I have just moved into a rental property which had grass growing in all the cracks in the pavement and drive way. I have pulled up all the grass and I would like to plant something in the cracks by seed preferably (large area) that will either look pretty, or smell good when you tread on it. This would also keep the grass from growing back. I need something very hardy as it will have foot traffic. Any suggestions? I was thinking mint or Johnny jump ups.
Hardiness Zone: 11
Sally from Sydney Australia
Hi Sally,
If your looking for blooms with a nice fragrance that will stand up to foot traffic, you might consider miniature wormwood (Artemisia viridis). It has interesting pale green foliage, small gold/cream flowers and a pleasant smell. It's also drought tolerant and seems to stand up to plenty abuse. You may also want to try creeping oregano (bright green), creeping golden marjoram (golden green) or mounding marjoram (darker green), which has a minty fragrance and small pink flowers. All should be hardy to your zone and stand up to moderate traffic. Creeping thyme, carpet bugleweed and star creeper are also all fragrant with lovely little pink, purple or white flowers. Here are three web resources to explore: Stepables.com, classygroundcovers.com and jeeperscreepers.info Good luck!
Ellen
About The Author: Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
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something like creeping thyme would smell good and keep the grass from comming back
Go to www.stepables.com for suggestions. They sell plants, but you can get the plant names and go to www.burpee.com to get seeds.
Sorry, I don't know about the gardening zones. Check out low growing herbs. They are aromatic and come back every year after the snow.
try stonecrop,it is in the sedum family. it is a bright green trailing plant that is about 4-6" long. i have it between cracks in pavement and in cracks between rocks of my pond. i dont know about living in your zone. i do know it will take a beating and thrive. sedum usually will grow just about anywhere.
I agree creeping thyme is wonderful , it fills in the cracks nicely without growing crazy, smells great when stepped on and is very pretty !!!
Mint has always been my favorite. Just be careful if the cracks move into your yard because mint can completely take over!
clover would be the easiest (creeping charlie) They tend to grow everywhere, and you'll get some flowers.
I planted thyme (not sure of the exact type) and it was beautiful and easy to grow.
another good one is any variety of thyme, especially the wooly kins, they'll come back, but aren't invasive, and smell heavenly when stepped on, i have them between my pavers on my paths, and im very happy with them.
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