I have had a small amount of a tiny groundcover called Hypericum empetrifolium nanum by Skagit Gardens, I still have the tag, purchased from a Greater Victoria area nursery in 2006, and now have Hypericum oliganthum by Groundeffects Wholesale Nursery Ltd., just purchased here in January 2010 from the same retail nursery outlet -- I am assuming they are the same plant, a Dwarf Hypericum. Skagit Gardens online website does not show it this year, but Groundeffects does, called H. empetrifolium ssp. oliganthum, Dwarf Hypericum . I was delighted to see it available again, as I really love this tiny groundcover which produces a tight, dense springy cover, not invasive [not as spreading as I might like!]... I don't find it totally evergreen, it turned a bit brown and dormant from the December cold spells but now is showing more green, but it bounces back pretty early and when in bloom later in the summer is a tuft of dewy ultra-tiny mid-green leaves about 1-2 inches high, with truly tiny yellow star-like blooms... the moisture sits in droplets on it in a most enchanting way... I recommend it hightly for inter-paver planting, rock gardens, patio gardens, dish gardens, edgings, etc., anywhere where a tiny growth is desired.
Hi, Janet! I'm interested, and would also like to try the Scleranthus uniflorus you mentioned last year, but can't get pictures to come up on search. Do need some small groundcovers for step-stone paths, but would like to see them 1st!
The New Zealand moss or Scleranthus uniflorus did not survive the winter or even the late summer and autumn... it just gradually declined to nothing... finally dying down in the cold weather in December here. Not sure what it requires... It certainly was a lovely compact soft very low groundcover, however, a garden designer's dream... the dwarf hypericum gets a bit brown in cold weather in places, but the whole patch comes back lush and springy [meaning the little plant although very low has a firmness to it] as the Spring gets going.
To 2annbrow: I meant to say above as well that the elfin thyme sold everywhere, here, anyway, is about the best inter-paver groundcover being so very low, really flat, and a deep rich green. At the moment it is evergreen in the true sense with no brown, and looks healthy except where my cat has sprayed it [it is very sensitive to urine and turns black almost immediately]. Also Corsican Mint [I'd have to Google it to find the botanical name] is very flat, is doing well and is a slightly brighter green in spring and summer but does die down a bit in winter although it does not turn brown, just thins out a bit. Those three [dwarf Hypericum, Elfin Thyme, Corsican Mint] would be perfect.
Hi, Janet! Yes, I have the Corsican mint and elfin thyme, also a lovely low-growing version of wooly thyme which has a sivery-blue tinge to it. Unfortunaely, our new Chihuahua-minpin mix Betsy [Elizabeth Regina, Betsy for short] seems to find herbal groundcovers the perfect potty spot! I try to flush with water the spot she uses, right away, and that does seem to help keep it from dieback. (In our area we have many hawks, crows, etc., that might find her just snack-size [she's only 4 lbs.], so I'm usually out with her and can see where she goes.) Do you know any websites that I don't which may show pictures of the New Zealand moss, and the dwarf Hypericum? Still can't find them!
No, I can't, 2annbrow, and I can post here a photo of my dwarf hypericum growing, but right now it might not look at it's best, being winter -- a little later in the day I will post a photo of it, however, along with a few still in 4" pots which I have yet to plant. This photo won't show the fullness it develops by mid-summer, nor the tiny yellow blooms, plus a kind of springy quality to it, not wiry exactly -- although low, it bounces back from being touched.
Here are my photos today of the Dwarf Hypericum groundcover. Please note that the photo of the planted garden on the patio shows a recent new transplant from the 4" pots next to the more realistically winter-browned Hypericum, the same plant which has been there for 2-3 years and comes back beautifully every Spring [I had cut out a piece to give to our landscaper]. The colour mid-summer takes on a lighter greyish-green tone, almost, some sort of effect of the light glancing off the leaves. Now the greenness looks more mid-green, for some reason.
Re-did the exposure on the Close Up to get a more real "green" for today's light conditions -- it's a fairly mid to light green, really, not deep.