And here's the ice plant, with the yellow in glorious bloom, and the purple just starting. The soil in this spot is practically sand and this large patch started from just a couple of little 4" pots. Spreads nicely and is not fussy at all about conditions. The yellow plant has spring green color succulent leaves, the purple one has a more forest green leaf. I like them mixed together. I like this so much, I've planted more in my xeriscaped area to give me a colorful border.
You can also see the woolly thyme here. It's more of a grayish green where the pink chintz has a more spring green. No flowers on the woolly thyme either. Here I'm encouraging an eventual lawn. I laid down patio bricks I found elsewhere in the yard. I created a checkerboard pattern and planted thyme in the empty spaces. Last fall I divided some of them and planted in other empty spaces. This stuff is very hardy and spreads wonderfully in just one season. Eventually, I hope to take up the patio bricks and let the thyme completely fill in. You can walk on it, it requires very little water, and it looks lush and NO MOWING! It will require patience and in the meantime, the patio bricks help with the transition.
2 comments:
Beautiful garden colors. I like the No Mowing part and am working on that concept myself :)
It really is a challenge. At one time we just put everything into Kentucky Bluegrass lawns. But now we know how wasteful that is of our water and many of us are trying to convert parts of our yards into more natural plantings that use less water, require less maintenance, and still look lovely. For me there has been a lot of trial and error, so when I find something that works, I stick with it.
I must remember to write about the Virginia Creeper that seems to thrive with no supplemental water at all.
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