Of course I can get ivy and have a little vinca minor, but I wondered if there was another good ground cover, preferably one that blooms, for shade. We are cutting back a bank to widen our driveway a bit and I need to stop erosion of this steep bank.
ground cover for shade
will bugle weed work? not the most exciting plant but puts out a pretty purple spike flower in early spring. I like Caitlin's giant. Spreads fast. There is also a variegated variety.
I like it but it would take a long time to cover a big bank like this. The bank is about 75 feet or more long and about 4 feet high. We will be viewing it from the entire front of our house (did I mention I live on a steep mountain lot, mostly shady)?
I have some ajuga growing in a couple of places and like it very much. I think my variety is wild.
This is a propagator. 25 of the same item would only be $1 each. Less than 25 would be $1.25 retail.
Evergreen Azaleas are about half price
Polly Hill Wintergreen and Joseph Hill are crosses of Rhododendron nakaharai and are creepers and are hardy.
http://www.vanveennursery.com/hybrids_red.php
woodspirit, Epimedium would work - although it would take a couple of years to fill in, it's even pretty without the blooms.
This is a picture taken last May - This is 'Frohnleiten', a yellow flowering Epimedium, showing the old foliage (green) and fresh new growth in spring.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/76532/index.html
There are so many nice ones to choose from. E. x 'Rubrum' has proved vigorous in our gardens.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62505/index.html
Thinking a nice companion planting of some of the larger Hostas would love this space to spread their "wings" and you could add a few Rhodos or Azaleas to anchor the top of the bank with the Epimediums along the edges.
This message was edited Mar 1, 2006 6:45 AM
Thanks both of you. I will check them out...
Just for fun, I checked eBay first. They have a lot of herbal supplements for sale made from epimedium called "Horny Goat Weed!, lol.
The PlantsFiles don't show any vendors. Can anyone tell me where I can order the plants/bulbs?
LOL I knew there was a horny goat weed but never knew it came from Epimedium. Christmas Ferns would do well and are evergreen...also Euphorbia robbiae (which I love) and naturally the liriopes and the mono grass. Also Hakonachloa aureo...geranium macrorrhizum, ceratostigma and Hellebores.
I was surprised to see that Euphorbias are a cactus. They can thrive in the shade? and are hardy in our zone?
woodspirit, the Euphorbia levilya is referring to is a whole different "animal" :) The Euphorbia genus is huge - if you do a search in PlantFiles, there are 30 pages!! The Euphorbia robbiae is one of those commonly called Spurge. There are a number of them that would be hardy to your area. Unfortunately E. robbiae isn't hardy for us, but there are many more that are - one of my favorites - E. amygdaloides 'Purpurea', with attractive purple foliage that lasts through the winter - only negative is that it spreads - but it's easy enough to pull up any volunteers that land where you might not want them :) picture below
For another evergreen fern, you can't beat Tassel Fern http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2144/index.html There are also several others which would be evergreen for you. One very pretty one is the variegated East Indian Holly Fern http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/59265/index.html
And don't forget all the great Heucheras, Heucherellas and lovely Tiarellas, with both clumping and spreading habits and pink and white 'foamflowers' that bloom for a long time in spring, some right up until July!
With an area that large, there are so many possibilities, it's basically whether you want variety, or just want to use one or two different plants in mass. Good luck!
oops, forgot the picture!
I love that Euphorbia...had it for years and then it just died away for some reason. BUT for many years it was a beautiful purple all the time.
I really like that East Indian Holly Fern. Where is a good place to buy that Euphorbia?
rcn...robbiae should be hardy for you
Somehow I managed to un-watch this thread. I completely forgot about Euphorbia - great pic!
I found the Euphorbia's we were discussing at Lasy S's Farm Nursery.
However the East Indian Holly Fern was only at 2 of the 5 vendors found in the Plants Files. Niche Gardens required a $40 minimum order however. So I found it at HostaFarm for $7.
