Julie wrote:

Glenna Rose wrote:

There is a strip between the sidewalk and fence along my south fence that
I'd like to fill with herbs, etc., that spread and "take over" so that
it's so dense that weeds, grass, etc. will feel unwelcome and not be a
problem. The strip is about 12 inches wide (and 135 feet long).

Suggestions, folks?

You'd make some four-footed friends if you included catmint.

Along with what has already been mentioned, I have yarrow, chamomile and
lemon balm in my herb garden. They naturalize nicely.

catnip (self-seeds _profusely_)(the blue-flowered Nepeta grandiflora is
a much worse spreader than the true catnip Nepeta cataria)
hyssop (self-seeds _profusely_)
oregano (self-seeds _profusely_)
California poppy (self-seeds _profusely_)
Mentha longifolia (comes true from seed, spreads by root runners, and is
pretty, too.)
Artemisia ludoviciana (currently trying to conquer the world from my
doorstep; not by self-seeding but by root runners)
elecampane (self-seeds, but isn't as fast to spread as the others. This
one gets very very tall, in flower. Pretty leaves, too.)
mullein (biennial, doesn't spread as fast as the rest, but it's still in
the top 10 in my garden)
motherwort (self-seeds _profusely_, gets rather tall)
ground-ivy (ground cover that spreads by root runners)
musk mallow (self-seeds _profusely_)
caraway (biennial, self-seeds, once it's established you'll have lots of
it.)

Add a potentilla or two and you're pretty much set.

Those are the ones that I weed out of my garden whenever they go to places
I don't want them to go, which is often.

Chamomile and yarrow aren't all that good spreaders, in my garden. Perhaps
because I pull up the yarrow, and the soil isn't what the chamomile wants.
Lemon balm dies pretty much every year over winter, and doesn't self-seed
half as much as I'd like it to.

Henriette

--
Henriette Kress, AHG * * * * * * * * * * *Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed