I followed the directions for spacing the Asiatic Jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum) when I planted them last summer. (see photo) I want the plants to be the ground cover for the front yard, and I know that the jasmine “sleeps a year, creeps a year, and leaps the 3rd year”, so I wasn’t expecting it to completely cover the ground by this summer. However, it is obvious that the plants are too far apart to be an effective ground cover. Early this spring, I added about 10 more plants, but they were the 1 gallon size. Yesterday I added 20 more plants that were the 4 gallon size. Is this enough? I don’t know, but now some are sleeping and some are creeping. If they all start leaping, I may need help getting out of the front door.
Tag Archives: ground cover
Why Jasmine?
When we moved into the house the front yard consisted of weeds and bare spots. The fastest fix would have been to lay sod. I chose not to because I want to have a ground cover that does not require weekly watering once established. I’m hoping the Asiatic jasmine will solve the problem. I think it is a good plan but I won’t know for months, possibly a year if this is going to work.
Enduring Ferns
Fern fiddlehead
My backyard ferns continue to thrive without any moisture except from sparse winter rain and despite freezing temperatures. As a frond (leaf) grows, it unrolls from the top, resembling a fiddlehead. These ferns, stimulated by recent warm temperatures and rain, are developing into a ground cover in a corner of the garden. Will the predicted freeze tonight damage them? We’ll see tomorrow. I’m not covering them to protect them, but expect to see them as green and healthy in the morning as they were this afternoon.
