I'm looking for a ground cover to fill this spot, which is about 8' deep and 10' wide. I don't want it to get over about 1' high since it will be in front of the Dwarf River Birch. What's the point of growing a River Birch if you can't see the bark?
It's full sun and very well drained soil. I know Juniper is going to be mentioned, but I'm hoping to steer clear of that since there are already a bunch of them around this site.
How about Lirope? It looks like a grass--but has some blue mini-blooms
on spikes. It is indestructible!
It spreads readily into a mass of "grass-like cover. ...
https://www.google.com/search?q=liriope&tbm=isch&imgil=bjlC3Kut-rR8_M%253A%253Bymh3VE_BAO_zEM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.whiteflowerfarm.com%25252F33110-product.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=bjlC3Kut-rR8_M%253A%252Cymh3VE_BAO_zEM%252C_&usg=__Xba6zPM23Y1MXlykvGx939Z-pb8%3D#imgrc=bjlC3Kut-rR8_M%253A%3Bymh3VE_BAO_zEM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimages.whiteflowerfarm.com%252F33110a.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.whiteflowerfarm.com%252F33110-product.html%3B425%3B375
Low-grow sumac? Or is it grow-low? Easy ground cover that stays small and is native, nice red fall color.
Is it full sun? What kind of soil do you have? There are so many choices, just trying to narrow it down before making suggestions.
Oops : o
Any of the low growing Sedums, like Sedum acre would be great or...
Creeping Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum Magic Carpet).
Soapwort (Saponaria) and...
Snow-in-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum) are also good choices.
Good ideas! I hadn't even considered herbaceous plants, but a splash of color amongst the woodies would be a nice touch.
Rosemary, I like the Gro-low Sumac idea. I've seen it here and there, but have never planted it myself. I just did a quick search and it is supposedly deer & drought tolerant, which are a real plus for me.
I appreciate everyone's ideas -- Thanks!
Pseudo, it just occurred to me that you could make a miniature conifer garden there. You, know, starting a collection of trees that are true miniatures and very slow growing. I am thinking of the cute little pinus peuce that I got as a bonus plant from Conifer Kingdom, or just some spreading green conifer shrubs,which are legion in number. Also a combination that I like with birch is to plant a Japanese Thunderhead black pine, which could go back into a shadier, half-sun section for background to the river birch. In spring the candles are white, and what I like is that it isn't a fussy little tree. Like all pines, you can control its size by pinching the candles.
Radical thinking by someone from Lexington -- when has that ever happened?! ;-)
I love Rosemary's idea. Though after 20yrs of trimming candles, I have finally lost control of my Thunderhead which eventually got too tall to reach them. Still a beautiful tree, however. Or a traditional rock garden - full sun, sharp drainage - ideal conditions. Of course, you'd need the rocks...
You could start a little garden revolution, Pseudo! Seriously, It is amazing how many little witches brooms are available now. The hardest part is to stay disciplined to select the truly slow growing miniatures, since so many other slightly larger intermediate sized beauties are to be found.
And as wee says, at least a few rocks are nice. This message is coming from a lady who uses a pickaxe to plant in lexingtin, MA.
Or...
you could plant all of the above and see what works out best. I do like Rosemary's idea for a Birch backdrop though.
Pseudo, is it too early to ask for an update
Hi Mipii. Sorry for the slow reply, but we've been traveling out west for the past couple of weeks. I was going to go with Rosemary's idea of a miniature conifer garden, but haven't done anything yet. I had purchased a Picea pungens 'Waldbrun' earlier this summer, and was going to make it the first planting on this site. Unfortunately, I just couldn't seem to make it work and planted it elsewhere. It's still a blank space, but I'm working on it. :)
I for one am interested to see your selections.
Thanks for the update, I hope you had wonderful/memorable experiences in your travels.
