I'm looking for a good low-maintenance ground cover for Long Island. I have a patch of bare dirt along the front of my house that's about 5 yards long by a yard wide.
requirements:
low-growing. won't cross over the railroad ties boxing in the area and mix with what passed for our lawn. like acidic soil (will be in a semi-shady area directly under an oak tree). South-eastern exposure. I have to be able to plant it "now" (early spring), as the dirt is bare "now" and I'd like to plant before weeds take over.
I suspect Campanula poscharskyana, Serbian Bellflower, would do right well. You might should enrich the soil a bit if it's been "bare dirt" for a long time, loosen the whole area well, & the serbian bellflower will be able to spread into a dense groundcover with lots of blue flowers late spring until deep into autumn. It tries to be an evergreen in Zone 8, but I think you're colder, it will die back at the height of winter, but begin to regrow well before spring. You could mix with it Gold-leafed Adriatic Bellflower (Campanula garganica 'Dickson's Gold') & that would probably hold its own with the Serbian bellflower while varying the color & texture of the groundcover. It too attempts to be evergreen but might die back temporarily in your zone. Both are very low-maintenance with not too much watering required, & although they flower most extremely in full sun, they also look nice in bright shade; I have a very wide-spreading flowery patch under a pinoak, the rest get only morning sun, & that's been enough for them.
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