Groundcovers serve any purposes and once established they are easy to maintain. There are also many ground cover that vary in size and that often times have flowers or vibrant colors in the leaves.

Groundcovers are low growing plants between the heights of three to 12 inches high. They can produce berries, flowers, have brightly colored foliage and often have wonderful texture that adds depth to your garden and yard areas.

I personally like herbs as ground covers. I like the look and many have a wonderful aroma that adds to the garden. The many varieties of thyme are among my favorite herb ground covers. 

Gardeners and landowners for the following reasons use ground covers.

• Low maintenance
• No mowing
• They rarely need watering
• They provide texture and color to your yard
• They are great for steep slopes
• They help stabilize soils
• They choke out most weeds
• They will grow under most trees where other plants and grass will not grow
• They work well in hard to mow places such as tree roots that stick up and rocky areas

When choosing ground covers you will need to consider:

• Light requirements (many groundcovers thrive in part to full shade)

• Pest resistance

• Hardiness

• If the ground cover will need much care and if it will become invasive

• Whether the plant is native to the area. Non-native plants often create challenges and need more time spent on them.

I grow ground covers near my creek bank, on a few impossible slopes, and under some of my trees. I am considering adding some in a rock pathway I am constructing in my backyard. Ground covers have become an important part of my yard because they add color, beauty and take less time to maintain

Herbs can be a little harder to find than some plants. Yes, you can find the traditional basil, thyme and oregano but looking for medicinal plants or crafting herbs can be challenging.

You can find herbs for your garden in the form of seeds, rooted plants or cuttings and divisions. Here are a few suggestions for those hard to find plants.

Parsley, basil, oregano and dill seeds can be purchsed at most grocery stores and five-and-dime stores. Being used as much as they are for cooking and seasoning they are usually included in with the vegetable seeds.

Larger stores, garden centers and greenhouses have a more specialized customer base and offer the harder to find herb plants and seeds. Their selection of herbs depends on the demand in the area. You will find some stores will carry the unique seeds in small quantities to attract herbalists and crafters. Its best to shop for your seeds and plants before the selection is gone.

Check the events calendar in your local newspapers for any local botanical garden or master gardeners seminars for a plant sale. Many of these garden groups have spring sales where odd varieties of plants and seeds like bergamot, soapwort or chervil can be found.

My favorite way of expanding my herb collection is by swapping plants or asking my neighbors, friends and family for extra plants. Besides walking away with plants you always get gardening tips and helpful advice. Many old farms have herbs growing in their gardens that most people no longer use or even recognize. These heirloom herbs are often impossible to find in stores and seed catalogs.

Another way to increase your herb collection is to forage for plants. Beebalm, yarrow and many other herbs grow naturally in meadows.

One last way to find seeds is to check out the Internet for seed catalogs and seed companies. Richter’s is my favorite herb catalog. Pine tree seed catalog also has a nice selection of hard to find herb seeds and plants.

Herbs are fun plants to grow with many uses and purposes. As you study these plants you will find more that you want for your garden.

I always have extra plants after starting my seedlings for my garden so I have a plant sale and it’s quite successful.

Actually my plants sales last for several weekends. I plan at least plant sale to be held along with a garage sale and advertise plants, arranged containers, garden art pieces and collectibles.

My garden extras usually include, gourds, squash, tomatoes, peppers, greens, cucumbers and a large variety of extra flowers. I also have perennials and herbs thinned out from the gardens and extra plants form the neighbors. You may even have nighbors who would like to bring some plants to sell.

It helps to have a larger selection of plants.  So if you’re thinking of having a plant sale you may want to start some plants, dig a few up or talk to your neighbors. In the spring many gardeners are weeding out their perennials and it’s hard for them to toss those plants out. They will give them to you or trade you for other plants that you might have too many of.

If you want you can buy in bulk at a home-and-garden store or nursery, but you can also forage for plants and check at greenhouses for castaway plants. Also look for ornamental shrubs and hearty perennials. These plants catch people’s attention.

One of my favorite reasons for having a plant sale is to talk to gardeners and share ideas and gardening tips. I also like making floral pots and containers. If this idea interests you look for pots and containers at thrift stores, five-and-dime stores and auctions.

My container plantings are often in unusual pots. Teapots with missing lids, old car parts, wood boxes, basically anything I find! Make your own containers out of discarded wood, window frames or hollow rotted logs. One of my best selling containers each year is old
dresser drawers filled with plants. They make great mini raised bed gardens and they sell as fast as I fill them. Just make sure that you drill holes in any pot or container you have for proper drainage.

Pricing your plants can be challenging. If I have a lot of one plant the price is very reasonable. Most other plants are a little less than I would pay at a greenhouse or store. I know more about the care and background of my plants so I usually think they are better and healthier plants than you will purchase other places. I also grow many plants that cannot be purchased in local stores.

It’s important to advertise a plant sale. You want to move your plants as quickly as possible so you don’t have to water and store them any longer than necessary. I place an ad in the newspaper and let the local garden clubs know I am having a sale. Also post ads on Craig’s list and online classifieds announcing the sale.

One other helpful item to have is as many flat cardboard boxes as you can to hold plants. The plants will pack up better and travel safer in a cardboard box.

After this years plant sale I plan of taking the money and buying shrubs and a few fruit trees for the yard.