Island Bed Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' Growth - Late July 2024
The groundcover that I've fallen for in the past few seasons has been Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip'. I've planted it in a few spots in the front and back. But, the first planting was in Fall 2022 when I put a couple of plugs from the big box Fall closeout sale in the island bed between our front stairs and driveway. This post from August of 2023 shows both the as-planted size and what they looked like nine months later - in August of 2023 . I had three plants then. Last Fall, I added a few more - the ones along the driveway seem to have made it, but the two tucked in behind the Karl Foerster grasses died back this Spring . To date, I haven't divided these, but rather have just let them spread out and naturalize the area. Here, below is what it looks like today - with the carpet bugleweed growing out into a dense weed-suppressing mat. I've started to call this "living mulch". Here are a few close-up photos below showing the groundcover and the gro