Blue Flowers and a Ground Cover
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Lori Spencer
Posted on: November 27, 2005

I have a property near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada and am interested > in planting ground cover over the septic system instead of grass. I want this to be no more than 4-5 inches (10 to 12 cm) tall and in colour if possible. I noticed when passing through New Brunswick, Canada, that some of the yards were blue with flowers, this would be nice. What are the plants and can I accomplish this in the Parry Sound region?

New Brunswick has a slightly more benign climate for plants than Parry Sound, even though humans would prefer the drier conditions of your home area. Since you did not say when you saw the blue flowers, I can only guess that it was in spring and that they may have been blue scillas, one of the spring bulbs that love moist soil and spread rapidly in it. They survive and spread slowly in my Zone 4 sandy-soil garden and would probably be OK in Parry Sound as well. Plant the bulbs in fall, fairly densely. Choose Purple Carpet Lemon thyme as your ground cover and when it blooms in summer you will have a second flower show of bright purple flowers.

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