In addition to their obvious utility of going
from here to there, paths do show off separate beds to their advantage,
making your garden's design more evident. But half the fun of arriving
at a particular garden spot is how you reach it. Crushed stone,
pebbles, brick, flagstone, wooden slabs (cross-sections of tree
trunks) are popular path materials for reasons of comfort, appearance,
cost, and maintenance or choose our decorative Native Texas Limestone
Garden Pieces. However several herbs make not only attractive path-covers
but are easy to grow, low maintenance, and smell and feel delightful
between naked toes. Adding herbs to a walkway that's too difficult
to reach with a mower (and too time-consuming to hoe), or to stepping
stones needing a filler is a solution, practical and pleasurable.
Drought resistant herbs such as
rosemary
and thyme do well in dry, sunny
walkways that would otherwise not support green life. For damp
wooded areas which see little sun, most mint
will thrive beautifully. Chamomile
is another cover for paths worth considering; it can be trampled
by children and dogs, mowed and still grow back. We have a full
selection of Seeds and Supplies for growing herbs for Culinary
Herb Gardens, Crafting or Stepping.
Chamomile
Chamaemelim
nobile Chamomile is one of the most traditional
ground covers for herb garden walkways. It develops into
a lovely soft-textured footing, spreading three to twelve
inches with light green delicately cut leaves.
Prostrate Rosemary
Rosmarinus
officinalis "prostatus" Prostrate Rosemary hugs the ground
closely, usually reaching one to two feet tall, spreading
four to eight feet with stems which cascade gracefully
over rock ledges.
Burnet
Poterium
sanguisorba Burnet likes growing in dry soil. To start
your cucumber-scented grey-green carpet, buy small organically
grown plants. Find a place that gets at least six hours of
sun a day. Unless you have a drought, let nature do the watering.
Burnet will grow to a height of 12-14 inches, with gentle
oval-toothed leaflets; its flowers form gobular heads of green,
turning red throughout the summer.
Ajuga
Ajuga reptans When all else fails, the "ta-daah"
last-resort of herbs, Ajuga reptans--yeah right, bugleweed--is
the groundcover herb for paths. For our practical purposes,
it grows thick to a 4-6 inch height, thereby preventing nasty
weeds from invading, and thriving under a variety of environmental
assaults from full sun and dry soil to heavy shade and dampness.
Beware, this plant is a control-freak, it will take over
any area in which it's planted.
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris Thyme, like rosemary, grows best in light
well-drained soil and full sun. It too can tolerate a fair
amount of neglect (yes, my kind of herb!) thyme's growth is
lower than rosemary's, with a Lilliputian-close foliage. Many
varieties of creeping thyme exist; each has a slightly different
leaf and fragrance but all make ground covers to be proud of
whether on their own, between stepping stones, down garden
stairs. For those who shun shoes, T. lanuginosus (wooly thyme)
lends a soft nappiness to the path, and t. sergyllum (mother
of thyme) rolls out a nurturing carpet of matted greyish-green.
Corsican Mint
Mentha requiemii Corsican mint loves shade and moisture and
grows best in rich soil. It reaches to only one-half inch
high, and its small round, bright green leaves have a velvet
mossy appearance and touch. It will spread over an area at
a medium to rapid rate.
