Once you get into food gardening, it’s natural to want to plant as many edible plants as possible. The other varieties can be used as an herb in foods, but some sources suggest otherwise, so perhaps, it’s best to stick to the English creeping thyme for cooking. [4]https://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/strawberries.htmljQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_5317_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_5317_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); 8 Alpine strawberry plants can yield around a cup of berries several times a week through the summer. WARNING: “Spreads easily” can be another way of saying “invasive”, so if you don’t want volunteer plants cropping up, this may not be for you. These wooly creeping thyme plants stay very low … Creeping Thyme: (Thymus serpyllum) This tiny aromatic herb offers a wide array of leaf color, tiny flower color, and heights.But they’re all adorable, edible, ready to choke out weeds and light up your pathways. If you have a lot of space to cover in a full sun area, cucurbitaceae plants can serve as edible ground cover for summer. Sweet potato leaves have 3x more vitamin B6, 5 times more vitamin C, and almost 10 times more riboflavin than sweet potato tubers. tall herbaceous perennial sub shrub with a dense mounding habit. Spicy orange thyme, creeping lemon thyme and caraway thyme all bear pink blooms and stay short (4 inches or less). Lemon Thyme (Thymus citriodorus) Add a touch of lemony freshness to your thyme lawn with lemon thyme. Edible Uses: Tea Leaves - raw in salads or added as a flavouring to cooked foods [2, 11, 46, 61]. There's nothing like the scent of thyme as you walk along your garden path. In cold climates, this little herb is deciduous, while in milder regions, the plant will retain its foliage year round. A staple food, that’s long lasting and easy to store, sweet potatoes are a rich source of vitamins and minerals. We are all about gardening! Blooming profusely from early to mid summer, it features clusters of tiny, bright magenta-pink flowers. No dogs? We really like this Corsican Mint, mentha requienii, for an edible ground cover. Creeping Pink Thyme : Caraway Thyme : Doone Valley Thyme: Loveyanus Thyme : Pink Lemonade Thyme: Leprechaun Thyme : Read more about Ground Cover Thymes and how to use them : 10 Culinary Thymesy Thymes : ... Culinary Thymes make a great addition to our Edible Flower Garden Six Pack. They are principally grown for the fine texture of the leaves as they spread out to softly blanket the ground, but they also produce flowers of various colors, depending on type. It is purported to have properties that help lower cholesterol, and is grown commercially as a vegetable in China. Mowing marjoram helps to keep it flat and soft to walk on.~MountainValleyGrowers.com. Though creeping thyme is edible, it is not usually grown for this use, and instead is considered to be an ornamental plant that works well as ground cover. If the leaves are to be dried, the plants should be harvested in early and late summer just before the flowers open and the leaves should be dried quickly. Source: patrick_standish. Creeping Thyme (Thymus praecox)- A ground cover or trailing plant that’s edible? Lemon thyme or Thymus x citriodorus is perhaps the most edible of all of the creeping thyme species we’ve discussed. The Desert Sage is a rare type of sage which can only be found in the western areas of Gaptooth Ridge in New Austin. Ht 4″. Getting the best gardening news, tips, tricks and products out to you. As a food, Okinawa spinach is a spinach substitute, similar to longevity spinach (gynura procumbens, making a nice addition to salads, and can also be eaten cooked. Yep… planting weeds in pots! It’s a perennial in most zones (4-9) and easy to maintain. Marjoram, (origanum majorana):Bees love the lilac flowers of marjoram and the leaves add a subtle citrusy pine flavor to cooking. The creeping variety makes pretty durable herbaceous layer and is a good choice of plant for a walking path since it's tough enough to handle foot traffic. That’s one of the reasons we’re growing dandelions. Creeping Thyme. Choosing plants that grow and thrive in your particular climate is the very first step toward having a beautiful garden . Is deer and rabbit-resistant. If you have dogs like we do, edible groundcovers are best planted outside the dog’s range. This type of sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) usually shows up as a perennial weed in most … Beauty aside, nasturtium leaves and blossoms have a pleasing peppery flavor that can spice up a salad, soup or sandwich. It is hardy only to Zone 7, does not like the shade and can tolerate fairly strong winds. Wood sorrel. There’s no need to restrict growing food to the vegetable patch! Despite it’s delicate appearance, elfin thyme is happy in most soils and can even survive dry and windy conditions. Rich in nectar, they attract butterflies. Most thyme varieties are hardy in USDA zones 5-9 but tend to dislike hot, humid summers or overly wet conditions. Beyond that, sweet potato greens make a lovely ground cover. We planted our ajuga in landscaped areas around our sidewalk. Seven to eight mature Alpine plants will yield approximately one cup of berries several times a week on a continuous basis throughout the summer. Another option for dog owners would be to plant edible ground cover plants in containers. The Creeping Thyme, which is used as seasoning for the thyme recipes, is identified for its clover-like leaves. It has great potential among the groundcovers because it creeps through runners. Our electric dog fence spans a large area, so we’re limited on where we can plant edible ground cover plants. Not as pungently-scented as other thymus species, wooly thyme is still wonderful. The Edible Garden Nursery, Moorland Barn, Whiddon Down, Okehampton, Devon EX20 2QL. You can grow edible ground cover plants in pots for a pet free solution that’s easy to harvest. 