Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Ground cover with benefits...

When we moved into this house, I made the decision that I concentrate my gardening efforts on plants that produce food for our family. We've learned a lot along the way & had our most productive season ever last year. One idea that has surprised me was the thought that I could plant strawberries as ground cover. Why not? They have nice broad leaves that shade the soil, they spread quickly, and they are beautiful even in the winter in our zone. Check out the bright red leaves they wear during their off season:

These were planted two years ago and I continue to take starts of them to fill other beds around our property. Here's an area that's just getting started:

This is in our front yard, just off the sidewalk that leads to our front door. Other areas of this bed are so thick with strawberries that I harvested 3 gallon bags full of berries this year! I'm so pleased with the results, I've ordered 50 more strawberry plants for a brand new bed we built this winter. Try it...I bet you'll be sold on the idea, too!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I never even thought about using strawberries for ground cover. I might just have to give that a shot!

HermitJim said...

Sounds like a win-win situation to me! I never thought of it before, either!

Thanks for the idea!