Perfect Perennial Pairings for Living Mulch in the Sun

The practice of adding wood mulch to our garden beds is deeply integrated into the culture of gardening and landscaping, but what if there was an easier, more ecologically beneficial way to keep weeds out and moisture in? We encourage you to give living mulch a try! By adding low growing ground covers to your garden beds as a wood mulch replacement, you will reap numerous benefits such as weed suppression, soil enrichment, moisture retention, and the expansion of wildlife habitat. Save your back and your wallet too by making the swap! Here are three prefect perennial pairings that you can incorporate into your sunny garden beds or under trees as a wood mulch replacement.

Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum)

Attributes

An herbaceous perennial groundcover with small, aromatic green leaves adorned with abundant bright summer flowers and bronze fall color.

Growth Habit

Low, spreading

Soil Type

Loam, Sand

Bloom Color

Pink/Purple

Size

2-6” H x 6-18” W

Bloom Time

Early summer to mid-summer

Use

Forms a low, dense mat tolerant of light foot traffic. Use between pavers, in rock gardens, above retaining walls, along walkways, or mass together in sunny borders

Maintenance

Cut or shear back by half in early spring to make way for new growth and control woody stems

Benefits

Deer and rabbit resistant, salt and drought tolerant, attracts pollinators, fragrant, repels mosquitos

Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)

Attributes

A low-growing MN native herbaceous perennial with creeping evergreen, needle-like foliage that forms a dense mat of abundant five-petaled spring flowers