self care ground covers

Long before i read a book or took a course on gardening, of any kind, i had already figured out bare ground is never good. Better to leave weeds if you are';t going to use a patch of ground. at least the ground will be there when you get around to it.

I often filled in new flower beds with mint. if there;s too much, make some mint tea. rip some out. it's EASY. and in drought years, it made a definite difference.

the next thing i became happy with was violets ( note-both of these ground covers are indeed edible. just a little plus on their side) my mother gave me some;her neighbor had been selecting for bigger clumps and flowers.It was just put in the grass haphazardly;I like the flowers and it;s easy enough to mow.After about 2 years, I started transplanting into various beds. it looks great under the cherry tree, even looks good on the wilder northwest corner of the house ( where even my other standby, liriope, was failing)

hostas get moved into any shady spot; i started with a bunch pulled up from a friend;s house; little white grassy leaved flowering bulbs hitched along and also play their part.I have to split those hostas so often, i've used mulch to build a bit of soil and started planting under every tree near the house.

point is, you can keep the ground moist, and in place, without hauling mulch;just rip out what isn't needed for a new planting. most of these things are shallowly rooted.

won;t they-spread? well yes. and that scares some people. I just thank them for doing their job if I have to remove them.I haven;t done too much of this (more woody branches cut to let in more light) but the goats might enjoy bucketfuls of freshly pulled greens.

my new best friend is comfrey, I intend to split the plants this year and move them everywhere I can. nutrient accumulator, mulch builder, medicine, healing tea for growing plants-they do it all.Their flowers attract bees.They are just darned pretty.

Have you noticed most of this is cheap or free? makes it easy to go from a deep mulch ( back breaking and expensive) system. I might buy some thyme this year to fill in around stepping stones. the ajuga did';t do well, unfortunately.

and in some sort of the same vein, I intend to spread dill, coriander, marigolds, even morning glories wherever I can. the insects love them-and they are easy to pull up if in the wrong place. Most of us have plenty of these seeds; maybe excess garlic bulbs as well, which can go under the roses or apple trees, etc, for a little insect repelling boost.


so try it-using nature;s way of covering the ground. you might be surprised.