need suggestions for brightening up this area

Hi I want to put a bright groundcover in the area where the tree is. I don't want to block the view of the stone wall, which is about a foot high. Any suggestions for a pretty groundcover with maybe a few taller flowers scattered amongst it?

I am so glad you qualified that Lynnie, cuz I was gonna say "turn on the lights" grin

Seriously, you will like this site. I think it should give you just what you are looking for.

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/groundcovers/directory/index.html

Here's another great site
http://www.stepables.com/default.asp

Cool site Flowerjen. I love the mosses and lichens.

Might want to plant some Glads.or Irises for the taller flowering plants. And a pretty ground cover you might want some type of Ivy. Just go for it Lynnie!

Like Dixie said, bulb plants scattered through the ground cover would be pretty, plus you can find bulbs that start blooming as early as Jan or Feb and different ones to bloom nearly every month of the year.

Lynnie I have a ton of that sedum groundcover with yellow flower.

dragons blood sedum and vinca minor too.

You can have it all.

Well in my opinion, bulbs are great but short lived and then you have a dead zone again. So I would plant daffodills and or tulips for spring, asiatic lillys for late spring to early summer plus some of JJ's sedum for all summer color.Phlox is a very pretty cover too. I would pull out two of the three shrubs in center and maybe add a pretty butterfly bush and a Nandina , Holly, or Rhodendron for year long greenry and to insure fall color. But thats me and I did LOL

Flowers, I just planted those boxwood this year *grin* I needed year round green there....there are flowering shrubs in there too, they're just dormant now. I'm talking about the area of bark mulch in front of the wall, where the little tree is. It's a sea of bark mulch. I want a sea-of-something-else....that area is sun all day. It's probably 10 x 10 feet.

Oh sorry Lynnie blush blush didn't mean to insult lol I'll leave that to the pros and keep my two cents to myself. But who is that man with the hat on looking out the window, thats spooooky can you see him lol

thank you for being too polite to mention the upside down dead mum that fell off the stairs hahaha

can sedum take light foot traffic?

This message was edited Dec 2, 2009 6:33 PM

I think so but don't hold me to it lol. I'm serious about the mans face looking out the window. Second window over bottom right, he has a black cowboy hat on and a nicely pronounced chin and nose. Tell me I'm not crazy!!! Didn't notice the mums lol

omigosh! it's Elvis! Who wants to come meet the King?
*grin*

Your as nutty as I am. You are patronizing me, do you see it or not LOL

Don't see it.

Ok I'll shut up and let others give advice, Look closer flowergen I swear hes there.

LOL Flowers, I think you need to clean your glasses and your monitor, Dear. Either that or change your name to Melinda Gordon...grin

wait, on second thought i think it's johnny cash...really i do see it Flowers, but i assure you it's a trick of the light, no strange men here *grin*

Flowerjen thanks for that link, I'm just trying to make a decision. It would be easier if somebody else just decided for me hint hint :) so which flowers should I put among the groundcover? I really don't do well with bulbs.

Lynnie, you could use both deciduous and evergreen day lilies instead of bulbs. There are a number of low growing one like the Stella D'oros. You don't want to use annuals there as that disturbs the groundcover way too much.

this is a really nice hardy full sun ground cover with great fragrance and it will take some light foot traffic

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/groundcovers/directory/thyme.html

Thank you very much Lynnie, light or not he is very handsome, leave my # on the window and tell him to call me LOL On second thought never mind "I ain't datin no ghost" lol

purple thyme with a handful of pale yellow daylillies thrown in? I think that spot is actually closer to 12 x 12...I have to check the boom times.

flowers you're bein' picky...ghosts have their good points.

This message was edited Dec 2, 2009 7:48 PM

I'll just bet it was Elvis....

Here is a link to some dwarf daylilies

http://www.daylilygarden.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=ODG&Category_Code=DW

http://www.kvbwholesale.com/store/daylilies/dwarfreblooming/64469

http://www.flourishingdaylilies.com/mini-daylilies.html

now ladies behave, no one is gonna take this thread serious if we keep posting nonsense LOL Lynnie I think a bonsi and a pink marlin dragon flow would look nice with a cluster of superlongated house lillys.

I meant bloom times not boom times (on the laptop please excuse any typos) and huh flowers are those real plants?

About as real as the man in the window....lol

Don't make me spit on my monitor again Moon

Heaven forfend...grin I'll send ya some monitor wipes...lol

I like every daylilly I looked at in those links.

I think the shorter ones would add fullness and color, and many are reblooming so they would pop out pools of color throughout the season. Some are evergreen, so they would be there during the winter.

in this area, there will be snow covering any groundcovers. i've been hearing predictions of a lot of snow this year, time will tell. My new boxwoods may get covered.
I would like the rebloom during the summer though. it's just a big area of brown mulch I'm tired of looking at.
Flowers i plan on putting more plants inside the wall, too don't worry lol I keep getting sidetracked.

The thyme I sent ya the link for is quite hardy...rated to zone 4 I do believe....and it would be very fragrant whether it was in bloom or not.

and it's ok with a little foot traffic, isn't it?

I would believe so since the blurb says it makes a good lawn for small spaces. I found a bit more info on Thymes as groundcovers that may be of use to you.

http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/groundcoverthymes.htm

ok so do I want plumbago, sedum or thyme? plumbago will turn pretty colors in the fall, I read. I like sedum because I like succulents. Some of those turn pretty colors in the fall too.

Lynnie, you just wait honey and save a spot for some of my prize plants, they should really take off this year. Peonies,black eyed susans,lambs ear,asiatic lillys (yellow,and orange ones) , ornamental grasses like switch,gulf muly,purple fountain,pampass,wind of star or something like that lol just to mention a few.OH and blanket flowers, dianthus, irises all colors and day lillys. Also rooting some eunonomus and have nandina, rodendron,holly, butterfly, lilac ect. Love my plants!!

Flowers you need to come here and landscape my yard for me. It's truly too big a job for me.

With an area that large Lynnie you don't have to limit yourself to one single ground cover....Plumbago left and right, sedum inside along the plumbago and Thyme in a swath down the middle....or variations thereof...

Moon you give me too much credit....I'd make a mess of that.