Need to cover a challenging bare spot in your garden? Creeping Myrtle may be what your looking for!

What is that cliche about a rose by any other name? I never really understood that. Creeping Myrtle, however, seems to do just well with a variety of names. The plant botanist call vinca minor is known to some as Creeping Myrtle, to others as Evergreen Vinca, and to some as Periwinkle. Some just call it Vinca. Whatever you call it, vinca minor thrives despite its identity problems.

V. minor is a hardy, versatile evergreen ground cover that blooms periodically throughout the year with bright blue flowers. It will grow in full sun or full shade (the variegated variety, v. minor "Sterling Silver" does not do well in full sun). While it certainly will flourish in rich, dark soil, it will also grow in other less desirable soils. It grows quickly and spreads by putting out roots on the end of runners -- like bermuda grass. These runners will work their way around other plants which makes this a great companion plant around shrubs and bushes. It will bunch up and make a carpet of dark green leaves as deep as six inches. When it blooms, the blue flowers are stunning.

Used as a border (see photo below), it has the additional advantage of being able to withstand trimming when it grows out of bounds. Planted along a driveway or walk, Creeping Myrtle will fill the space with a lovely cover that can withstand an occasional misplaced footstep. When it grows out of bounds, the string trimmer can hold back its advance.

Creeping Myrtle also has the advantage of being compatible with some of the available grass killers. Read the labels and make sure. Some can be sprayed on any grass that manages to come up. However, when established, v. minor grows so densely that little can come up among it.

This image shows Creeping Myrtle used as a border along a drive. The space between the drive and the retaining wall was "back filled" at construction time with whatever the builder had left around. Later, it was dug up, and a French drain was put in for drainage. After rains, some of the area stays wet for several days due to seepage from the retaining wall while others dry out almost immediately. Some of the soil is decent top soil, but some of what is on the surface is hard pan clay that has been turned over from construction and installation of the French drain. Creeping Myrtle was transplanted from another area where it grew in abundance under a large oak tree. The steepest area was planted with about 33% coverage. As seen here, 11 months later, that area (foreground) has filled in completely. The rest of the border was planted with transplants about 12 - 18 inches apart. Where the soil was better, the coverage is great. In areas where the clay is more concentrated, growth is slower, but certain. While this area get mostly direct sun, areas in deep shade do just as well.

Creeping Myrtle is a good choice for a fast growing, hardy, versatile ground cover. If you have a difficult area in your landscaping that could stand a splash of year-round green and periodic blazes of blue, consider v. minor.