Silver carpet (Dymondia margaretae) revisited
My May 2011 post on silver carpet (Dymondia margaretae) has been getting a lot of hits lately. I don’t know why this sudden spike of interest in this South African groundcover, but I thought this would be a good time for an update.
This is what the planting strip between our front lawn and the flagstone walkway looked like in May 2011:
May 28, 2011 before planting silver carpet
May 28, 2011 just after planting silver carpet
Fast forward 15 months to August 24, 2012. The difference is astounding.
I originally planted 12 x 2-inch plugs and was worried at the time that I should have gotten more. As you can see, my worries were unfounded.
Silver carpet only grows an inch or two tall but it quickly forms a dense mat, especially if it gets regular water. (Ours receives overspray from the lawn sprinklers.)
The flowers are small and would be quite inconspicuous if it weren’t for their bright yellow color.
In my original post, I complained about the lack of availability of this tough-as-nails groundcover. I’m happy to report that this summer I’ve seen it sold by the flat at local nurseries. I can’t think of a better choice for areas where you want complete weed suppression from a maintenance-free groundcover.
Looks great, but I'm kind of wondering... wouldn't it make more sense to just have that as a strip of gravel or something and put all of the pots there? They do seem to be taking up quite a bit of walkway space.
ReplyDeleteI had considered filling this strip with gravel but I wanted a softer transition. At the same time, the groundcover in this strip had to be tough enough to handle the lawnmower being rolled over it as well as light foot traffic. Dymondia margaretae has passed all these challenges with flying colors.
DeleteAs for the pots, the walkway is wide enough for a row of pots on either side. Plus, I look at these pots as temporary installations :-).
I have seen and touched it in person. If I was a bit smaller I would have rolled on it. It looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way this looks Gerhard! Super idea and it filled in nicely! Super photos!
ReplyDeleteAhem... I agree with Alan that those pots DO take up enough walkway space that there is NOT room for more pots on the other side! Just the resident voice of reason piping up, LOL! ;)
ReplyDeleteThe groundcover does look great, though. :)
I have zone climate envy....I find it all so interesting!
ReplyDeleteGreat look and like you I planted same grass and I had counts it would ever spread. It took a full 3 months and it is amazing and great between pavers. I water once a week in LA and that is all.
ReplyDeleteI have more bare spots that I'll fill with it. It's still going strong in the original location as of May 2014.
DeleteI live in Sacramento. I want to use dymondia to create a lawn in my backyard. Is it hardy enough for foot traffic or kicking a soccer ball around with my little nephew?
ReplyDeleteHi, Gerhard! I just read your blog on dymondia from May, 2011 to August, 2012. I was wandering if you can help me with my dymondia installation. I had my gardener plant dymondia plugs 12" apart in July, 2016. I watered it everyday, as instructed. Within a month, about 10 kinds of weeds basically filled in the gaps between the dymondia plugs. My gardener has been pulling weeds non-stop ever since. I tried spraying round-up directly on the weeds, pulling the weeds, etc. But nothing seems to work. Do you have any advice?
ReplyDelete