My neighbor just confessed she had spent way too much on mosses twice this summer to cover a 12x12' space in her side yard. It's died twice. Isn't there a low growing Thyme that would work in the TX heat to fill in around those rocks? She has a few plugs of Mondo grass, but it doesn't look well either. The area is in partail shade most of the day because of the trees. I thought I remembered someone using thyme in Central Tx.
Sandi
ground cover between flat rocks
I think Frogfruit, Phyla nodiflora would work very well, plus it is larval food for butterflies.
http://wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PHNO2
Josephine.
You can't beat Dichondra in any shape or form. Hardy year round evergreen, will fill in between pavers but not cover them......Many people have entire Dichondra lawns instead of grass.....It will grow anywhere grass won't, sun, shade, you name it. It only gets about 2" tall. I am reseeding my yard with it now. Here is a link to buy the seeds cheapest....
http://www.outsidepride.com/catalog/Dichondra-p-17000.html
lawn photo:
It needs well draining soils and deep waterings, not shallow waterings. It should begin to get a wilted look when it needs watering.
Was interested until I read the above. Everything around here is clay
Thanks Karen and Josephine. I'll pass this along. The dichondra looks prominsing for her area.
You might try a test first. I think Karen has been really lucky with the dicondra. Despite what that site say's, It doesn't grow that well everywhere. I have some here and it's only green in the Spring and then goes dormant during the rest of the year.
I'm interested in who is growing thyme too. Mine melts away during the Summer heat. Pbtx is bringing me some creeping St. John's wort that I mistook for thyme foliage. That may be a good substitute for your neighbor, unless it's the scent she's is wanting. Mazus reptans is another worth testing.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll pass this along too. I've had a 'hard time growing thyme' myself...but I think I didn't give it enough water. I'll look up St. John's and Mazus late tonite when I get home from garden club mtg. She's not interested in scent, only green and low growing... She asked me to come over this morning to see what the workers were doing in her backyard. Wanted to know if she should move things, etc. Then she showed me the shady patio area on side of house. The first thing I blurted out was, "Why did you plant mosses, they don't like the dry heat here?" Then she told me how much she'd spent trying to get that spot looking like something out of a magazine. After I pulled my foot out of my mouth, I promised to find her a better alternative....
Anyone else have any ideas, let me know! appreciate it...Sandi
How about thyme or rosemary?
"eyes"
Lynea I should have been more clear.......Those are not my photos they are seedpickers from Texas...I was in a hurry to show the pictures and forgot to mention that it was her yard. She has been mentoring me on the Dichondra...she lives in Dallas and it does outstanding for her there....8a? Her entire lawn is Dichondra and she just glows about it year round. I will have to see how it works for me....Where she doesn't have Dichondra, she has the purple blooming Mazus... I have copied her and put it between stepping stones and in a large sandy area with all shade and no grass. It is just coming up. Sandi I put my foot in my mouth all the time, LOL! And yes, one year I spent a fortune mail ordering some moss which promptly curled up and died in this hot, dry Texas heat, haha!
I have spent alot of time hunting for the perfect, low lying ground cover. Good luck to you and your neighbor ☺
If I may suggest a look at an herb. Not thyme but pennyroyal. Once established, mine has not required much moisture. It is a slow spreader and does not grow tall. It has a minty fragrance and is reputed to repel bugs. I have a small patch in full sun and little care. It hasn't been thru a winter with me yet. With more nurturing, I suspect it would spread faster. Just a thought.
I really hope the Dichondra works for me because I ordered some from the link Karen gave us. Now , does anyone know where I can find heating mats? I am trying to grow plumeria cuttings and they are not doing so good. To much rain and not enough sun.
jana
Jana we'll keep our fingers crossed! Seedpicker told me it takes 2 weeks to grow enough for you to like it alot, and at 4 weeks you'll love it. Instructions say to water every day for 21 days and fertilize once. You need to prepare the soil very well, removing all grass and roots. Tamp the soil down solid, rake it lightly and just scatter the seeds where you want it. The seeds are a bright florescent green so you can see where you've placed them easily.
Oh my gosh. I have been fighting Dichondra in my lawn. Maybe I should just let it go! Sounds easier to maintain than St Augustine.
Neighbor is excited about dichondra and ready to order seeds. I told her to wait a bit and research some options before she jumps in. Thanks all...
seedpicker_TX is the Dichondra expert.....Her entire lawn is made out of it. I am learning everything I know about it from her. She is very sweet and helpful, and willing to share experience and photos. Feel free to Dmail her if you have more questions as I am just learning, but very excited about Dichondra too. It may not work for everybody, but if it works as I plan, it will be a miracle answer to my prayers.
She buys all her seed from the website I mentioned and says it is the best price and the best company. The seeds are impossible to find to buy in bulk locally.
