Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Why do we cover our grounds?


Flowering ground covers combine beauty with function, adding color on the landscape
while preventing soil erosion and  weeds.
 This is a nice composition of a patch in a landscape, a gray rock
surrounded by yellow-flowered green creeping plants.

They are actually short stemmed single petalled yellow flowers, and they act as ground covers. Covering  the ground to alleviate soil erosion during heavy rains or during dry season winds can be a difficult choice to do. Most often landscape gardeners just settle with green grass, and there are more choices for that alternative. Choosing flowering ground covers need more careful planning. Efficiency, beauty, conformation
with other plants in the landscape, cost and ease in maintenance can be some basic
things to consider at the time of selection.


This is an undulating area, and definitely the ground needs living covers to protect it from erosion caused by rain or wind. It is the landscape of a small hotel here outside its swimming pool and playground area. This is perennial peanut;  Arachis repens or Arachis glabrata. The first is stoloniferous while the second is rhizomatous in plant habit spread.

Maybe the flowers will look more beautiful with a macro lens, but i don't have that, so hopefully this suffice for my purpose. Thank you.

19 comments:

  1. This is beautiful and yet functional. My neighbour also had the same ground cover but they have disappeared. I guess they have a short lifespan? I'm using Portulaca as ground cover, not to prevent soil erosion but to provide some shade for my favourite earthworms.

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  2. You cited an important planting point. Groundcovers are so important to the environment in preventing erosion, plus the just look so darn great, too.

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  3. Very pretty and practical too. I can see it being a great soil holder and probably a nitrogen fixer too. Love the yellow!

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  4. Gorgeous photos Andrea! I can't wait to show my son the spider ones...he will love them. What kind of camera do you use? Also, how did you get the Blotanical widget on your blog? I'd like to do that, too.

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  5. I like the composition of your first photograph. The gray rock and the yellow ground cover compliment each other well. We put ground cover on a bank along our driveway so that Bob didn't have to mow it. I spend more time weeding that patch of ground than he ever did mowing it! We plan to lay down more mulch come Spring. That should keep the weeds down.

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  6. Hi Andrea; thank you for your comment on L&V. I have not jet registered this blog on Blotanical.
    I like the yellow groundercover you featured. It is such a beautiful golden colour.
    The Mango, I think Is Kait or E2R2. Kensington does not well in our area, as springs are generally to wet. Kensington is still grown a lot here.

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  7. Very beautiful! Love the image of the rock next to all that gorgeous yellow.

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  8. My laziness in blogging is setting in again, but i have to thank all of you first.

    One~~You got me again there, i did not expect the twist! So you mean you are doing vermiculture for your compost?

    Dejemonos~~thanks for your constant visit here. I really appreciate that.


    Gardenwalkgardentalk~~thanks for your kind words again.

    Tina~~yes i think it is nitrogen fixer too, as peanuts are legumes.

    Cindy~~you mean your son likes spiders! I think most boys are like that. I am using Olympus E-620 now, but before i use point and shoot Sony Cybershot. Re:Blotanical i directly wrote on your blogpost. thanks for dropping by, hope you come again.

    Linda~~those groundcovers help in many ways, keeping off the grass is one of them, when they dry they can be mulch too. Thanks for liking my composition, i just tried to capture what maybe is in the mind of the landscape architect when he put the rock there.

    Aaron~~maybe it doesnt like the very hot temps in KL, i noticed you have higher temps than us, logically since you are much nearer the equator.

    Titania~~oh i thought most Australians prefer Kensington. That is always my and an Australian friend's joke "which is better, Kensington or Carabao mango". Of course you like which you are used to. Keith i thought is not common there.

    Kanak~~yest that composition is nice, the landscape architect is very good, the photographer just captured it, haha!

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  9. You made a good point. I wonder why most homes here have grass when they can have Arachis instead.

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  10. Andrea, they are beautiful, and you are absolutely right, they stop erosion and help other parts of the garden "stand out."

    As for my gardener's tool list, I don't every one of those tools; most of them, but it took me 20+ years to obtain them. :)

    Dee

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  11. Beautiful carpet! I think your photographs are perfect Andrea! I love the effect of seeing so many lovely yellow blooms carpeting around the gray rock. This is a win win for the earth and the soul. Lovely!

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  12. Fab groundcover. Nice photos too, I also like the contrast between the two in the first photo.

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  13. HI Andrea..wow..Such beautiful photos..a gorgeous yellow glow..love it! wonderful.

    Thanks for visting me too. yes the driftwood are all naturual..(except for one on a chair the butterfly was carved). the rest are all as they are!

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  14. Unusual flowers...well, to me as I have never seen these before. :)

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  15. I have never saw this ground cover before. I love all of the cheery little yellow blooms.

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  16. Bom~~yes Bom you are right, and Arachis dosn't need mowing monthly.

    Dee~~i really envy your tools, those equate to already a fortune in this part of the earth! haha!

    Carol~~you really made me look like the best photographer, which is incredibe from attaining in this lifetime. thank you very much for your heartwarming words.

    Stone Art~~thank you too for your appreciation. I also thank the landscapist i got a good composition.

    Kiki~~if only you are nearer i will give you lots of driftwoods for painting, and i will just ask one for myself, hihihi!

    EG WOW~~i hope you drop by again sometime. This Arachis is maybe only common in the hotter climes.

    Lona of Roching Hills Garden~~ yes maybe you haven't seen it there cause it is more common in the hotter climes, and more sunny environment. Thanks for coming.

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  17. You don't need a macro lens to enjoy the beauty....

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  18. I am still looking for this plant here. They look very nice beside the big rock, even the colours match each other. KLCC Park also uses this as a ground cover at certain sections.

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Your comments inspire me to post more, and our conversations make life and gardening more meaningful.

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