Master Gardener^sm Column for the Week of June 13, 2005
Charlie Spencer
Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^sm Volunteer

There are a lot of low-growing plants that will make suitable edging along the borders of your flower beds. Following are a few that work very well and that will give you a change from the same old annuals.

Candytuff is an evergreen perennial that has small leaves and white flowers in early spring. It spreads slowly and so far has not had any problems with diseases and insects.

There are a lot of “prostrate” types of cypress and other evergreens that are very useful as they add green to the garden when very little else has any color. Try Pacific blue cypress or Blue Rug. Rug. Both stay very low, spread slowly, and are very easy—again, no problems after the plants get settled in. They will need fertilizer for acid-loving plants.

Creeping phlox is widely used even in much colder areas than ours. You can have white, lavender, or pink versions and they are easy to find for sale. It is a low-growing plant and spreads well giving more plants to add in other spots. This can take full sun and retains some green almost all winter long. It could be used as you might have used verbena.

There is a variety of veronica that is a low, spreading type with upright flower stems that is perfect along the edge of the flower bed. You just have to be sure you are getting the low variety and not the tall. If you end up with a tall variety, just move it to the back of the bed. It will repay you with a very long blooming season. Colors are white, pink, and purple/lavender. This plant also does well in spots that get only a half day of sun rather than full sun.

Liriope is another plant that works well for edging. It is a clumping type of plant found with a solid green leaf or with a variegated white and green leaf. It is also available as a variety called “Aztec grass” which is a soft gray-green with a cream edging on each leaf. The regular type has a purple flower in late summer/early fall and the Aztec grass blooms in white. You can use this in full afternoon sun as well as part shade and it hasn’t experienced problems with disease or insect damage. The plants get a bit bedraggled looking by the winter season and have to be cut back allowing the new growth to come out. The best way to do this is by using regular household scissors.

You are probably familiar with the yellow coreopsis that is used extensively for full-sun plantings but it is too tall to be used as edging. Did you know there is another variety of coreopsis that is very short, has pale yellow flowers (Moonbeam) or pink (Rosea) and gets only about 8-10 inches tall with lace-like foliage. It spreads quickly after the first year and can be divided very easily. The flowers are tiny, but you have so many of them it appears to be a whole patch of color. These are perennial but also herbaceous, which means they disappear over the winter season. You need to cut back the dried growth in late summer or fall. You might even see the new shoots coming up by then. It will flourish in full sun or in part shade. Again, no health problems for these guys!

Here’s a plant with an ugly name – scabiosa. Its common name is pin cushion flower, and once you see its seed head you will understand why it has this name. It grows about 10-12 inches tall, has blue or pink blossoms, and the flowering season begins in late spring and lasts a very long time. Bees and butterflies like it as much as you will.

These plants are easy to grow even if you are a beginner. You have to give any plant a good start with good soil, a well-dug hole, and frequent watering in the beginning. As they are perennials, you don’t have to replace them every year; instead they will just keep getting bigger and better.

Use a variety of edging plants rather than just one. This will improve the look and design of the garden. Mix the textures of foliage and the overall shapes of the plants as well as the color. Repeat the plants along the edging by using them a second and third time further along. Choose some evergreen types for winter interest. If you have questions, you know who to call – the Extension Master Gardeners^sm!

Send your gardening questions or comments to: Brunswick County Master Gardener Column, P.O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422, or call (910) 253-2610. Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting information or a reply. Answers may be printed in this column.

For further information or assistance, please e-mail:
Charlie Spencer, Brunswick County Extension Master Gardener^smVolunteer

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Date Created 6/6/2005