Karen, can't wait to get it. I love the pic of it growing in the stone walkway. I have poured my own walkway in the backyard using those plastic molds from Lowes,, the kind that looks like a cobblestone path. It will look great with the dichondra between the stones.
jana
OMG JANA!! I've had that same mold in my shed for 2 years now just waiting for me to try it!!! LOL!, great minds think alike. I have refrained from doing it because DH took one look at it and said it would cost alot of concrete to do the job....What concrete did you use and how did you like it? Was it costly?
Oh I see, Karen. If yours are sprouting I'll bet they do great for you! Those little tiny leaves are so cute, it frustrates me to no end I can't get it to stay here!
Pod, Do you know which species of pennyroyal yours is? I'm looking for a full sun ground ground cover (always.lol) I used to use a pennyroyal scented dog shampoo and loved the scent ;0)
Karen, I bought the concrete at HD because it is closer to my house than Lowes.( silly reason because L"s is only about 3 miles further).
It was $2.?? something a bag, I used some sand from my granddaughters playground and bought the terra cotta dye. I mixed the first batch in a small wheelbarrow and it was kinda hard at first. Turning a big batch to get the dye color even was difficult. SSSOOOO,,, next try I used a smaller amount and ( a bigger wheelbarrow) it was much easier ! If I remember correctly one bag +sand will fill the mold 3 times. You can stop at any point and take a break even if it is weeks later,, hahaha,,, and do it all over again until you get the path where you want it to go. I am still not finished with mine but have the majority done. I curved it in some areas by gently turning the mold and it is great. I love it. I will take pic's when I get my camera fixed.
The reason I decided I needed a path=== hubby fertilized to late in summer and didn't water enough=== so you guessed it== no grass. I cried for several days ,, mad,, didn't cook for him,,, cried some more = then decided to make the most of it and NOT get sod but to make my backyard a very casual garden with several pathways to enjoy all the plants I wanted to grow.
It is a work in progress and really challenging==but I love it.
jana
Cocoa ~ I believe it is this one... http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/297/ It should overwinter o.k. but I intend to mulch it. It has dealt with heat and summer stress far better than I would have guessed. BTW I started some easily with purchased seed.
Ooh, I love that!
Cocoa, were you wanting St John's wort to grow around stones? Cuz I'm not sure it'd work too well that way. It would be really pretty if it would. But it has a tendency to grow over anything in its path. I was looking at mine tonight, and it has just grown right over a splash block under the rain gutter... you can't even see the splash block. It would grow pretty well around around stones, but it would have to be mowed or weed-eaten regularly to keep the stones clear.
I have a great deal of Dichondra in my yard which is heavy clay. It grows like a weed, which I originally considered it. But I can't get a grass in the shady places where it thrives. Now I love it. My neighbors all have the same tree shaded back yard that I do and my yard is the only one that is not brown.
Pennyroyal is reputed to repel fleas, as for the Dichondra my neighbor says it is a 'weed'. I know in Tucson,AZ everyone has it, and the yards are beautiful. I have some areas at my rent house coming in, so I just encourage it to come. Like the notion of Pennyroyal between stones, as well as the thyme.
I ordered some dichondra seed and can't wait till it get here.Should be early week.
jana
I tried thyme in Houston, but it didn't do well in the shade and it died back every winter. The dichondra sounds great. :-)
Yippee Jana! I'm excited for you! I got mine very quickly, like in 2-3 days. I chose the $10.00 Express Mail route. Mine in looking fantastic today, and I'm excited about not having to water this week due to rain.
I WAS looking forward to the rain,,, but today we got 5min. and that was it. Maybe tomorrow we will get more and I'm hoping without wind. I got out and moved potted plants around to be sure they got some of that wonderful rain and pooie,,,no rain.
Karen, I chose (as it seems) WAGONTRAIN
always seems that way when you want something to hurry up. Being the long weekend---
and all.
jana
hi all-
I came across this thread, while googling "dichondra"...I was looking for a US map I once saw, that had the states listed that dichondra will grow well in...and this thread came up...
...ok, being nosey here :0) I was curious about an update(good or bad) for those of you who decided to try dichondra.
I am still very much in love with it ;0) My neighbors originally were both very against it(that is why there is that edging between the yards). They just saw it as "dollarweed". But, now years later, are asking me where to get it, lol...
Also, I just found that Lowes has started carrying it!! It isn't available locally for me(typed in my zip code), but you can order for only 4.99 shipping.
They are catching on! ;0)
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=136048-303-40021496006244&lpage=none
-T
My neighbor ordered the seeds and most all came up. She was thrilled and it filled in dispite her 3 terriers stamping on it. She ordered a little more this spring and it's filled in the bare spots. I'd send a pic, but they're out of town.
Go to It's About Thyme in Austin and they will have any variety of Thyme you want.