Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site Glacier.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!Glacier!reid From: reid@Glacier.ARPA (Brian Reid) Newsgroups: net.garden,net.consumers Subject: Re: Grass Message-ID: <9685@Glacier.ARPA> Date: Tue, 16-Jul-85 04:06:39 EDT Article-I.D.: Glacier.9685 Posted: Tue Jul 16 04:06:39 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 18-Jul-85 05:54:46 EDT References: <11461@brl-tgr.ARPA> <3341@dartvax.UUCP> Reply-To: reid@Glacier.UUCP (Brian Reid) Distribution: net Organization: Stanford University, Computer Systems Lab Lines: 62 Xref: watmath net.garden:623 net.consumers:2645 Summary: In article <3341@dartvax.UUCP> betsy@dartvax.UUCP (Betsy Hanes Perry) writes: >As alternative groundcovers (low-growing), my choices would be: > ... As I mentioned in a previous article, I have done some experimenting with alternative groundcovers here in Northern California. I got out my notes to make sure I didn't forget anything, and as a result I can include the Latin names for these plants. This is less of a conceit than you might think; for example, the plant called "Creeping Thyme" in some parts of the country is called "Wooly Thyme" in others. Anyhow, here are my comments. Your results will certainly be different in different climates. >Corsican mint We found that Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) is just too sensitive to overheating and drying out. I absolutely love the appearance and smell of Corsican mint, and every year I try planting some more, but it always dies quickly unless we water it every day, and even twice a day in the heat of summer. Since one of the reasons we wanted to plant alternative ground cover was to save water, this seemed like a loss. According to the garden books, if you can get a bed of Corsican mint established it will be drought-resistant (this is why I keep planting it even though it keeps dying), but I have not yet succeeded in getting it to last through a summer. Now that I have my ultra-high-tech 8088-based automatic doo-wah-diddy sprinkler/mister/drip-irrigation system in place, I am hoping for better results with this Fall's annual ritual Corsican mint planting. The plants are going to look like an accident victim in an ICU, with tubes running everywhere bringing life-support fluids. >Creeping thymes Creeping thyme (Thymus lanuginosus; known some places as wooly thyme) is quite nice. We had about 200 square feet of it for several years. I finally dug it up and replaced it with Chamomile this past autumn because it is is ecologically unequipped to compete with weeds. Creeping thyme is too much of a nice-guy plant, and various unseemly things like oxalis and bermudagrass were taking over completely. >Camomile This one is the winner (Chamaemelum nobile). See my earlier posting on the subject. >other creeping herbs. We've tried Silver thyme (Thymus serpyllum; known some places as creeping thyme). We still have about 100 square feet of it. It's nice, except that as the plants get older, they develop woody stems that are no fun to walk on. We have a ring of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) around the outside of our yard. Rosemary is a very aggressive plant, and I fear that we might have to call the National Guard to beat it back into submission and prevent it from taking over the whole yard. It is not suitable for walking on (it has a texture reminiscent of the Juniper bushes that I grew up with, but it's about 6 inches high). Those are all of the creeping herbs that I have been able to find. If anybody knows about any more I would be delighted to try them out in our Ground Cover Agriculture Experiment Station, i.e. our back yard. -- Brian Reid decwrl!glacier!reid Stanford reid@SU-Glacier.ARPA