I live outside of Cleveland OH so I'm like a zone 5. I need some good ideas on ground covers and more so where can I buy the seed. I would love to have mosses or low ground covers, no grasses. I don't likethe upkeep and they're not very environmentally friendly. My back yard is very shady and the front is full west sun. I currently have a lot of moss in the back but want to get rid of the grass. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it, even an online site to purchase seed from or get advice would be helpfull.
Native plants for groundcover would require very little care, watering, or upkeep from you and would also attract wildlife such as butterflies, birds, etc.
I don't have any specific recommendations, but here is a good link with native plants for your area. It has descriptions of each plant, including height, bloom time, and preferred habitat. It will give you an idea of what plants to look for if you want to go native.
I had a neighbor who planted ground cover in the yard instead of grass. When the twigs and leaves fell down, she spent many hours cleaning them out of the ground cover. She liked to garden and didn't mind the effort. When she sold the house, the new owners had to rip out all of the ground covers and planted grass.
Posts: 729 | Location: Ohio | Registered: Feb 25, 2006
I have to clean up twigs and leaves for hours every year so that doesn't bother me. I don't like the idea of putting emissions into the air and spending over three dollars a gallon to cut the grass. Seems pretty silly to me. The grass we grow isn't natural and takes from our water table anyway. I'm looking for something that is more earth friendly without having to use chemicals and excessive amounts of water to maintain. I'd be happy if it all died and the clover and moss took over with some wild flowers and my garden is the back. Not everyone would agree so that's why I'm seeking a hardy plant that gets about 1-3" tall. I would put a moss roof or green roof on my house if I could.
How big is the area you want to "redo"? Do you need a "kid zone" or a picnic area? How about a patio or an outdoor fireplace? There are lots of options available for those that wish to retire their lawn mower and ther is a lot of creativity among the members here. Just remember to enjoy the process of transitioning your outdoor area.
Each day is a new opportunity to grow!
Posts: 1210 | Location: Central MD, USA | Registered: Feb 04, 2004
Well, the my property is about 85' x 225'. So the front yard is 85'x 70' and gets blasted by the sun from 10am till sunset, clay soil, no kids. I'm just trying to find something that can be planted, look good with little care, and most importantly where I can find reliable seeds to do so. That seems to be the hard part. The back gets a little morning sun, some of it doesn't get any because of the neighbors trees, it is very moist is some areas dry in others. Again no kids and I can't really afford anything spectacular nor do I see reason to do so. The front and the house sit on the higher area of my property because starting at the back of the house to the end of the property is a gradual but constant slope. Most of the yard now is clover and weeds, which I don't mind the clover but some of the weeds get very tall, a lot of crab grass. Under all of that is some beautiful moss I would love to establish throughout the back but I'm afraid of killing it with the rest of the grass and stuff. I have some ideas but like I said before finding what I need and knowing that it will grow is the problem. Local nursuries don't carry seed for ground cover like they do grass seed, unfortunately.
Loriope...a monkey grass produces pretty little purple flowers. Its fast spreading and you can be split really easily for plugging your area. See if your neighbors have any growing in the yard, ask them if you could split some of theirs...It grows from 3" to about 8".
I have found Creeping Thyme to be a great ground cover. I have it in shade as well as full sun here in SC. It can take being walked on too. The best part is in spring when it gives you a beautiful mounds of color. I believe it would work in your zone - it would be well worth trying a patch of it this year.
Oh ... almost forgot about crownvetch, it is also a great cover especially if you're fighting run off. It mainly likes full sun - used it in NJ.
Wow, that's great. Thanks to everyone for your info. I was thinking about creeping thyme too. seems to be pretty hardy. If anyone else has anything thanks in advance, esp. if you know where i can get this stuff. nurseries don't typically carry bulk seed except grass.
Thyme seed is very small and is best seeded into pot production, not direct seeded to soil. Maybe you could find a local greenhouse that would be willing to contract grow the thyme for you?
Posts: 338 | Location: illinois | Registered: Jun 12, 2005
yeah, I thought the size of the seed too. There's no way i could put it in a spreader and hope for the best like grass seed. But I could poke holes into the bottom of a coffee can, mix the seed with sand, and go from there. That will take a long time but it beats paying someone to do work that isn't absolutely necessary. I'm sure there's something I can whip up to make it work. Finding the seed is still the problem. I went to a few web sites and most of them want to sell the seed by the packet...not very efficient for what I need. The steppables, however, can be bought a few plants at a time and allowed to reproduce. Of course that will take some time but it beats buying 10,000 plants for my yard. I have a very good feeling that I will be doing a combination of seed, plants, and good luck. It'll be interesting to see the end result.
