I have been researching ground covers to fill in the empty spaces between plants in my perennial gardens. The hard part is finding something that isn't going to completely choke everything else. I planted some angelina sedum and another small trailing variety of sedum. My mother-in-law gave me some mazus reptans that filled in very quickly.
I'd love some recommendations of some of your favorites!
I'm particularly thinking about the South/Western side of our house so it would have to be something sun loving.
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
If your soil is at least slightly acidic, a very beautiful one is bunchberry. It is a creeping form of dogwood with the same beautiful dogwood flowers, followed by berries. My soil is alkaline and it just will not grow for me, wants pH 6.8 or below.
[img]https://www.abnativeplants.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-116.jpg[/img]
It likes moisture, so would benefit from a bit of shade from afternoon sun and mulch with peat moss. It is native and birds like the berries.
Another nice native choice would be wild strawberry/ virginia strawberry also native and attractive to birds and butterflies. Creeping phlox is at least semi-evergreen, with showy spring flowers.
Another one of those acid lovers that I would love to grow but can't is wintergreen. It is an evergreen ground cover, whose leaves are the source of wintergreen flavor, very minty. It has persistent red berries. It prefers some shade but can be grown in full sun if kept moist and mulched with peat moss.
[img]https://www.abnativeplants.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-116.jpg[/img]
It likes moisture, so would benefit from a bit of shade from afternoon sun and mulch with peat moss. It is native and birds like the berries.
Another nice native choice would be wild strawberry/ virginia strawberry also native and attractive to birds and butterflies. Creeping phlox is at least semi-evergreen, with showy spring flowers.
Another one of those acid lovers that I would love to grow but can't is wintergreen. It is an evergreen ground cover, whose leaves are the source of wintergreen flavor, very minty. It has persistent red berries. It prefers some shade but can be grown in full sun if kept moist and mulched with peat moss.
Ooo I love the bunchberry and wintergreen! Although they might get too much sun where I was thinking of planting them. However, I have a very large Spruce in the front that I had to crouch under to pull the pokeweeds that are all that is currently growing there. Do you think the bunchberry would be able to grow there? The pine needles should provide some nice acid for the soil and the branches provide some good shade. I'd love to have something besides pokeweeds growing there!
I have a very large patch of creeping phlox on the West side of the house (back) that I could divide in the Spring after they bloom and plant some on the South side of the house. I didn't even think of that! It would probably be good for it to be divided anyway
What are some other good groundcovers that do well in full Sun?
I have a very large patch of creeping phlox on the West side of the house (back) that I could divide in the Spring after they bloom and plant some on the South side of the house. I didn't even think of that! It would probably be good for it to be divided anyway
What are some other good groundcovers that do well in full Sun?
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
-
lorax
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1316
- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:48 pm
- Location: Ecuador, USDA Zone 13, at 10,000' of altitude
It's really tasty in salads - all crunchy and refreshing, with a pleasant, slightly sour chlorophyll flavour. I prefer it infinitely to cucumber.
I should mention that the ice plant I'm talking about is Carpobrotus chilensis. C. edulis is also edible (as its name suggests), but I prefer local species. If you try eating other "ice plants" you might end up with hallucinations.
I should mention that the ice plant I'm talking about is Carpobrotus chilensis. C. edulis is also edible (as its name suggests), but I prefer local species. If you try eating other "ice plants" you might end up with hallucinations.
Haha good to know!lorax wrote:I should mention that the ice plant I'm talking about is Carpobrotus chilensis. C. edulis is also edible (as its name suggests), but I prefer local species. If you try eating other "ice plants" you might end up with hallucinations.
I don't often see ice plants planted here... not sure why. It could be beautiful in the particular spot I'm thinking of on the South side.
I LOVE wooly thyme though! I grew up stepping along the plants all summer because the flagstone path around our house was always too hot on my bare feet, so I have very fond memories of wooly thyme! We currently have an ugly path of stepping stones surrounded by crabgrass leading to our back patio along the South side of the house. I'd love to get new stones and some wooly thyme in there instead! That's probably in my 2 year plan