The Archive — By Form
Ground Covers
Low and spreading, close to the soil, close to what lies beneath it. These plants know the underside of things.
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6 specimens
Full Index A–Z →Black Bryony
Dioscorea communis
The brightest berries in the winter hedge. Every one of them a warning.
Ground Ivy
Glechoma hederacea
Gill-over-the-ground. It arrived before the garden did and will remain after.
Ivy
Hedera helix
It does not kill what it climbs. It simply outlasts it.
Selfheal
Prunella vulgaris
It grows in every lawn. Most people who need it most are walking over it.
Sweet Woodruff
Galium odoratum
It smells of nothing while living. Cut it, dry it, and it becomes the scent of old forests and May wine.
Wild Garlic
Allium ursinum
You smell the wood before you see what is growing in it.