15 FRUITING GROUNDCOVERS You Should Be Growing - Ep. 124 

Adding a mentioned plant list to the vid descriptions would be really useful.

Oh my. There was once a brook or stream called 'Kinikinick' which meandered through our area. My Grandfather knew it well. In my mid- childhood, the city poured concrete on it's bottom, at a dry time of year. It was never the same again, but now I can imagine what it must have been, lined with red berries. (Added:Thank goodness, I just read that the now crumbling concrete, which didn't function well to control storm water, is being removed. The article states that wild rice used to line the river it once was.) It took 59 years to begin to correct a big mistake. Flock lands and creatures can call themselves very lucky.

1. Amalanchier stolonifera, running serviceberry 4-5ft tall and wide, self fertile but get 2 for cross pollination. 2. Arcostaphylos uva-ursi, "kinikinick" edible when cooked, 6-12 inches tall, 6 ft wide, poor soil/rock garden, shade plant, self fertile 3. Aronia melanocarpa, 'groundhug' edible, blueberry-like, self fertile 4. Cornus canadensis, bunchberry or creeping dogwood, drupes not human edible- for wildlife, slow spreading, can make cuttings, self sterile 5. Fragraria- strawberry, rhizomatous spread, medicinal edible 6. Gaylessacia brachycera, Huckleberry, pest pressure issues getting it established, 1ft by 3ft, self fertile 7. Gaultheria procumbens, Wintergreen, rhisomatous spread but compact, beautiful! 3-6 inches tall, edible wintergreen flavor, leaves to make wintergreen syrup, self fertile, needs shade (my favorite!) 8. Lonicera crassifola, creeping honeysuckle, non native, but possibly beneficial, experimental/potential for invasiveness, not human edible, 6 inches high by 2-3ft wide, self fertile 9. Mitchella repens, 'partridge berry', not human edible, shade loving, self fertile 10. Prunus pumilla var depressa, acidic but edible berries, prostrate prunus species, 12 inches by 3 feet, self fertile 11. Rubus arcticus, arctic raspberry, medicinal, less fruit than other varieties, decent fruit 12. Rubus calycinoides, sprawling, poor soil accepting, tasty berries, non-native 13. Vaccinium angustifollum, 1ft by 2ft, blueberry, acidic soil needed 14. Vaccinium macrocarpum (stevens), cranberry, better in rich soil full sun, doesn't require a bog, medicinal, very tart but edible obviously 15. Vaccinium cities idaea- lingonberries! Not self fertile, tart edible obviously, not native but possibly beneficial Sorry for spelling errors, was typing while listening

Great video Summer, very informative, also I like the fact that you mention is good to offer some food or shelterfor all kind of creatures, me working at a nursery in Colorado, I hear often time people trying to fight those "pesky creatures " and a solution could be offering something to either feed or host ,(and live alone the plants we are looking to harvest or enjoy as a ornamental). As gardener we need them all, the good, the bad, the pretty and the ugly. You are an example of trying to live in harmony with the ecosystem without interfering with chemicals or man made devices. Not sure for large scale agriculture, but if gardeners can make this changes we can make a positive impact in our world, :) Cheers

It took me half the video to realize you were saying "palatable" haha, I've never heard it pronounced like that! Great info and production as always, thank you for sharing with us 🌱🫐

I come here for your plant knowledge and leave very mellow after listening to your soothing voice which is very therapeutic to me - thanks.

Thank you for all tips. I am glad that you have discovered lingonberries which are native to my country and culture. A good thing to know is that they hold good preservative qualities and are, for example, great to add when baking bread to prolong the storing capacity of bread substantially. The berries can also be stored well by themselves in a jar, just cover them with water and they will stay fresh for months.

I am stepping up my ground cover game and this information is so helpful!

Very nice episode. Really appreciate the effort put into this informative piece.

Thank you so much guys!!! 🎉

Thanks for sharing all this knowledge and experience guys

Thanks for this fabulous and info packed video, loved it!!

Thank you for all the info on these ground covers! My yard has always been filled with our local wild strawberries, and I just LOVE watching the birds,squirrels, and bunnies take full advantage ! I’ve been looking for cranberry plants ,but find it very difficult to get my hands on them, I’m in NY same growing zone , any info for those would be appreciated!

