Beginner Gardening: Ground Cover, 1 by Pistil

Pistil wrote:
Hi BeachGirl.
You might want to give the Pachysandra a bit more time. This will certainly not make it shorter, but at some point it should be established enough to start spreading. There are many plants that seem to follow the gardening rule of:
The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap.
A ground cover that spread a lot the first year might eat your house the second year.
That said, one ground cover I have that might fit your requirements is Potentilla neumanniana. I got some at Bluestone Perennials years ago. It has tiny bright yellow flowers. It is only about 2" tall. For me it does spread by rooting at the edges of the patch, and also the occasional seedling pops up nearby, especially between the cracks on my brick walkway. Mine does not bloom a lot, likely because it is in a pretty shady spot. It seems quite drought tolerant. Note-the photo on Bluestone's website makes you think the flowers are big. They are tiny. Here is a photo of it in my yard, in a non-blooming state. Here is Seattle, zone 8, it is evergreen. As you can see it does not swamp the little shrub. It "plays nicely".
Here is a link:

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/PONE.html