Other than mint . . . .

[Glenna Rose]

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).

I planted a couple of chocolate mint plants last summer which survived our colder-than-usual winter. All suggestions are welcome as to what to use there. It would be ideal if watering was minimal to keep from stretching a soaker hose out there. There is a concrete rail under the fence so the plants would be backed by concrete which means there would be extra warmth for both growing and need of more than usual water (or it could act as a plus for less water?).

Suggestions, folks?

Glenna

[Katra]

135 ft. long??? Man! Many folks would give their eye teeth for that much space!

I'd put in a variety of herbs in that strip!

The ones that I have that crowd out weeds really well are Oregano, Creeping thyme, Dittany of crete, and prostrate rosemary.

If you want something permanent that is not for culinary use, I'd put in a couple of different varieties of wandering jew. Those are beautiful and can grow very dense, low growing, low maintenance and mine winters over pretty well.

Once it's there tho', it's forever.

Usually mint is too, as long as it's peppermint or spearmint. I just have never, ever had any luck with chocolate mint. ;-( It always dies no matter _where_ I plant it!

K.

[Julie]

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.

[Dianna Visek]

Several of the artemesias (eg. Silver King, Silver Queen) will spread. They're not edible but are great for making wreaths. Anise hyssop will self-seed and fill in nicely. It's good for cooking and teas and bees. Lemon balm will spread and self-seed, but will be happier in part shade.

Regards, Dianna _______________________________________________ To reply, please remove "fluff" from my address.

[Henriette Kress]

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

[Janice]

Various thymes! Creeping thymes, wooly thyme is a common one that will take the heat and dry areas. Oregano.. there are culinary Greek Oregano which is kind of dry but hot and peppery in flavor, there are also other "ornamental" oreganos like Golden, that are not culinary, they just taste like grass. You could use some bush type thymes in some areas too.. there are lemon thymes in both creeping and bush types, usually green with yellow edged leaves, an there are silver thymes.. green with white edges.. there are scads of different ones!

Feel free to become obsessed with thyme ;-)

[simy1]

thyme, oregano, lemon balm all form dense groundcovers which do not let anything else grow. Given that you have that much space, I would consider some perennial edible, including asparagus, sorrel, horseradish, and raspberry. All these can be grown under the thyme or oregano, and they will poke through in the spring. Lingonberries will also form a thick cover, though perhaps too tall to have asparagus or sorrel under. Asparagus needs a fertile bed, and lingonberries need acid soil. Everything else is undemanding and will do just fine with only a bit of wood chip mulch and no water. sorrel, oregano, and lemon balm will even tolerate part sun, the rest will want full sun.

[Larry Blanchard]

I'll second the thyme and oregano, but throw in a couple of clumps of chives. You'll never use them all, but they sure are good when fresh, and they're pretty when they bloom.

Rosemary will spread quite well also.