We don't normally think of something as beautiful (and delicious) as strawberries as a ground cover, but that's exactly what Debbie and Oliver did. Instead of opting for a native grass or some decorative pebbles, they did their research and strawberries just made sense:
Look! California Strawberries as Ground Cover
Turns out that the California Strawberry (or Fragaria Californica) does great in shady areas or sunny areas with moderate water. They produce small fragrant berries that are edible and can withstand cold temperatures down to 15 degrees. Debbie and Olivier live by the beach so the climate is temperate, and they planted these on the north side of the property where they get the most shade, and they appear to be thriving. We just love that come summer, they'll have an edible garden.
See Debbie and Oliver's full house tour here.
Comments (7)
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I love strawberries - my parents have a patch - but ground cover or not, still looks like a weed!
view AT4H's profile
Beware of the strawberries! In my last garden I had them on the lawn (not intentionally, they just grew and grew) and they tend to take over your whole garden so be careful. They might look nice now, but when they start growing all over your other lovely plants and killing them in the process you will wish you never had them.
So I do not recommend them as ground cover.
view Nina79's profile
Aren't good groundcovers supposed to be somewhat invasive - so as to better to cover the ground?
As we all return to feeding ourselves using the land around our homes (rather than wasting water and resources on lawns and purely ornamental vegetation) this type of plant will become the norm rather than the exception.
Thanks for the post, Laure!
view bepsf's profile
Invasive wild strawberries have NO taste, it is not going to be a food source or anything but a weed.
You do not want to eat tasteless small berries that even wild birds will NOT eat. These are, far as I know, the only red berry that birds refuse to eat.
I think these would be great for a green roof, where you want easy to grow, tough as nails green stuff and have no interest in harvesting anything from it.
These wild strawberries are great for that, if nothing else.
view witchdoc's profile
There are many different kinds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria
I think it's the Beach Strawberry that goes nuts (around here, which is near the beach):
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Fragaria chiloensis
You can see those runners in the lower right corner. The ones in this area do not have fruit that I have seen.
view TRUE BLUE's profile
oops, lower LEFT corner.
view TRUE BLUE's profile
Hey guys, from what Debbie and Olivier report, these do bear fruit and they're small sweet berries! I'll doublecheck the kind of strawberry ...
view laure's profile