New yard and looking for a lawn alternative. This mix of ground covers is pretty dense, but I would like to seed something to mix with it and make it more full. Any recommendations? Clover?
Edit: Looks like ponyfoot in first pic, not the last.
yowhatitlooklike
Not an expert, but the round kinda lily-pad looking leaves look like violet to me.
eta: the heart-shaped guys, i mean. I got a lot of it in my yard, they take over
DuragJeezy
Gonna guess you’re in Georgia. You likely have violets, ginger, and a few others. I’d keep & sow the violets for sure. If you’ll be walking on it consider interplanting Pennsylvania sedge for a native or tall fescue for really high traffic like daily use for dogs and kids. If you want something kinda fun you could sow native alpine strawberry seeds. I think the white flowering one is native and the yellow one is not. You can still mow this mix anywhere from 3-5” btw. http://usinggeorgianativeplants.blogspot.com/2012/02/native-gingers-deceptive-common-name.html?m=1
Oh & rake those leaves back just before you sow. You can shred them back into mulch & cover again with a lawn mower or actually chipper shredder. I’d just put mine into a border or island garden or use them for donut mulching the trees in the back. Leave them because fireflies and other bugs need the habitat.
psycho_chick
Those are pennyworts, I have them all over my yard too! They smell good and I use them for my aquariums. In my home country we even juice them for inflammation 🤗
AmberWavesofFlame
You have a couple of similar-looking species mixed together which is why you’re getting answers all over the place. I have a very similar thing going on. The good news is that there are definitely some violets in there, they are the ones that look more like a heart with a point at the end, as opposed to the very rounded ones which are not. If you hook a finger underneath and it’s a long connected string it’s probably pony foot. Those are fine, too, the only really bad outcome would be lesser celadine or creeping charlie, and I don’t *think* I see either of those. Obviously once it blooms it’ll all be a lot easier to sort out. You might get a fall show but you’ll definitely know by spring what’s what.
You aren’t going to get seed to take well in July, so let’s revisit when it gets a little cooler. But yeah, for soft, short, and resilient ground cover: white clover stays short and is really accessible, yellow woodsorrel is a heat resistant native that goes very well with clover and spreads so well, and you could also look at cinquefoil, mock strawberry, blue star creeper, various things like that. My weirdest favorite is a wild speedwell that blooms while it’s still winter.
7 Comments
Could be celandine
[Asiatic Pennywort](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=cc1c4a1f7d117633&udm=2&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZ1Y6MJ25_tmWITc7uy4KIeioyp3OhN11EY0n5qfq-zENwnGygERInUV_0g0XKeHGJRAdFPaX_SSIJt7xYUfpm-75lA8Uar42yNWdqGuJlUAnl4VoyIc9TvIZo00AnzLuo73CKalUXQ8cWgmottQs4BXh0bU9aRqLPpzWejdabGFvk-MuP83mUuK41Ro6dMLX7Czip9A&q=Asiatic+Pennywort&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjT6NzE-7SOAxVLmokEHQouGCUQtKgLegQIDxAB&biw=1371&bih=746&dpr=1.4)
Ponyfoot
Edit: Looks like ponyfoot in first pic, not the last.
Not an expert, but the round kinda lily-pad looking leaves look like violet to me.
eta: the heart-shaped guys, i mean. I got a lot of it in my yard, they take over
Gonna guess you’re in Georgia. You likely have violets, ginger, and a few others. I’d keep & sow the violets for sure. If you’ll be walking on it consider interplanting Pennsylvania sedge for a native or tall fescue for really high traffic like daily use for dogs and kids. If you want something kinda fun you could sow native alpine strawberry seeds. I think the white flowering one is native and the yellow one is not. You can still mow this mix anywhere from 3-5” btw. http://usinggeorgianativeplants.blogspot.com/2012/02/native-gingers-deceptive-common-name.html?m=1
Oh & rake those leaves back just before you sow. You can shred them back into mulch & cover again with a lawn mower or actually chipper shredder. I’d just put mine into a border or island garden or use them for donut mulching the trees in the back. Leave them because fireflies and other bugs need the habitat.
Those are pennyworts, I have them all over my yard too! They smell good and I use them for my aquariums. In my home country we even juice them for inflammation 🤗
You have a couple of similar-looking species mixed together which is why you’re getting answers all over the place. I have a very similar thing going on. The good news is that there are definitely some violets in there, they are the ones that look more like a heart with a point at the end, as opposed to the very rounded ones which are not. If you hook a finger underneath and it’s a long connected string it’s probably pony foot. Those are fine, too, the only really bad outcome would be lesser celadine or creeping charlie, and I don’t *think* I see either of those. Obviously once it blooms it’ll all be a lot easier to sort out. You might get a fall show but you’ll definitely know by spring what’s what.
You aren’t going to get seed to take well in July, so let’s revisit when it gets a little cooler. But yeah, for soft, short, and resilient ground cover: white clover stays short and is really accessible, yellow woodsorrel is a heat resistant native that goes very well with clover and spreads so well, and you could also look at cinquefoil, mock strawberry, blue star creeper, various things like that. My weirdest favorite is a wild speedwell that blooms while it’s still winter.