landscaping

  When it comes to landscaping around the home, many people seem to be more comfortable with a single carpet-like planting – grass, vinca, or pachysandra. This is more comforting, easier to ‘read’ and may be a representation of nature ‘controlled’.  In the natural world the ground cover layer is more likely to be a mix of species. Each species occupies a preferred niche in both time and space. Hayscented fern is one of the few species that I’ve seen that can really appears to dominate a space, but that was in a recently cleared forest. On closer examination other species were present at ground level. With time a more diverse community will develop. In designing a ground cover planting with native species you should draw on a palette of low-growing plants that can work together and are appropriate to the site conditions. While the following list is not exhaustive, these are some of the natives that I have grown around my home that work well as ground covers. -Toothed Cinquefoil...