Topic: Wanted: ideas plants for between dry laid slabs

[ipt8]

Hi
I have been on the freecycle site and aquired slabs and made a patio and pathway. I have laid them on sharp sand and butted them close together, that is with no cement joints.

Ideas please for seeds to use to grow in the cracks between the slabs.

Oh and when is the best time to sow them.

Look forward to your ideas and maybe photos of suitable plants to aim for.

Regards
Ivor

[supersprout]

one of my chums mixes sand and thyme seed and brushes it between the cracks for a lovely effect :)
she did it in about March I think ::)

[Barnowl]

Would camomile work? We're thinking of planting some round the garden paving...

[saddad]

Camomile would work if the gaps were big enough but it really doesn't like the wear and tear... I would go with the thyme recommendation... we get allsorts in our old patio even Nicotiana... not that we plant !
 ;D

[Georgie]

How about Phacelia campanularia which copes with sun or part shade and attracts lots of beneficial insects?  Sow in Spring.  Lots of pictures here:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=Phacelia+campanularia+&ie=ISO-8859-1&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

G x

[STHLMgreen]

My first thought was thyme as well. Hardy stuff.

[caroline7758]

Those look lovely, Georgie- might try some of those myself. Are they an alpine or will they grow in ordinary soil?

[Georgie]

Hi Caroline.  They were billed as a 'cottage garden plant' in the Suffolk Herbs catalogue but at between 4" and 14" tall I guess they might be an alpine.  According to the seed packet - in the end I purchased them from 'Botanical Interests' - they are tough little plants which grow in the most inhospitable conditions.   They were trialled by members of Garden Organic last year - an experiment to see which plants attracted the most beneficial insects - and they concluded that Phacelia:

- was easy to grow
- flowered from May to late August (and in some cases up to November)
- consistently attracted insects
- could be used as a green manure

So as I grow all my edibles in pots on a slabbed patio like IPT8's I thought I'd give them a go next year.   ;D

G x

[ipt8]

Thanks, I do have some Thyme seed left over so thats a definite, and the Phacelia looks good as well. As its second name is Campanularia I guess in English its Campanula? If so I reckon not as hard wearing as the Thyme but if I place it judiciously then it will be a good one.

Any other ideas welcome. I dont like mono culture and a wider selection will give a better chance of one plant liking the conditions.
IPT8
Ivor

[supersprout]

what's that mint with the tiny leaves and creeping habit? ::)
Later - got it! Pennyroyal :D

[beejay]

What about Erigeron karvinskianus with pretty little daisy like flowers over a long period.

[Ceratonia]

I grow Phacelia campanularia every year as an edging to veg beds  - very easy, with pretty flowers and they certainly attract the insects. Can't imagine they'd be any good in a situation where they'd get walked on, though. The campanularia is because the flowers are bell shaped, rather than because it is related to campanula, I think.

We have Erigeron karvinskianus growing through cracks in our patio - very robust plant and as beejay says, it flowers for a long period and generally looks after itself and will self-seed only into sensible places  :)  Thyme, ornamental grasses and pennyroyal also do well and don't mind a bit of being walked on, although pennyroyal is a bit less tolerant of very dry places. We have some of the creeping sedums and some sempervivums growing between slabs, but not in places where they can be trod on. I also plant mesembryanthemums into the cracks, but they're not hardy and again don't like being squashed.

[fluffygrue]

If violets like your garden, I'd definitely recommend them. Once they get going they'll self-seed around, and we find them happily growing in cracks between paving. It's the dog violet I think we have, anyway. (If you want a few to get started with, I'll happily pop a few in the post. ;)

[supersprout]

and viola which will also self-seed :)

[ipt8]

Ah yes
I grew some Erigeron karvinskianus from eed last year, I really like it, and violas is a brilliant idea. We do have some wild violets as we are on the edge of woodland so that may also be a good one.

[shirlthegirl43]

I have alpine strawberries planted around my patio and they manage to do very well in the gaps between paving slabs as well.  They look pretty, survive being trodden on occassionally and give lovely fruit to top it all off!