"Robert" wrote in message
ink.net...
Thanks,

That might actually work nicely for some sections of our property. How do
you start something like that off? At our old house in Durham we tried to

Vinca Major is not, as far as I know, sold in nurseries -- actually I think
it may be classified as a noxious weed in NC? I seem to remember reading
that somewhere. It puts out long runners that root wherever they touch the
ground. They have large dark green leaves and medium size light purple
flowers. A string trimmer or something similar is definitely required to
keep them confined to a particular area.

Vinca Minor is definitely sold, looks similar (but smaller), and is not as
agressive a grower. It's still nice though, and I haven't found it to
require anything at all. I planted individual plants about 8 inches apart
in compacted clay soil, did not amend, did not fertilize, did not mulch, and
did not water :-) I now have a nice groundcover that I mow back every fall
and it fills in by the end of spring.

Interestingly, whoever lived here before planted some Vinca Minor, and it
looks like they got (possibly just one) Vinca Major in there accidentally.
So in some areas I have an "undergrowth" of Vinca Minor covered with a layer
of Vinca Major! The Major will take over the whole yard if you are not
careful. I have pulled up plants, left them in the driveway for days, and
they have rooted when they got moved into a dirt-covered area by my car
repeatedly backing down the driveway over them!