Groundcover, the Good, Bad, and Ugly

April 17, 2023April 17, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

Groundcover is an integral part of most gardens. Groundcover is self-explanatory, basically plants that cover the bare ground, usually between larger (taller) plants. The use of ground cover in gardens helps to minimize the appearance of weeds, which is always beneficial. There are thousands of varieties out there, some good, some not so good (in my opinion) and some downright ugly! Let me help you decipher some of my favourites and others that I encounter on a daily basis in my gardening business.

The Best

For Part Sun

My favourite groundcovers for part sun to shade include sweet woodruff and lamium. Each perky stem of sweet woodruff sports six shiny green leaves and tiny white flowers in spring. Even after flowering this groundcover remains attractive all summer long. Sweet woodruff requires no deadheading either, which is an added bonus.

Lamium’s flowers are flashier, either pale pink or lavender in colour. Its variegated foliage (green and white) also remains attractive all season. Deadheading after blooming will create a second bloom time too.

I guess that’s what I like most about these two groundcovers; even when not in bloom they look great. Although both spread, they do so in small clumps but are not invasive. Both are shallow-rooted, so easy to remove from areas you don’t want them. I use both of these as edging plants in my gardens as well. I have also used lamium in shady hanging baskets as it trails nicely as it grows.

Groundcover For Full Sun

For hot, sunny and dry spots in the garden, including tucked between or cascading over rocks, or even in containers, you can’t beat sedums or stonecrops. Both come in a wide variety of bloom colours. I especially love the dragon’s blood (red) stonecrop and the cute rosettes of hen and chicks. This picture shows stonecrop in a container but it makes great groundcover as well.

stonecrop and sedums in a hot, sunny container

Invasive Groundcover

Violets, creeping thyme, and periwinkle make a successful groundcover as well, but they can all be invasive…

My Least Favourite Groundcover

Some of the not so nice (looking) groundcover that crops up uninvited in gardens are clover and mosses. Clover is cute looking too, some people actually confuse sweet woodruff with clover leaves. However, clover is much weedier and more invasive. I don’t mind clover in my lawns, but pull it out of my gardens. Some people encourage moss to grow between their stonework patios and walkways, not a look I am fond of.

Conclusions

The only time ground cover in your gardens does not work well is if you prefer mulch between your plants. Not that you can’t have both, the problem is that most groundcover is low growing so the mulch can overpower and even smother it. For this reason, I don’t usually recommend both mulch and ground cover in the same garden.

As I was snapping pictures of these varieties of groundcover the other day, I spied a garter snake peaking out at me from the cover of a hosta. As a kid, I used to think they were called gardener snakes, most likely because I saw them mostly in gardens. I probably (unintentionally) disturbed this cutie’s sun bask. By the time I focused on him, he was off, slithering away down the stone path to safety…

Rabbit Poop is Great for your Garden!

April 11, 2023April 30, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

I have noticed one thing in common in the gardens I have done spring cleanups in: lots of rabbit poop! There seems to have been an explosion in the rabbit population in my Kanata suburb of Ottawa. I see quite a few rabbits on my evening walks through our neighborhood so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the increased amount of their poop in the gardens. Now that the snow has finally (mostly) melted away for another year, the rabbit poop is everywhere!

The good news is that rabbit poop is great for your garden.

Hot vs Cold Manure

Cow, steer, sheep or chicken manure is considered “hot” meaning it requires an aging or composting process before use. Otherwise, it will burn your plants. For that reason, be sure when you use this type that the label says “composted.” Rabbit poop, however, is “cold” manure requiring no such process before use. That’s because it is fermented and broken down in the rabbit’s gut before leaving its body.

The other advantage of rabbit manure is that it only has a mild smell to it. The smell actually brings back childhood memories of the pet rabbits my father used to bring home each spring at Easter time.

What it Looks Like

Rabbit poop presents in small, round(ish), light brown balls…you can’t miss them…

How to Use This Free Fertilizer

Simply dig the round pellets into the soil between the plants, providing a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for your garden. You can also add a pile of poop to your composter as a nitrogen layer. Another option is to make compost tea by adding a pile of poop to a bucket of water. Stir it well and frequently for a few days, and then pour the “tea” onto your garden.

Any way you use it, rabbit poop is a free and convenient fertilizer for your garden!

photo credit:

You Are What You Eat, I am Living Proof

April 1, 2023April 1, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ 2 Comments

I know this saying is old, but it has become increasingly clear to me recently. Way back in 2011, I was diagnosed with an allergy to wheat. Since then I have avoided anything that contained wheat. It wasn’t easy, but I have grown accustomed to it. So apparently has my body.

In December 2018, my husband and I tried out the keto diet as one of our sons was doing it and we were on vacation with him and his family. After a few weeks of experimenting with that, we altered the strict keto version to what I call a “modified keto.” We consume lots of fats, but the good, omega-3 kind. We don’t restrict vegetables or fruits, AKA the good carbs. We avoid processed foods that contain lots of sugar and preservatives and consume lots of protein but stick to the lean and non-processed variety.

In March 2020, those good habits flew out the window with the arrival of COVID-19 isolation recommendations. Feeling sorry for ourselves (missing our kids and grandkids) or bored, or both, we began the slippery slope to snacking and TV binging.

When Easter festivities were canceled due to social distancing measures, I still cooked a big dinner and baked delicious goodies, but divvied (most of) it up and dropped off care packages and Easter baskets to our sons’ respective doorsteps for their families to enjoy. Usually, when I bake for family gatherings I include one or two gluten-free varieties. Not this year, unfortunately for me. Instead, I snacked on the wheat-laden goodies, limiting myself to half a cookie per day to avoid the stomach problems associated with my wheat allergy.

Shortly after Easter, the goodies were gone from our home, but the bumps on my scalp, one of the pre-wheat allergy diagnosis symptoms, were back. As was the bloating, fatigue, and general lethargy, not to mention a few extra pounds. All the things I had worked so hard to eliminate!

If that doesn’t prove “you are what you eat” I don’t know what does.

Photo by Trang Doan, via Pexels