Ground cover

eryk2kartman

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Hi All,

I will have a small path with stepping stones on it(rustic color), i need to feel the gaps with something, i dont want to plant the grass as it will grow waaay to tall and i dont want to trim it all the time.
So would you be able to recommend some good looking ground cover? i need something really low, i was thinking about creeping thyme but at the same time i would like to hear other opinions.

Please share what you use for ground cover?

Im in zone 8b and looking for something evergreen, it will be in full sun most of the day......
 

Shibui

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Plants for very low ground cover:
Creeping thyme
Dichondra repens
Scleranthus sp (not always hardy or persistent though)
Crysocephalum apiculatum - there's a small silvery leaf form that doesn't grow too tall and has nice golden flowers.

Unfortunately all living plants will grow so they will all need cutting back at some stage.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Saginaw subulata - in USA we call it Irish Moss.

Ajuga species - there are several species to choose from.

Mentha requinenii - Corsican mint, smallest mint leaf, very powerful fragrance.

Acorus - any of the miniatures.

Google "Steppables"® they are a group of a dozen species sold in North America for exactly this purpose. There are some neat species in this group.

Thyme - there are creeping thyme varieties. Also creeping oregano, and other dwarf forms of various herbs.

hope this is a help
 

RKatzin

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Scleranthus biflora, I've been growing this for several years here in SW Oregon. Aka Australian astro turf. Very tight, low growing and spreads nicely. It does get a bit discolored in winter, but greens up nicely in spring.
 

eryk2kartman

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Thanks for the reply guys, i will google them and check,
By any chance, if you have them planted, could you please add photos? would be nice to see them in real:)
Cheers
 

sorce

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It depends how much you walk it too.

A lotta stuff will keep growing if not walked on.

Sorce
 

eryk2kartman

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Well, im sure it will be walked on :)
so far ive 2 strong candidates,
Creeping Thyme and Corsican mint

Also i will probably start them as seeds, 200 seeds is like 2 euro, but small plug plants are 1.99 each :) lol no brainer here
 

Shibui

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Traffic is a big factor. Many low growing plants look great but they are no hardy and die off when walked on regularly. The thyme seems to be one of the hardiest.
Good luck with the seed. Not sure how easily they grow from seed. Maybe shell out the 2 euro for a going plant as an insurance policy because they grow rapidly and are very easy to divide and grow more from it.
 

AJL

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Cosican Mint looks ok summer then disappears in winter ! Try Dwarf Chamomile- its fragrant and you could make tea with it! Also try Mind-your-own-Business, also Dwarf Stonecrops(sedum) are semi evergreen and have yellow, pink or white flowers but dont like heavy foot traffic, though every fragment will root! Also what about ornamental clovers or dwarf Oxalis (AKA Shamrock in Ireland!)
 

eryk2kartman

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Thanks lads,
We have a dwarf chamomile in or garden but i don't really like it, it got leggy and doesn't look nice,
Im not sure if Sedum can be walked on, i need something really low growing.
I will try to take a photo tomorrow it might give you better idea, the path is quite narrow, maybe 60cm or so, will have a square paving stones 40x40cm, so i dont have that much space to cover, also on the left its my growing bed and greenhouse, there will be bark mulching on it and on the right hand side, there will be grass and maybe small tree/shrubs or flowers.
I need some nice contrast.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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I took the time and hit the "Stepables" website. They may or may not be available in the EU under the trademark name Stepables, but you can look at their list of species for different applications.

Note this section on walkways and paths.
I like the look of Isotoma fluviatillis-Blue Star Creeper , I've seen it in person, and it is low, miniature, and pretty tough.

 

eryk2kartman

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Hey @Leo in N E Illinois - yes i had a look at their web after your first sduggestion, good source of info.
I was looking at the Blue Creeper, i like ti too but i read a lot about them and people saying its very invasive and it starting to show up everywhere, people have a hard time to controll/get ride of it, due to that i decided not to go with it.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Hey @Leo in N E Illinois - yes i had a look at their web after your first sduggestion, good source of info.
I was looking at the Blue Creeper, i like ti too but i read a lot about them and people saying its very invasive and it starting to show up everywhere, people have a hard time to controll/get ride of it, due to that i decided not to go with it.

If a perennial is going to survive being stepped on, walked on, and otherwise abused, it probably does have potential to be invasive. Location is everything. Here they are not too bad. For example, Rhamnus aka buckthorn, in the UK is a fairly docile native species. In North America it is wildly invasive and has destroyed millions of hectares of grassland and savanna. Totally chokes out native vegetation, a behavior not really seen in the EU.

But even for the wildly invasive, if it gets out of hand, there are always herbicides. If it is already loose in your landscape, using it for a purpose is not the worst crime.
 

eryk2kartman

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Good point Leo, i will rethink about it.
Cheers
 
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