Gardening with Micki: the ground cover offers a lot of choice | Lifestyles

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“When you plant a garden, you are growing more than plants. You are cultivating knowledge, developing your own creativity, and learning to respect the connection between you and the Earth.”

This is the vision of gardening presented in “Gardening Made Easy”, produced by Better Homes & Garden publications. This is one of my favorite garden guides. He writes about gardening in honest terms. Gardening is, after all, a bit of a “love / frustrated” relationship.

I think that’s why I became so interested in gardening in small spaces. If you read this column every now and then, you already know that there are 12 trees in the three main gardens at the back of my house.

There are a variety of mini flower gardens, both in the back and front lawns. Right now, pale purple mums are blooming in a long, rectangular mini garden near the main entrance. It’s also my invisible compost heap neatly tucked away under moms and other plants that have just appeared to be part of the garden parade. I should make them pay rent.

From these intentional plantings, I chose to cover the bare areas of the rear lawn and a few other areas with ground covers. Think of them as occasional rugs (dare we say wigs?) For bald spots in your yard. Ajuga, one of the most reliable and aggressive ground covers, has taken over the west side of my garden. I wave at him and let him wander.

There are many choices for floor covers, some with names that I have never come across. I often consult “How to cheat in gardening”, for its good advice and a rather saucy view of gardening. The author notes: “One of the low maintenance plants that you can add to your landscape is ground cover.” The author has listed the good and the bad.

The good list included sun or shade plants: Baby’s Tears, Creeping Jenny, Dichondra, Salal, Vinca, and Wintercreeper. The Ice Factory, which I discovered while visiting Carmel, California often, is my favorite. However, it is best grown in full sun. The “bad” list included Bishop’s Weed, Crown Vetch, Lamiastrum, English Ivy, and Lily-of-the-Valley.

I grew plants in patio pots. I have no idea what they are. But the County Extension Service, a gold mine of information about the gardens, will solve the mystery.

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