You might try Sweet Woodruff. It's a short, white-bloomed, shade-loving groundcover. In my zone it's a fairly modest spreader, but in yours is likely to take off much more quickly.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/55/index.html
It sure is pretty. I often wondered what the difference was between sweet woodruff and candytuft. Now I know. The groundcover I need is to cover a nearly vertical bank cut to widen a driveway. I also want it to be evergreen as it can be seen from the entire front of the house only about 10 feet away.
Sweet woodruff isn't evergreen here, but I love it. A word of caution - our cold winters here keep in in check, but galium has a reputation for being invasive.
Don't use sweet woodruff for this purpose. It is not evergreen .. I think you want something more substantial. I would go with mondo grass (even though it is boring) but it will always look good. Or Carex....there are many different kinds that are attractive.
Astilbe can be pretty tough and it's got wonderful foliage in all kinds of colors. There are newer cultivars now that bloom for a longer period of time.
Did anyone mention Tiarella?
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchall.pl
Brunnera is beautiful but blooms only in the very early spring.
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchall.pl
Farfugium and Ligularia have yellow flowers in the late summer but generally like water. I've found that the farfugium cristata and the spotted variety do well under regular conditions if you plant them with water-holding crystals. These are very underutilized.
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchstuff.pl?Botanical=Ligularia
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchall.pl
Now for non-bloomers but for some lovely effects.
Mondo grass can be pretty and effortless. I love it - levilyla is right. If you buy 'nana' it can look like a lawn, has deep roots and doesn't need mowing. Carex morrowii Ice Dance is a very tough ground cover that is beautiful and variegated but does spread by runners so you have to keep it in line. I haven't had any more of a problem with it than I have had with ajuga although the rhizomes run somewhat deeper. Sometimes that's what you want for difficult places. It's really beautiful. Not something you can walk on.
http://www.joycreek.com/013-024D4.htm
EAst Indian Holly Fern at Big Dipper farms:
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/cart/cart.pl?db=stuff.txt&method=all_words&search=East%20Indian%20Holly%20Fern
You might try Fancy Fronds nursery for suggestions of ground cover fern if you are serious about buying. Judith is the owner and very fun to talk to. Also see their great search engine.
http://www.fancyfronds.com/FFtitle.cfm
Blechnum Spicant makes a nice ground cover
http://www.forestfarm.com/search/plant.asp?code=2&use=e&genus=Blechnum
Another spreading fern is
http://www.forestfarm.com/search/closeup.asp?PlantID=pose100
Hope that this helps some.
wow, a lot of good info. Some of these are too tall for my purposes, but others will work well in other shady areas, so thanks a lot. BTW, I got 2 really nice big Ligularia, The Rocket in a trade recently.
You will enjoy them a lot I'm sure. Just to let you know F. cristata and the spotted variety only grow about 12-18 inches tall for me with a good 2 foot spread. They aren't large plants at all. Now the rocket is another thing altogether. What a plant!
I had them once but think they got killed due to construction so I was thrilled to get 2 more.
I'm glad that you got them back too. They are just such great plants.
Farfugium Argentea is another one that is varieagated and 2 feet. Here's a photo but this is a ridiculous price. I got a one gallon for $20.00 at my local nursery. Still pricey but it's interesting to see one.
http://ecolage.safeshopper.com/243/541.htm?192
Oh, that's beautiful! does it have a bloom too?
It has bright yellow flowers in late summer if it's like the other Farfugium. Sometimes you have to ask for Ligularia at the nursery because it's being reclassified but when I bought mine it said Farfugium. Doesn't like to dry out though. I have mine planted with moisture crystals.
Here's a photo of the flowers and some other varieties. The spotted and the cristata is beautiful, grows in the dark and is fine with regular water. The cristata is really beautiful gray green and the spotted looks like light is filtering through the trees all of the time. This page has the ligularia too.
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchall.pl