Sweet woodruff loves moist, shady areas, and it’s a fast-growing ground cover plant in … Sweet woodruff is occasionally cultivated in the herb garden for its medicinal and other uses. Sweet woodruff (P) Orchards. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. They can be mulched with an organic mulch to reduce weed growth and improve the soil. “There are many other ground cover plants such as sedum, ajuga, thyme, Irish and Scotch moss, spotted dead nettle, and sweet woodruff,” he says. Sweet woodruff, Galium odoratum, is a hardy perennial species with a wide native range, including the UK. To qualify for this list of the best low-maintenance ground covers , a plant has to meet certain criteria: It must be vigorous enough to fill in an area of the landscape that you need to dress up or … The roots are shallow and more manageable so it's not a bad option. I am placing my chicken run and beehives back there so an invasive vine is fine by me. Saved by Claira Reiid. Lady’s bedstraw is one of over 400 varieties of Galium. Aug 26, 2015 - Sweet woodruff herb was originally grown for the fresh smell the leaves give off and was used as a kind of air freshener. While your plants are still getting established, check them frequently and pull out … I love the look of English ivy, but I did know that it can damage surfaces and choke out other plants. In former times, sweet woodruff herbs were commonly harvested and used for medicinal and culinary purposes. If the weather is dry, water frequently—1 inch a week. Weeds can destroy your garden, leaving it sparse and uneven. It also has some medicinal uses and is edible. Lady’s bedstraw plant (Galium verum) is a perennial herb hardy in zones 3-8. In the spring, I enjoy the sweet, pretty anemones in the grass, instead. Ground Cover Shade Ground Cover Plants Woodland Plants Woodland Garden Outdoor Plants Outdoor Gardens Sweet Woodruff Garden Landscape Design Edible Plants. Use sweet woodruff plants as a ground cover for shady areas in the landscape. Patrol for weeds. Sweet Woodruff will grow to be about 8 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. Fortunately, there are a number of other living ground cover plants to choose from. However, sweet woodruff's use doesn't end when the growing season ends. ... sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) and wild ginger (Asarum europaeum), and are deciduous ground covers that also thrive in … Spray the sweet woodruff and weeds with Roundup, following the directions on the product. Coddle the young. Over time, landscapers naturalized sweet woodruff to USDA zones 4-8, and it thrives in thousands of home landscapes. I've yet to see it grow that aggressively here and in the situation described so that it would choke out other ... it's still aggressive, but that's what you want. ---Chemical Constituents--- The agreeable odour of Sweet Woodruff is due to a crystalline chemical principle called Coumarin, which is used in perfumery, not only on account of its own fragrance, but for its property of fixing other odours. Sweet woodruff doesn’t overpower heuchera, not in my experience at least, and the two are a natural pair together. I live in Indiana zone 5b. Try out sweet woodruff in your organic garden if you are looking for a fragrant vanilla substitute with many potential uses, from teas to potpourri. Cardboard and landscape fabric prevent light from reaching ground cover plants. The dense matting of roots that these hardy little plants put down choke out other growth. This is simply a chart of plants we’ve been successful growing together — or not — over the years. There are lots of other better choices of plants with spreading habits that come back every year to choke out weeds and cut down on the ... foamflowers, hardy ginger and sweet woodruff. So far, I have been fairly successful at keeping the violets out of the lawn we have now. Many of the invasive herbs are quite attractive and useful in the home garden, and as long as they are watched carefully, can coexist peacefully with their neighboring plants. Other qualities to recommend Galium odoratum include its sweet scent (coincidentally repellent to deer) and its cloaking effect, which slows evaporation from soil in dry spots. But when planting ground cover plants, you’ll avoid much of that. However, sweet woodruff's use doesn't end when the growing season ends. Suggested uses. This plant does best in partial shade to shade. Perhaps the most popular variety is Galium odoratum, commonly known as sweet woodruff, and the most annoying variety goes by goosegrass, sticky willy or cleavers (Galium aparine). Violets also grow well underneath maples. If left to their own devices, these herbs quickly will choke out their more docile garden companions and take over. ... and some other leguminous plants. Chemical spay is not really an option since it does not reach the main plants located on the other … We’re working on a shaded moss garden now and I’ve planted some heuchera, tiarella, sweet woodruff, and Japanese painted ferns together with an underlayer of mosses, and the composition is simple delightful. However, this is rarely to the detriment of other plants since these are normally able to grow through it[200]. Its been over 5 years now. Plant in moist, partially shaded ground, 1 foot apart. A very ornamental plant[1] but it spreads rapidly[28] and can be invasive[200]. 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