Ground Cover

[Deadly Sushi]

Hey folks, what is a good ground cover for sunny locations and shaddy locations?

[GotGarlic]

I have ajuga in shady spots - it has dark green leaves and purple flowers. Mondo grass does well in sunny areas.

Here are some more ideas specific to your area: Ground covers

[joec]

Here is a site, one of many that has a good selection that most can probably be purchased locally. I used it when looking for some ground cover plants for me 2 years ago. http://www.greatgardenplants.com/?pa...FQgNDQodmFzEdQ

[Keltin]

Get some Kudzu. Nothing can stop that stuff!

[Fisher's Mom]

Well, I have bamboo but I don't recommend it! It grows anywhere and everywhere and you can't kill it!!! Ever!

[joec]

Agent orange and paraquat will both kill bamboo however it will effect your offspring too so really not an option.

[Fisher's Mom]

Originally Posted by joec

Agent orange and paraquat will both kill bamboo however it will effect your offspring too so really not an option.

Yeah, I knew Agent Orange would work but as you said, it's not great for humans and it kills everything. Also, I live on a hill so my neighbors downhill would probably object, too. I swear, most of my property is a little Viet Nam.

[crewsk]

Originally Posted by Keltin

Get some Kudzu. Nothing can stop that stuff!

And you can eat it!!

[Fisher's Mom]

Originally Posted by crewsk

And you can eat it!!

Really? I didn't know that.

[Keltin]

Originally Posted by crewsk

And you can eat it!!

Really? I had no idea! That stuff is so abundant here, I may have to stop and pick some. Have you eaten it? What does it taste like?

I know goats love it! A lot of farmers with goats around here will plant Kudzu because it grows so fast which makes it a good food source for their goats.

[Keltin]

Originally Posted by Fisher's Mom

Really? I didn't know that.

Me either!

[Fisher's Mom]

Originally Posted by Keltin

Really? I had no idea! That stuff is so abundant here, I may have to stop and pick some. Have you eaten it? What does it taste like?

I know goats love it! A lot of farmers with goats around here will plant Kudzu because it grows so fast which makes it a good food source for their goats.

Hey, do you know if goats eat bamboo? I've been seriously considering getting one to see if they would eat the young bamboo shoots. I've read that one way to kill it is to cut it to the ground and then feed it like crazy. They say that it will put all it's effort into putting up shoots and if you keep feeding it and cutting it down as soon as the shoots come up, it will kill itself. If a goat would eat the shoots, I'd be so happy to be a goatherd!!!

[Keltin]

Originally Posted by Fisher's Mom

Hey, do you know if goats eat bamboo? I've been seriously considering getting one to see if they would eat the young bamboo shoots. I've read that one way to kill it is to cut it to the ground and then feed it like crazy. They say that it will put all it's effort into putting up shoots and if you keep feeding it and cutting it down as soon as the shoots come up, it will kill itself. If a goat would eat the shoots, I'd be so happy to be a goatherd!!!

I'm not entirely sure, but I bet a goat would eat it, especially the young shoots. Goats will eat nearly anything! But they have HUGE appetites, so once all the bamboo is gone, you either need to have a BBQ ( ), or starting bringing in some hay or Kudzu!

[Fisher's Mom]

Here in San Antonio, it would be no problem to find another home for a goat. (Barbacoa is very popular here. LOL)

[Abby]

I have "white nancy" (don't know the botanical name) in my garden as a ground cover and it spreads like crazy. It's for shade or sun. Creeping Myrtle is good for shade and spreads. There are a lot of ornamental grasses out there too that don't get too tall and will spread. Japanese Blood Grass is one. I have it in my front bed which gets all the afternoon/evening sun.

[joec]

My son bought a piece of land (5 acres) that was covered with bamboo in North Carolina. Well he cleared 2 acres of it to build his home and yard. He left the back 3 acres as he hunts deer back there. At any rate he brought in a tractor with a bush hog and a plow. Once he bush hogged it down he plowed the ground under, leveled it and planted grass. Now the grass doesn't grow that well but the bamboo didn't come back either.

[crewsk]

Originally Posted by Keltin

Really? I had no idea! That stuff is so abundant here, I may have to stop and pick some. Have you eaten it? What does it taste like?

I know goats love it! A lot of farmers with goats around here will plant Kudzu because it grows so fast which makes it a good food source for their goats.

Yes really, I have never eaten it though. I can't seem to find any around here that hasn't been sprayed with chemicals. You can make jelly from the flowers too. http://www.recipezaar.com/Kudzu-Blossom-Jelly-94579
This link has more info on the edible parts http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art48689.asp

[crewsk]

I ran across this one too, I had forgotten all about the Kudzu Festival!http://www.kudzufest.net/ BTW, Blythewood is in SC.

