What low maintenance ground cover for a garden bed?

[PennyH]

Bayside Melbourne here

I am looking for something low maintenance for this 10m x 50cm garden bed,

Ideally it would have

- not need a lot of trimming or pruning

- Would cover the whole bed so dirt doesn't blow about (its a bit of a wind tunnel)

- Not need a lot of watering

Bascailly something set and forget pretty much happy to water in summer as needed but mostly as this is the dead side of the house just something that will fill in the space

I have dug up all the plants so it is ready to go.

Some little flowers like a pig face or something to give some colour would be great.

There is trellis at the back which I was thinking maybe jasmine at the back something else in front but not sure the conditions are right

I have included a floorpan to show the orientation garden bed marked with a black rectangle

[JacobZ]

Hi @PennyH,

Thank you for your question about your narrow garden bed at your bayside Melbourne home.

For a hardy, low-maintenance solution, a mix of creeping boobialla and pigface will quickly carpet the bed, stop dust from blowing in the wind, and add vibrant seasonal colour with minimal water or care. 

Behind them, star jasmine on the trellis provides glossy evergreen foliage and fragrant flowers, while needing only light pruning to stay neat. Another option would be pandoreas jasminoides which is an Australian native climber that handles wind well, is drought-tolerant once established, and produces large, showy pink trumpet flowers with a deep crimson throat. Like Star Jasmine, it’s evergreen, relatively low-care, and will happily cover a trellis, but it brings a stronger splash of colour instead of fragrance.

To add structure, scatter in clumps of lomandra for year-round greenery, and intersperse with flowering natives like scaevola or crysocephalum for splashes of purple and yellow that also attract pollinators. 

Together, these plants create a dense, attractive cover that thrives in sandy, windy conditions and offers colour, fragrance, and texture with very little upkeep.

Let me know what you think and if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

[PennyH]

Thank you so much for this comprehensive response

I like the look of the pig face and creeping booballia but they both say full sun this spot is at best part sun would they still be ok?

How far apart should they initially be planted?

[JacobZ]

Hi @PennyH,

Both pigface and creeping boobialla are at their best in full sun, but they are generally fairly forgiving and will cope with part sun as long as the spot gets a few hours of direct light, ideally in the middle of the day. If the bed gets at least 3–4 hours of sun, both should still do well as groundcovers.

For spacing, creeping boobialla is best planted about 50–60 cm apart in staggered rows so it knits into a dense carpet without leaving gaps. Pigface spreads quickly too, so space them about 60–80 cm apart along the front edge. This way, the two will mingle together, covering the bed efficiently and giving you both the dense greenery of Myoporum and the seasonal colour of pigface.

Let me know what you think and if you've got further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

[PennyH]

This sounds great so to make sure I have it right

Plant the pig face along the front about 60-80 cm apart then behind that staggered the creeping boobialla about 60cm apart.

Could I put some jasmine at the back or leave it?

[JacobZ]

Hi @PennyH,

With the bed being so narrow, space is fairly tight, but planting pigface along the very front edge at 60–80 cm apart should work well, as it will spill slightly forward and soften the line. Just behind it, a single staggered row of creeping boobialla at about 60 cm apart will fill in the rest of the strip and give you a dense, low-maintenance carpet. This will fully cover the 50 cm depth without overcrowding, and both plants will knit together well.

Adding jasmine at the back in such a narrow bed can be done, but it will make the space busier. The roots may compete with the groundcovers, and maintenance will be a little trickier. If your main goal is a “set and forget” strip that just looks neat and green with splashes of colour, it may be better to skip jasmine in this particular bed. However, if you’d love the fragrance and don’t mind tying it in and giving it a light prune once a year, you could still place jasmine at the back.

I'm excited to see how you go and see things when they are established.

Jacob

[PennyH]

Thanks so much for your amazing advice I will skip the jasmine I think cost and space is a factor.