[RickJ]

I'm doing a flagstone patio with mostly large pieces. I want to grow something between them similar to the image below (which is Thyme), but I'd prefer something that does not get as tall (like the green part in the lower right).

I was thinking of maybe moss... I've heard that pouring yogurt in the cracks (which will average about an inch wide) helps promote moss growth, but does anyone have any ideas for something that I can buy seeds for?

Thanks!

[nauticalstar420]

A nice green moss would be really pretty between the stones! Here is a website with different varieties of moss, with pictures : http://members.tripod.com/~NPK1/moss.html

It also provides growing instructions. I hope this helps! :)

[RickJ]

Thanks, n, but those grow much too tall. I'm looking for something that will, at it's tallest, be about like the green part in the lower right of the above pic.

Haha, at the two plant stores I've been to, they look at me a bit odd when I ask if they have any moss seeds :)

[CaptainRich]

Woolly Thyme grows good in partial sun, like you'll find on near-house patios. And you'll get little pink flowers, too.
For a grass look, try Bermuda grass. This will fill in fairly quickly so a lot isn't needed.
Mondo grass would work, too. Or a combination and see what works best there.
More pictures, please! I've been watching your posts.

[J_9]

Rick, it would be helpful to know what kind of sun you have. Full sun, partial sun, or shade.

[RickJ]

Thanks Captain, I'm reading positive things about the varieties of Thyme. Even though it grows taller than I'd like, I'm reading that it's quite hearty. Sunday and Yesterday it was 95 degrees here to I didn't work on it, but Sat. I compacted it and got a few pieces down.

The lighting is bad and the area is still a mess, but here's a pic of where I'm at for what it's worth. Hehe I just had to get a chair on it and drink a cold one to see what it's like :)

J, my house faces SE, so with that area being in the rear, it's pretty much full sun after about noonish.

[J_9]

Oh, nice work!! I bet that cold one tasted good too. LOL

Now, there are very many varieties of Thyme, Lemon Thyme and Mother of Thyme are a couple of my favorites that do not grow too tall. Another that is more of a ground cover, albeit not thyme, is sedum, there are many varieties. It is similar to a succulent. Alyssum is nice too and there are several colors to choose from (this one is a good one if you want to start from seed).

I will go out to my herb garden and see what I have that is short in nature. I have full sun after noonish too, so I will see what other thyme varieties I have.

[RickJ]

Thanks Janine - and Cap'n. Short, dense and hearty is what I'm looking for. I'll do some Google image searching for these things you two have mentioned.

[J_9]

Creeping Thyme! That's what I was thinking of! It only grows 2 -4 inches and is beautiful

[J_9]

Sedum - mature height 3"

[Curlyben]

Lavender would also be an idea, as when you brushed paseed you'd get a nice smell, bit on the tall side though.

[J_9]

I just had to transplant my lavender as it took over my garden, grew upwards of 2 feet tall!! But a beautiful scent it is.

[RickJ]

Captain; yes, creeping thyme is in the pic I included here - and I read that when it gets stepped on it releases a scent.

... hmmm, that in mind, maybe I should plant hops :)

Janine, that sure is gorgeous, but even 3" is going to be too much for me. I really do love that creeping thyme, but I'm just afraid it would be too much too.

I'd not heard of sedum before. Which kind of sedum is that? I see this sedum sp. Looks short, but of course I have no clue how mature they are

Do you think it would be a good one?

[J_9]

That looks like a beautiful specimen. And yes, they give off the most wonderful scent when stepped on.

Have you tried Groundcover.com ?

[labman]

Moss sounds good, but I have grass growing between the flagstones in my walk. I just mow over it as part of the grass. I use the same weed killer on it as the rest of the lawn. My son the architect had a book talking about using grass between paving. On a visit home he was amazed to find his father had done just that.

There are people out there that could help you with the moss. If a certain other general Q&A site had AMHD's nifty search feature I could quickly find a way to contact them. Retrieving old answers on that site is almost impossible. Try putting moss + vbulletin into a search engine. It should turn up forums where there are posts on moss. Maybe not kill and weed killer so as to find the moss lovers. One of them was very grateful when I suggested using liquid cooking oil to remove paint from rocks without killing the moss. Of all the thousands of answers in many different subjects, that earned me the most positive feedback of any.

[CaptainRich]

Thanks Janine - and Cap'n. Short, dense and hearty is what I'm looking for. I'll do some google image searching for these things you two have mentioned.

The variety I've read about is called Hall's Thyme. Described more like stubble than height.
Tell me more about the yogurt thing... never heard of that. What about ants and flies??
I'm in NE Florida, so I'm not sure about stuff in your area.

[CaptainRich]

This,sedum, is used in rock wall to provide visual appeal. It breaks up the rock façade and only gets as big as the "gap" allows. And it can be trimmed to stay stubble. Very good on walkways because foot-traffic keeps it under control without snipping it occasionally.

[RickJ]

Thanks for adding that. I've added it to my short list. Now I'll look for the best deal on one of these:

Sedum [thanks, J!] (golden acre)
Thyme (serpyllum)
Thyme (Halls... thanks CR!)
Sagina (irish moss)

[RickJ]

I'll add this for the benefit of anyone else checking this out in the future...

Someone else told me about a line of stuff that I'm going to check out at Anderson's today:

STEPABLES.COM - Plants that tolerate foot traffic.

[J_9]

That is such a cool site!!

I had forgotten I had heard about stepables somewhere, sometime.

Sounds great. Keep us posted with pics.