The Perfect Ground Cover for Hot, Dry Conditions

Gardeners are always searching for the perfect ground cover. We want something that will block weeds that will have a long bloom period that will have pretty foliage, and will grow quickly. Something that will tolerate  hot, dry conditions is a plus because we don't want to be out there watering all of the time. Other pluses are flowers with a pleasant scent and a plant you can walk on. On a personal note, I must have something that bulbs can push through but that weeds can't penetrate.

We gardeners want a lot in a ground cover, don't we?

I don't claim to have found the perfect ground cover, but I believe the one that I have discovered is so close to perfect, that if someone else knows of anything better I sure want to know what it is.

So, without further ado, let me introduce to you, Veronica, Georgia Blue, aka, Veronica peduncularis, Oxford Blue. I don't know where the "Oxford" part comes from. Maybe from Oxford, Mississippi since this plant clearly likes the conditions of the hot South. In any event, don't think of the spike type of Veronica when considering this plant. Georgia blue is a prostate, mat forming Veronica that will spread around the base of your shrubs and other desirable plants and do a lovely job of blocking out weeds. It spreads by underground runners, but it is not invasive. It allowed my daffodils to push their way through with no problem this spring; however, last summer few weed seeds could penetrate the thick barrier it had made.

Best of all, here in Mobile, Alabama, Georgia Blue puts off charming little blue flowers nine months of the year. In the warmer winters, of which this last one was not, you could probably count on getting flowers ten or eleven months of the year. I do recall the prior winter we had flowers even when the weather hit in the low 30's. When the weather got quite cold the foliage turned bronze colored - another plus!