The Rural Voice, 2005-03, Page 42Gardening
Ground covers - a spreading trend
Rhea
Hamilton -
Seeger and
her husband
live near
Auburn. She
is a skilled
cook and
gardener.
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
We tore out a section of garden
pathway last fall. It never seemed to
get enough light to satisfy the tired
looking grass. During the spring and
fall it remained rather worn looking
with the dirt showing through and
becoming quite muddy. And the
drought conditions during the
summer never encouraged the grass
to improve. Enough.
We had a few pieces of flagstone
left from a previous project that we
carefully spaced out to cover the area
and have opted to look for some low
ground covers to fill in the gaps. The
answer to our plans was Stepables.
The idea of offering a variety of
ground covers suitable for different
foot traffic zones was the brain child
of Frances Hopkins, president of
Under a Foot Plant Company, Salem,
Oregon. She and her team have
developed a wide variety of ground
covers and improved on some old
ones to meet just about any
conditions.
A great big, bright, purple foot
with hot yellow text appears on their
plant stickers and draws people to
their plants in garden centres around
the province and, indeed, around the
continent. Their website, just type in
stepables, offers a great planning
tool. You click on a series of
requirements around light, soil.
water. zone, and traffic and they will
offer a list of suggestions for your
particular site. I fed in our dry, shady
spot with medium foot traffic and a
page of suggestions came up.
Wonderful. Now where do I go?
Click on dealers and up comes a list.
There are quite a few in Ontario, the
closest for me would be Lakewood
Nursery in St. Joseph and Robson's
in Kincardine.
Our list included several varieties
of sedums, Baby Tears, Gold Moss
Stonecrop and Erigeron Sunny Side
Up Fleabane. But my eye caught
Elfin Thyme — a miniature ground
hugger with cream and green leaves
accented with fine white flowers in
early summer. Red Creeping Thyme
would make a good partner with is
Tight rose flowers. It is also
recommended as a lawn substitute.
As you click on each plant, up comes
a profile with some suggested areas
that could feature this particular
ground cover. Children are not
forgotten and some plants are listed
as fun to grow in areas where
children play.
Ground covers are gaining ground
in home gardens by the very nature of
their habit. They work by hugging the
ground with their leaves and stems
denying light to others such as annual
weeds. They also conserve moisture
by covering the soil surface and
reducing evaporation. Ground covers,
generally speaking, have shallow root
systems and as a rule grow fairly
quickly, overpowering other plants.
They are the backbone to
minimum maintenance
gardening.
Notice I said 'minimum' not
`no maintenance'. It is always a
mistake to assume that low or
minimum maintenance means
there is no work involved. In
order to succeed with ground
covers the soil should be
prepared with ample compost
and as few weeds as possible.
Research what
your choice of ground cover
38 THE RURAL VOICE
prefers in soil conditions. You may
work in a basic fertilizer like 10-10-
10 and when planting you can add a
bit of bonemeal. This is rich in
phosphate and helps the roots get
established quickly. Young plants
will obviously not be able to protect
themselves against larger, faster
perennial weeds and therefore have to
be weeded and watered until better
established, usually through the first
season.
Mulch is a good choice for new
ground covers to help conserve the
soil moisture. One thing to
remember: mulch can keep a garden
dry as well as moist. Apply mulch
when the ground is wet in order to
save the moisture, once in the spring
and again in the fall. Once the ground
cover is established they become self -
mulching.
I always think of very low ground
hugging plants when I think of
ground covers, but there are larger
perennials and shrubs that fit the
same bill. Cottoneaster is a wonderful
shrub that seems to leap over itself to
cover as much ground as possible.
Very little will grow up through the
thick tangle of branches. Ours is an
evergreen with coral red fruits in the
fall. It grows by the edge of the drive
and is so thick that a ground hog
lived in there bne spring without out
us noticing. Our dog finally rooted
her out.
Carpet roses are another type of
ground cover that is gaining in
popularity. I was introduced to them
on a garden tour up in Grey County —
beautiful white blooms cascading
over a low rock wall. Lovely. But
their growth habit is not sufficiently
thick to keep weeds down and with
their prickly nature you are best to
keep them well mulched.
As always, check out your local
library. I am a firm believer in the
hardcopy version of information.
There are a lot of perennials out there
that fill the requirement of a ground
cover. Check out Woolly Betony or
Lamb's Ears, Galium or Sweet
Woodruff and Cranesbill Geraniums.
Wonderful texture and delightful
variety of colours.°