Not only does this drought-tolerant perennial require much less water than traditional turf grass, it also spreads quickly to fill in bare spots. If you’ve only thought of thyme as a plant for the herb garden, you may be surprised to discover that there are also several creeping varieties valued more for their ornamental attributes than their culinary qualities.įorming a dense, ground-hugging mat of tiny evergreen leaves, creeping thyme is ideal for use as a foot-friendly groundcover to fill gaps between stepping stones and patio pavers, where the foliage will release its heady herbal scent whenever you tiptoe through it.īecause of its ability to withstand moderate foot traffic, creeping thyme can also be used as an easy-care lawn substitute, especially on sunny hillsides and slopes. What's more, in these times of climate change and uncertain weather they can also provide a practical solution to surface runoff from heavy rainfall.Red creeping thyme. They can help to break up the surface of your landscaping materials with attractive flowers and foliage. Walkable ground cover plants are also very useful for more naturalistic planting styles, working well in gravel, rubble and rock gardens and also as alternatives for old fashioned asphalt driveways. Three of the better plants with a good trampling recovery rate include creeping thymes, ajuga, and lithodora. This will give you practical solutions to improve drainage and water runoff prevention, plus attractive foliage and flowers. However, you can use many of the recommended plants in driveways, if you set them into hard landscaping pockets or crevices. While many walkable ground cover plants can cope with light foot traffic, there are few that withstand the weight and repeated traffic from cars. What ground cover plants can you drive over? It also has the added bonus of releasing its delicious herby scent when the tiny leaves are crushed by footfall, so any tickling or mild discomfort would almost certainly be offset by the pleasant aroma in your fragrant garden. While you won’t get the softness of grass or moss from a carpet of creeping thyme, it certainly doesn’t feel unpleasant to bare feet. Choose walkable ground cover plants that can accommodate light garden traffic, planting them as a mixed carpet or in pockets in between paved areas. These powers of regeneration can be embraced in the garden. Just as in wilder landscapes, plants evolved to cope with grazing animals and foraging humans, so one of the benefits of ground cover plants is that they have tough leaves that recover or grow back easily when crushed. While you wouldn’t necessarily choose to walk on your prize plants, there are many tough contenders that cope with a fair degree of trampling. Nature Hills recommends the perennial yellow Alyssum, Aurinia saxatilis 'Golden Yellow', for its scented brilliant golden yellow blossoms in spring.Ī drought-tolerant plant and pollinator friendly, these are good-value workhorse plants that will cope with light foot traffic. (Image credit: Animaflora PicsStock/Alamy Stock Photo)Īn old fashioned favorite for border edges and cracks in between paving, white flowering sweet alyssum is a good choice, but its yellow counterpart is hardier still.
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