Groundcovers at Atlantis Found! Gardens and Gifts

Groundcovers

Ajuga02
Ajuga02
4-5” high

Very popular ground cover. It spreads quickly by runners, making a mat of dark green leaves that grow 2 to 3 inches wide in full sun and 4 to 5 inches wide in part shade. Selections with bronze- or metallic-tinted leaves keep color best in full sun. The flowers, usually blue, are borne on 4 to 5 inch high spikes. The plant flowers in early May to mid-June. If established plants are set apart in the spring, they will cover the soil in one growing season. Do not set the plants too deep. The crown should never be covered. In the spring or early fall, rooted "runner plants" can be dug from established plantings and replanted elsewhere.

Creeping Thyme
One of the best low growing ground covers is Creeping thyme. This versatile plant, Thymus serpyllum, can be used in countless ways to provide color, cut maintenance and its uses in the garden are almost unlimited. Creeping thyme is one of those easy to grow plants that survive nicely with little or no care. It's a low maintenance plant that can take a lot of abuse too!
Creeping thyme grows about two to four inches high and can spread up to two or more feet in width. The leaves are very small, but dense and cover the low growing plants. Foliage color varies in shades of light to dark green and the variety 'Woolly' thyme has attractive grayish foliage. The leaf color of the other varieties seems to vary with flower color, the lighter flowering varieties have lighter foliages. Flower colors range in shades of lavender, red, rose, or white. They flower in the late spring and early summer. The plants flower so prolifically; you can hardly see the evergreen leaves below. Creeping thyme is an easy plant to maintain, as it does not tend to take-over and can easily be confined to a specific area. These versatile plants will grow in full sun, part sun and shade and even full shade. However, they usually do not flower quite as well in full shade, and sometimes tend to grow a little more sparse in the shade. Fish fertilizer or any type of liquid plant food can be used to feed creeping thyme. The best time to fertilize is during the late spring and early summer.

Ivy
This ivy is great for any bed you wish to grow it in. whether for a border, trailer, or just a specimen plant its sure to lighten up any place you put it. Its hardy from zones: 5-9. They prefer soil that is well drained and rich, acidic, and organic. Ivy holds onto the ground by dropping tiny rootlets and usually stays under 8” in height. Beautiful dark green evergreen leaves. Does best in sun but will cover nicely in shade.

Phlox
Brilliant color is always startling when it comes from such a rugged ground-hugging mat. A notorious dweller on edges of rocky embankments, where it spreads over curbs and short retaining walls, or amidst rocky outcroppings. And ideal cover plant for difficult edges of dry streambeds or rock waterfalls. Enjoys the fast drainage of elevated spots and thrives in the nooks and crannies of dry stone retaining walls. It is equally at home in the front of a traditional flower border or planted along the edges of flagstone walkways. Masses of tiny white flowers with a pink mid stripe cover the top of this mat forming creeper for a long period. Creates a carpet of color for bank plantings or rock gardens. Evergreen perennial. Fertilize your phlox the first time in early spring, just after new stem tips show at the soil's surface. Phlox needs a constant supply of nutrients to make strong, steady growth. Sprinkle a 9-12-12 timed-release fertilizer into the soil around the plants and then mulch over the area. In midsummer, after the plants have been in flower for two to three weeks, fertilize again. Pull back the mulch, sprinkle the fertilizer onto the soil around the plants, and replace the mulch. Then water the plants thoroughly. This feeding will provide the plants with ample nutrients to support prolonged flowering. They have a moderate growth rate prefers full sun to part shade. It is also an evergreen so it stays green all year round for that perfect touch of life anywhere. At the mature height it is about 1' tall.

Sedum
this perennial prefers full sun and dryer soil (sandy loam). it has succulent green leaves with attractive flowers. they attract butterflies, moths, bees, and humming birds occasionally. they are hardy to zone 3 and can live to zone 10.

Vervain
This perennial wildflower prefers full sun to light part and it blooms from March all the way to November. The blooms are a pink to a purple color and it grows 6-12" tall but space them 18-36" apart for best results. To keep you’re plant thriving use only dry to average soil.

Vinca Vine
The vinca vine is a trailing vine that grows green and white leaves. A vinca vine is very fast growing. Vinca vines bloom with delicate violet trumpet like flowers. This vine will not climb surfaces, but can be strung over wires or other such mediums, and makes a wonderful ground cover.
Vinca vines are most hardy in zones 5 to 11, and should be treated like an annual vine in colder climates. The vinca vine can grow in full sunlight to shade and should be watered regularly, with good drainage, to keep the soil moist. Too much water can easily kill a vinca vine.
The plant will only grow to three to six inches off the ground, but the trailing stems of the vinca vine can spread up to eighteen inches.
One thing to note about the vinca vine, however, is that it is extremely invasive. This means that the vine will easily spread throughout the garden quickly and can overwhelm other plants. Great care needs to be taken to ensure that the vinca vine does not take over the entire garden.

Vinca Vine, Varigated
It is the brightest of the variegated vincas. The majority of each leaf is golden when young, maturing to a lighter softer cream, & the majority of leaves are rimmed with deep green. The leaves bring light to dim garden corners, as it thrives in partial to full shade. It'll survive in the sun, too, but will need much more watering, & won't have as fine a leaf color, so should really be reserved as a groundcover or edging plant for those shady corners.

It is reportedly only slightly less aggressive than regular green vinca, so it should be kept in mind that once established it is pretty darned hard to ever be rid of it, since it grows back from any missed bit of root. So select its location with permanency in mind. It can be particularly useful in container gardening.

It does not require much moisture, but when getting established a regular watering schedule & a slow-release fertilizer can give it a leafy boost.

Last Modified: Sunday, September 2, 2007