stepables

[declan]

I am renovating an old garden and I am thinking of planting stepables.the area for this planting  is 6 meters by 10 meters. How close do the plants to be for a good coverage,

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Workshop community @declan. Many thanks for your question, I'd be happy to assist with it.

Were you planning on the Step-Ables covering the 60 square meters on there own, or were you going to have any stepping stones included in that area? How long are you prepared to wait for good coverage and are you happy for the Step-Ables to infill the gaps over time? There is a big difference in the quantity needed between having the area filled immediately and those needed to fill it over 3 years. 

A general guide would be to plant 30cm apart and allow them on infill over the next couple of years.

Mitchell

[dirtygardener]

Hi Declan

I would include stepping stones wherever you want to walk regularly as even Stepables suffer from too much foot traffic.

Plants that I have had success with in covering large areas with ground hugging plants include:

Dichondra 'Silver Falls' for shady areas. Grows fairly fast. If you can buy it in a tray you can cut it into strips and get more coverage.

Thyme and oregano for sunny to shady areas. You can buy in punnets and get more plants to cover an area. Can be used in the kitchen as well.

Aptenia cordifolia - Baby Sunrose - grows in sun and shade but will flower more in the sun. Quick coverage.

And of course Erigeron - Seaside daisy. Grows fast, you can pull out pieces and plant for more cover, pretty flowers and you can whipper snip it. The most versatile plant.

I've included a photo to show some of the areas I covered. You can see the Dichondra in the foreground growing around the stepping stones and the Erigeron towards the middle around a stepping stone. All the plants I've suggested are regularly found at Bunnings.

Good luck and enjoy.