2. Marjoram is perfect for landscape ground cover with edible, culinary and medicinal benefits. … 3. and 4. A wonderful lawn substitute, marjoram is a variety of oregano with a milder citrusy pine flavor. Sweet potato roots are widely known to be delicious and nutritious. Blooming profusely from early to mid summer, it features clusters of small, salmon-pink flowers. Despite it’s delicate appearance, elfin thyme is happy in most soils and can even survive dry and windy conditions. The best of both worlds are plants that have beauty and benefits. Be the first to review this product. This is a low, creeping variety, the foliage is dark green, smothered by bright magenta-pink flowers in early summer. But… it’s edible weeds with benefits! Though creeping thyme is edible, it is not usually grown for this use, and instead is considered to be an ornamental plant that works well as ground cover. The following is a list of plants that have edible and/or medicinal benefit and can be used as ground cover. Edible landscaping that incorporate edible plants into attractive landscapes are growing in popularity. Here are more wonderful edible ground covers that grow best in shade or partial shade. Nutritionally, sweet potato greens are similar to spinach. Thyme plants are woody perennials, compact and evergreen or semi-evergreen. Fine white hairs give wooly thyme a distinctive silvery-green cast. You can plant them as companion plants for a larger plant, or, as an entire large planter of the edible ground cover plant of choice. Ajuga, (ajuga reptans), aka bugleweed, spreads easily for a great groundcover in partial sun or mostly shade. The Elfin Thyme, thymus serpyllum —is a fast-spreading creeping thyme. The Best Garden Gloves for Men, Women and Kids! Yep… planting weeds in pots, but it’s edible weeds with benefits! Wooly thyme may reach … Creeping thyme might not be edible like its cousin, but it does produce a pleasant herbal fragrance that’s similar to the thyme you use in cooking. Even the ornamental sweet potatoes are edible, but the potatoes may not be as orange or as sweet. Another option for dog owners would be to plant edible ground cover plants in containers. For now, feel free to continue reading. Alpine strawberry. Our electric dog fence spans a large area, so we’re limited on where we can plant edible ground cover plants. It can be walked on and does well as a lawn replacement, among stepping zones and pathways. Although it is not often harvested, creeping thyme, like any thyme variety, is edible and can be made into teas or other herbal remedies. So far, we’re enjoying the fact that nature is helping with the planting of this in other locations now. Thymus praecox 'Coccineus' SKU. Even the seed pods can be eaten as a virtual gourmet caper. NASTURTIUM (tropaeolum majus):Enjoy the flowers, stems, leaves, and seeds of this lovely edible ground cover plant. Desert Sage. Though not really minty in flavor or aroma, ajuga is in the mint family, and as with all mints, ajuga is edible with medicinal properties. Can be used in … Creeping thyme should be pruned in the spring in order to maintain a compact appearance and again after the small white flowers are done blooming if additional shaping is preferred. Creeping thyme grows well between steps, along a walkway or in the garden. Then edible ground covers may be an especially beneficial option for you to expand your food production while serving your landscape aesthetics. There are several varieties of thyme and all are lovely and edible. This list includes commonly cultivated ground covers as well as those that voluntarily grow wild in lawns, meadows or woods. Elfin thyme (thymus serpyllum), is a creeping variety of thyme for a lovely, edible, fast spreading ground cover, that flowers in a variety of colors, and can fit into small spaces. If we had bundles of parsley, cilantro or watercress growing in tufts in our yard, chances are we wouldn’t just pull them as weeds. A creeping thyme lawn is not only drought resistant, but it generally requires much less water than traditional turf grasses too. Dark green leaves and pinkish/red flowers. Creeping thyme has small, decorative oval leaves covering wiry stems, and when crushed, they will emit a pleasant fragrance similar to common thyme. These are a special ground cover for smaller areas as they stay put and won’t self-propagate via runners. Mint and thyme in particular can withstand some foot traffic to produce flavorful leaves. This plant blooms profusely in early summer but does not compete well with other plants. Stay tuned for the first newsletter in the morning, straight to your inbox. Hardy Perennial. Creeping thyme is perfect for rock walkways and for use around stepping stones. There’s nothing quite like the delight and freedom that comes from walking out your door and harvesting your dinner from plants you’ve grown into food. Disclosure. The creeping thyme is a woody, perennial species of the Thymus that acts as an excellent ground cover for sunny areas of the garden. Bees and butterflies love the lilac flowers on this creeping, tiny-leafed, plant. We’ve even pulled chickweed from our yard and placed into pots so that we can consume it worry-free. Creeping thyme has small, decorative oval leaves covering wiry stems, and when crushed, they will emit a pleasant fragrance similar to common thyme. As an added bonus, thyme blooms in a … Edible ground cover plants enhance landscapes, manage weeds, retain soil and expand your food production areas. Herbs – If you're looking for an edible ground cover to grow in a high traffic area, think herbs. The most popular variety is the English creeping thyme which is the one best used to flavor foods. Types of thyme plants cultivate… We’re for all gardens and gardening… whatever kind of plants you favor. 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