"Dave Gower" wrote in message ...
I have an area in front of my house that is surrounded by driveway, so any
plant would be confined no matter how invasive it is. Right now it is full
of lilies of the valley, which are certainly invasive but they don't like it
there and get ratty looking by mid-summer.

So I'm looking for suggestions. Something different, interesting and
bullet-proof, requiring zero maintenance once established. Won't be walked
on much by people, but dogs will use the area. It's raised and steeply
sloped so not easy to mow.

The area is 20 ft by 10 feet, east facing, partial sun, lots of water off a
porch roof. Zone 5 (Eastern Ontario). Sandy, well drained soil.

I saw a type of bamboo grass on a PBS gardening show, which is the kind of
thing that might work. It looked quite attractive.


A ground cover rose such as "Grouse" might be a good choice. It is
aggressive, fast growing, incredibly tough and winter hardy. Grouse
has small, shiny, dark green--pretty much evergreen-- leaflets. It
does not get more than about ten inches high. The flowers are
single-petaled ---i.e. five petals-- light pink fading to white,
scented, and about two inches across. Once established it needs no
special attention. I have had it covering a steep slope in my yard
for years. Neither dogs, cats, deer, or groundhogs seem to bother it.

BTW, it has plenty of small, sharp, and strong thorns.



J. Del Col