rock. The area gets full sun. Do you know of any perennials that fill in large spaces? what are some of the colorful grasses? We just moved here, Tennessee is heaven. Kim :o)

I would plant some native Columbine! It's red with yellow centers. It loves to be among the rocks. Also, daylilies can get a foothold in there, too, and blue flag irises.

Welcome to TN! East TN is indeed quite lovely. I was just up there (in Johnson City) last week--I love it up there..nice people, great scenery. And, it was distinctly cooler than Middle TN, too! :)
Full sun and shallowish soil...hmm, I really like big and little bluestem, buffalograss, and indian ricegrass. Nice colors and textures too. They aren't as showy as some of the other decorative grasses, but the birds love them. I'm not sure of spreading native-to-east-TN, perennials off the top of my head--maybe creeping phlox? Butterfly weed is not a weed and has lovely flowers. Also I love coneflowers--low maintenance, will spread somewhat, and they are pretty and provide lots of seeds for birds. (can you tell I like birds? haha).
Hope this helps! Have fun!

Hi, Can these plants be planted in August? thank you! KIm :o)

Blue Star Juniper looks cool. Rhodies and Azaleas might work too.

IMO--Your soil may not be deep enough for the shrubs like Rhodies and Azaleas, unless the underlying bedrock has fractures sufficient for the roots to penetrate...juniper might work. I don't know for sure, that's just my instinctive thought...
I think you can plant the grass in august, either by seed or if you can find the actual plants. The perennials could probably handle it too, if you take care to avoid transplant shock. Shrubs I think do better if planted in the Fall.

In my opinon, (which everyone here knows is totally worthless), my experience has been that Rhodies and Azaleas aren't happy when they are planted too deep anyway. Usually less than a foot deep is plenty because you want the crown above the soil level at least an inch or two. They sure seem to be healthy in the Smokies on hillsides that are rocky and I doubt that the soil is very deep there. I've got a feeling that the acidic nature of the soil has more to do with it than depth. I'm by no means an expert on much of anything other than kiling plants and I did lose about six of them several years ago by planting too deep. Hey, it was just a thought.

all of you have given me excellent suggestions, and I am going to try all the plants that you mentioned. I lived in Southwest Florida for 25 years, and know all about tropical plants, but these are all new to me, and to tell you the truth, much more beautiful than tropicals, and a much larger selection of flowers. thank you! Do any of you have pictures of your flower gardens?

Hmm, you are SO right BOV--I've seen them in the smokies on very steep slopes in thin, acid soil. I think you are right! SaddleHill and BOV, I'm sorry! :)
I guess in the forefront of my brain when I posted were a couple people at work here how have been complaining about the rhodies and azaleas not doing well in thin soils--but DUUH! they are in thin soils developed in limestone. Can you say basic?? ;) My the one rhododendron I have, it's doing well with slightly acidified soil that's >1.5 ft deep.
My gardens are not that well established and are fairly weed-ridden at the moment, so I'd be a bit embarassed to share. It was much nicer in the spring!

I have several azaleas that I rescued from Krutch Park when it was redesigned. They lived, rootballs totally exposed, on my hot blacktop driveway for over a year and didn't complain as long as they were watered so they didn't dry out. The rootballs were about 12" high. They did not try to "dig in" to the driveway at all, and did not leaf out much or flower while in this location. Once in the ground, though, they got happy.

Kim---I suggested your wildflower might be chickory on your other post. If I had known you were in Tri-cities I would have been sure.

For your rocks----SEDUMS---
I've been collecting them for a couple of years. I keep finding new kinds....and there are hundreds. They love heat, full sun and can tolerate the dry hard clay you probably have around the rocks. If you want some for a little height, there are some that will grow in clumps to around a foot or so high. Some will grow low to the ground and cascade over the rocks.

I have variegated ones, some with pink edges, shades of greens,yellow, grays,and reddish purple with lots of different textures.