Erigeron Karvinskianus aka Seaside Daisy. A classic ground cover plant.

Erigeron Karvinskianus (Seaside Daisy)

I was recently doing a job overhauling a clients front yard and needed a ground cover plant to fill a space. The plant needed to be able to tolerate some shade, tough, a relatively low water user and a prolific spreader with the ability to out-compete any weeds that might pop up. A mass planting of Erigerons immediately came to mind.

Erigerons have been a staple plant of many cottage gardens in Melbourne for as long as I can remember. They are a plant I had trouble formally identifying. When I asked people what they were called people just shrugged there shoulders and said things like 'I don't know... That daisy plant'. They are unassuming and common but don't let that deter you. Erigerons are a tough little blighter of a plant able to tolerate dryness, shade and general neglect. I have them in my own garden in Macedon where they have proven to be very frost hardy. I have never watered them and they still thrive. Another great thing about seaside daisy plants is how they seem to constantly have at least some their tiny white / pink flowers on show in the cooler months were they are at their low ebb.

Seaside daisy spacing for use as a ground cover

Information on the plant tags for Erigerons usually states a width of about 1 metre. When I planted out my clients garden with them I spaced them at 40cm to ensure a fast meshing of their foliage. I had improved the soil in which they reside so I wanted fast coverage on that area so weeds couldn't take hold. Seaside daisies will self seed and spread around a bit so you could probably get away with planting them a little further apart if  need be. 

The classic daisy flower of Erigeron Karvinskianus

 Here they are having no trouble covering the soil under an established Hakea tree in my garden in Macedon. Keep in mind this picture was taken in winter and they are usually described as being a warm season flowering plant.

Group planting of tall herbaceous perennial flowering plants

A concept I keyed onto when starting out in the horticultural industry is that of tall growing flower beds. Once discovered I couldn't believe that I had traditionally thought of flower beds as being low growing almost ground cover like installations. Tall growing beds in a semi large to large style garden area are great. They add a sense of scale to the garden as you are forced to either look through or around them in order to travel to the next part of the garden. Tall growing flowers / plants are something I associate with the 'prarie' style of garden. My experience with such plants is limited to those which I see at my current workplace in Parkville although I have propagated some of these plants by division and set them in place at my home in Macedon. I really think tall growing flowering plants can be used as a major show piece in even a small garden if strategically placed. The term 'herbaceous perennial' means a plant whose growth dies down annually but whose crowns, roots, bulbs or rhizomes survive the winter.

Anenome heupehensis (pink cultivar) makes an absolutely stunning group planting. Chop them down to the ground once spent and watch them grow back to 1.6m approx the next season. They are a warm season herbaceous perennial.

Close up of the flower

Masses of Helianthus angustifolius "swamp sunflower". These grow over 6 feet tall. Chop them to the ground in Winter and watch them shoot up in the warm seasons.

Close up of the flower