WiseAcre Gardens

north of the adirondacks – wildflowers & perennials that survive winters colder than my wife's feet

Blog Home - For more Wildflower, Perennial and Looney Tunes images visit my web site - Wiseacre Gardens

Gill Over the Ground – Glechoma hedercea

Posted by WiseAcre on Apr 27th, 2008

2008

Apr 27

Join Green Thumb Sundays

Gill Over the ground

Ground Ivy – Cat’s Foot Creeping Charlie

This little mat forming plant is a ?

A – Weed
B - Salad Green
C- Medicinal Plant
D- Alien Wildflower
E- Garden Perennial

This is a very aggressive plant spreading by runners. It seems that no area is safe from invasion and will Shock and Awe a lawn and it’s owner by it’s rapid deployment. Brought over to the new world by early settlers Gill Over the Ground has made itself at home over much of the country.

It has a long history of being used as a medicinal plant. It is supposed to be a great spring tonic but I’ve never had the need to try. Spring is enough of a tonic for me. It is also said to have a light taste very agreeable in Salads. High in vitamin C, I guess it wouldn’t hurt me to try some.

For someone with fading eyes the flowers are only tiny specks of purple easily missed from the dizzy height of nearly 6 feet. Up close and personal the blooms are quite pretty. While I often consider this a weed I also like it as a ground cover and let it have some space in my gardens. It does very well in sunny dry places that give other plants a hard time. The clump shown in the photo is growing in not much more than rocky sand along the foundation of the house.

Ground Ivy and Violets

Ground Ivy and some small Violets. The Violet flowers are not quite an inch wide. That gives you some idea how small the Ground Ivy flowers are.

Ground Ivy

So the answer to the question is – all of the above and more.

7 Responses

deb Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Those flowers are as tiny as the ones I posted that I can’t identify. You might know what they are.
If you try these in a salad, you’re a much braver person than I am lol!
Love the photos!
Happy gardening

deb,
I can’t identify those pretty blue flowers of yours. I’m reminded of Forget Me Not’s but that’s only faulty synapses firing I believe.

I’m not the brave one when it comes to food. The wife and kids get a kick out of eating from the menu in Peterson Field Guide – Edible Wild Plants. But no amount of “this is good” will convince me.
ann Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Thanks for sharing that informative post!

Happy GTS!

ann,
Thank you for visiting and not running away screaming about some nut case loose on the internets.
Laura Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Very nice up close. The flowers are quite beautiful. Happy GTS!

Laura,
Thank you. The flowers are quite nice but you have to get down on your hands and knees and stick your face up close to really see them. I’m getting too old for that so now I say the foliage is what I like about Gill Over the Ground.
Aiyana Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Very informative. This is another plant I’ve never heard of. Thanks for the info and happy GTS,
Aiyana

Aiyana,
That’s one reason I never tire of visiting your blog. You’re collection of Catus is amazing and I’ve been rewarded every visit this spring with one breathtaking flower after another.
Rosengeranium (Indoor Gardener) Says:
April 28th, 2008 at 4:16 am
Sounds like a plant for indoor vegetable gardening – especially since it survives in dry soil. Thanks for the info, I’ll ask around to see if I can get my hand on some plants.

Rosengeranium,
I might be the only person around my area who actually likes this plant. Everyone else curses it as a very invasive weed. But they are usually lawn lovers and letting them rant never hurt anyone. I think you should be able to find some of this plant. It was commonally used throughout Europe long ago and it naturalizes with ease. I never think about ‘houseplants’ but imagine Ground Ivy would be one I could actually keep alive. I can see it now trailing out of a hanging pot. (out of cats reach)
Apple Says:
April 29th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Many of the lawns around here will soon have wide swaths of these tiny purple flowers. It grows where I can’t get grass to grow so it is welcome – in the lawn. I wish it would stay out of the garden.

Apple,
I think nearly everyone in the north country has it somewhere. I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t consider it a weed. I keep some patches here and there since it makes a nice ground cover if you keep an eye on it.
Mr. McGregor's Daughter Says:
April 29th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Around here we call it “Creeping Charlie.” I have hand pulled it out of my lawn, but the real problem is how it invades the garden beds from the neighboring properties. I have to continually yank it out or it strangles my wildflowers. (It smells bad too.)

Mr. McGregor’s Daughter,
Some people here confuse “Creeping Charlie” with moneywort/creeping loosestrife (Lysimachia). I used to say creeping charlie but since talking to the village folk I switched to calling it Gill Over the Ground unless they got it right.

Creeping Charlie is one of the most aggressive plants I know. I’ve seen it spread nearly 3 feet in a season. And it can be a pain to weed – miss one little runner and when you come back there’s another patch.