In article , "gregpresley"
wrote:
In addition to the other suggestions (thyme, etc), you might consider the
European wild ginger. It has very pretty dark green foliage, is low growing,
and fits well between flagstones. Spreads well in sandy soil (I think the
ants carry the seeds around). I'm just not certain about its hardiness in
Ontario - but it grows well in Spokane, Wa. zone 5/6.
I have four species of wild gingers / asarums, one from China, three from
North America. The genus is distributed throughout the northern
hemisphere, but the majority are all pretty similar in habits &
requirements & appearance. They dislike much sun, & they cannot be used as
"stepables" on flagstone paths per se. They're all hardy but the hardiest
of the ones I have is Asarum caudatum; it would be right at home in
Ontario, though A. canadense would actually BE home in Ontario. Pages
about the ones I have are linked in a circle, can start here with A.
caudatum:
http://www.paghat.com/asarum4.html
These are "interactive" groundcovers, as to appreciate the blooms requires
one to get down on the ground & lift the leaves.
I'd like to add just one more to my little asarum collection, & it's a
vining asarum that I've never seen for sale, but seen pictures & it's
so different from the others & can be trained up a fence.
-paghat the ratgirl
--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl:
http://www.paghat.com/