[Deadly Sushi]

i wonder what it tastes like! Thanks for all the links folks!

[Wasabi]

Bamboo shoots are delicious! It is used in many oriental dishes here in the islands. It's something like tofu, it absorbs the flavors in the pot. This is one of my favorite ways of eating the shoots.

Bamboo Chicken

Ingredients

6 large shrimp, cleaned, cooked in salted water, shelled and deveined (I often leave out the shrimp and just add more chicken)
1 cup oyster sauce
4 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 pound cooked chicken breast, cut in bite-size pieces
5 tablespoon sake or dry wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 pound parboiled bamboo shoots (I buy the pre cooked shoots in a can in the oriental section of my market.)
6 fresh mushrooms (I use shiitake mushrooms)

Method

Place shrimp, oyster sauce, sugar and salt in small pan. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Boil peas in salted water until just tender; drain and add to pan. Reduce heat to simmer. Add chicken, sake (wine) and soy sauce. Stir to combine all ingredients well. Add bamboo shoots and mushrooms and heat thoroughly.
Serve with your favorite rice or Chinese noodles.

[PanchoHambre]

Originally Posted by Fisher's Mom

Well, I have bamboo but I don't recommend it! It grows anywhere and everywhere and you can't kill it!!! Ever!

my parents neigbors (several tenants ago in the rental next door) planted Bamboo

It is insidious eben in the NE. Shoots up all over the yard, under the porchm along the foundation. It raided all the vegetable beds and floewer beds. I pulled up the roots through the lawn... huge shooters.. last year... it yielded piles of bamboo and when I was home last it was BACK... not as bad but creeping. The stuff is evil. Unfortunatley most of it is on the neighbors property so it is hopeless. Mom does not have the physical ability for the battle her DH does not care enough and also it getting older. The gardener just mows it down so it comes down to me. The stuff is wretched.

[Mama]

Originally Posted by Deadly Sushi

i wonder what it tastes like! Thanks for all the links folks!

I've never tried it but they say it that when it's cooked it tastes a lot like collards and the juice like potlikker. You can use it raw like lettuce in a salad.

It's also supposed to be good for a hangover or settling an upset stomach.

[IamSam]

Hey Soosh. If ya want ground cover you don't want to eat, but is hardy as all get out, try creeping flox.

[Constance]

For hot, dry places, any kind of creeping sedum can't be beaten.
There are also several vining types of euonymus that work well in the sun and are quite attractive.
Creeping junipers (Blue Rug, for exaple) are very hardy, and with a small amount of attention can really spread out.
Houttuynia will withstand either hot, dry areas or low spots that stand in water sometimes.
Varigated vinca vine will grow in sun or shade, and provides a little contrast in a mostly green spot.
Creeping phlox is beautiful, but it does need full sun and sandy soil with good drainage.

Another wonderful ground cover for shade is Convallaria, or lilies of the valley. It spreads well, has beautful foliage, and smells so sweet when it blooms in the spring.
Vinca major (periwinkle) is also a great perennial ground cover for the shade, and turns into a carpet of blue in the spring.
I have a lot of Baltic Ivy under my big oak trees, and it's really beautiful. If it grows up your trees, clip the stems at the bottom to kill that part so it won't choke your tree.

There are several kinds of liriope (monkey grass.) The varigated type makes nice clumps in the sun, and is not invasive.
The solid green type is great under big trees. It is invasive, but can be mowed down. Both have a blue spike of blossoms in late summer.

Hostas are also a lovely ground cover for shade. They multiply well, and have a showier spike of blue, purple or white blooms in late summer. They come in all sizes, from 6 inches to 5 feet in height and diameter.

Gallium Oderatum, or sweet woodruff is is a beautiful ground cover for the shade, as long as you keep fairly moist. It has a beautiful white flower in the spring that smells like a combination of vanilla and fresh mown hay.

In case you wonder about my credentials, I was a grower/retailer/landscaper/owner of my own greenhousees for 22 years. That doesn't mean I know everything, but I can help you with a lot of things.

[IamSam]

While I defer to Constance's excellent advice, I have a couple of comments.

Re: sedum. If it's also known as Autumn Joy, beware! This stuff is a MAJOR bee magnet. And not just any old bees. JURASSIC BEES and LOTS of them! The kind that will scoop up your cat or dog and fly away, laughing that evil laugh that bees have.

Re: flox. I grew some in soil heavily laden with clay and it flourished. To be fair, there was a significant grade, so good drainage, but there was some shade, since it was planted at the base of some Elm trees.

Day Lillies (Stella de Oros) are also good ground cover, as well as elephant grass.