Ajuga Chocolate Chip Update - 9 Months Later - August 2023

Last Fall, I planted a number of small containers of Ajuga Chocolate Chips that I brought home from Lowes and their year-end sale.   I put some in the back and stuck three of these groundcover plants into the little island bed that is tucked in between our driveway and front walk/stairs/porch.  I don't seem to have posted any photos in the garden diary, but I ended up taking one.  But, in the photo I have from late October 2022 (below), there's only two Ajuga Chocolate Chip in this bed.  You can see that they were pretty small and green.

That was very late October.  So, what do this groundcover look like nine-months later?  See below for an update.  And.....surprise!  There's three of them.  (I guess that I ended up planting a third here???)

They've spread out and filled in some of that space.  They're doing exactly what they're supposed to do:  fill out that bed, cover up the mulch to make more of a 'living mulch', reduce the number of footcandles so they can outcompete weeds.    I will add some other ground cover to this bed and in a year or so, it won't require *any* wood mulch at all. 

I ended up planting quite a bit more Ajuga Chocolate Chip this year and I'll likely continue to add plugs to the garden as I've been really happy with it in this spot.  After all, #17 on my list was to keep going with groundcover.  

Last year, I added more than 20 ground-cover plants.  How am I doing this year?

1 Epimedium warleyense - Orange Queen Epimedium

3 Spine Tingler Epimedium

14 Ajuga Chocolate Chip

6 Ajuga Bronze Beauty

3 Carex Montana

3 divided and transplanted Angelina Sedum 

30 groundcover (or ground cover) plants added. I'd say that's pretty good. I know that I'll pick up more as the temperature lowers and things go on sale.  Where do I need them?  In the front porch bed.  And all along the borders of the backyard.   I can see the Angelina Sedum being used in a few more places, too including IB2DWS.