Posted by admin on September 13, 2010
There are quite a number of plants, shrubs, and trees which require more water than others. There are also soils, temperatures, planting techniques, and number of plants to consider when thinking about saving water.
Here are tips on saving water in the garden:
- Grass takes a lot of water. Consider less grass, rocks, gravel, stones, succulents, etc.
- Some plants, such as ferns, don’t like to dry out for too long and get too warm. To solve this problem, keep shade plants in the shade, and sun plants in partial sun or full sun.
- Some soils retain more moisture than others. Think about how porous your soil is.
- Using mulch around plants can help keep moisture in the ground.
- Some plants, such as Gazanias, don’t need much water and work well as a ground cover.
- Water plants at times the water will stay in the ground and not dry out fast. For example, watering at the hottest, windy moment in a day may mean some water blows away and evaporates.
Posted by admin on July 9, 2009
Growing Violas, also known as Johnny Jump Ups, is a real pleasure. This annual blooms from spring to early summer, about 5-8 inches in height. Although it can be bought in a pot, we would recommend starting it from seed, as we did in this photo. This hardy plant is great as a ground cover, and can grow in sun or partial shade. The flowers of this one in the photo are edible. Here is a yellow and purple variety, a blue variety, a unique yellow and black variety, and an orange and purple variety.
Violas also known as Johnny Jump Ups
Posted by admin on April 16, 2009
Bacopa can be a terrific, fast growing, trailing annual to grow as a ground cover. This plant is very floriferous, growing about 2 - 3 inches in height. It is important that this plant receive at least 2-3 hours of sun. Ideal is 6 or more hours of sun. This plant acts as a perennial so far in San Francisco, California. We have found it spreads in all directions. These can have small white or purple flowers. As you can see in the photo of this one, the one we grow has white flowers. This ground cover likes to have soil that does not dry out too much in between waterings. It can bloom from the summer to fall, but for us it has bloomed in winter and spring as well. We generally fertilize this plant every month or two. We recommend this book about ground covers. 
Bacopa Trailing Annual