Thanks for introducing me to some new fruiting ground covers to try 🤩!

They are very special plants,so many values,look beautiful ,and then there’s the fruit,great tips. 💚🌱🌵☘️

This is phenomenal. Learned some great new ones

fabulous. thank you for al the work you do making your videos and learning plants.

Excellent overview of ground cover plants. Thank you for the interesting video. Good luck to you👍🌻💙

We love our strawberries! We had to move them around because they can take over a spot easilly. The ever bearing one tastes great. The Yellow Wonder alpine strawberries taste almost like mangoes 😀

Awesome video! Didn’t know about half of these, that is one cute groundhog!

Very grateful for your knowledge about therse ground covers. Thank you. ❤💯 great presentation as well. 👍💞

Love a good ground cover in the landscape ‼️

You are nothing short of amazing lady!

Thank you Ms. Summer, that was very interesting! 🍁🍂🍁💚🙃

The accent goes on the first syllable of palatable, not the second.

Nice video today ! Thank you to 3F.

When buying more than one of any cross-pollinating plant, it's important to know how they were propagated. Especially spreaders like most ground covers are propagated vegetatively (division or cuttings). What this means is a nursery might have a few benches full of identical plants, because they are all clones of the original stock plant. Thus, planting more than one individual-seeming plant can offer zero cross pollination.

I've been enjoying woodchips as a ground cover. Lots of weed free room for new food sources. Birds bees, and me. Lol. thankyou.

I really appreciate the plant information, I this information really useful in my Pacific Northwest 8b food forest.

Hi. I left one bed in my front yard grow the wild strawberries as a groundcover. I like it for that. It doesn't let many weeds get in. I did notice this year I had a vine come in on my railing with cute little purple flower with annoying itchy balls that stick to clothing it produced fairly large pretty red berries. I think it is bittersweet not sure though. I've read it's invasive though I really don't want to pull it because the berries are pretty. I love your channel so educational we are not that far from each other so learning about all the plants is fun.

Great video! Thanks for the tips and ideas! I grow Goji berry (not really a 'ground cover' per se) in zone 7/6 northern Sierra mountains (Lost Sierra) and it does very well. It gets about 3' tall and wide with good production and it has been volunteering in other places from the birds who pick clean whatever I don't get first.

Time stamps and a plant list in the description would be very helpful, especially for a long video such as this one. Thank you

Wow this was an awesome video….🙏🙏 I think we may have some of these berries in our landscape. I have never identified all of mine, but I’d love to add some of your favorites. Our town has cranberries and in the fall the town folk are welcome to pick. It was funny the first time I went with boots and rubber gloves because I thought it would be in a bog but they grow as a beautiful ground cover in open space.

Thank you for putting the zones below the names. I’m looking for such plants for zone 3, and so many plant videos don’t cover fruit-producing options for that far north.

My favourite groundcover is only technically fruiting. Epigaea repens, or Mayflowers (also called trailing arbutus). The most beautiful scent to the flowers. It blooms on new wood so picking them reduces the spread, and they're slow growing to begin with.

Great information. Especially if one lives in an area that gets summer precipitation.

Oops, my nessage wasn't finished....! So Frangula alnus is so full of insects , beautiful to see and hear!!! It's native in Europe and very hardy! The second one is Cotoneaster!! For groundcover the variety :Coral Beauty" and :Eichholz", but also the "bigger" ones are beautiful and birds love the fruit after insects having their dinner on it! My third is Sambucus racemosa, the red elderberry, but maybe you have one already! Good luck and greetings from the northern part of Austria!! From Doris!

My favorite groundcover is strawberry. I don't know what I appreciate more, the ground cover, the blossoms or the fruit.

thank's for sharing.new subscriber here

The geese have noisily flown over four times already, as if they would aim for the bird sanctuary, just before the Rock of Gibraltar. The City here has changed their strategy and has first now, Sept. 22, cut the ground cover plants. I am sure that our insects were happier, than in the past years. Many Ravens are eating something delicious between the weeds which have suddenly appeared. Your beautiful meadow must be like a food specialty shop, for your animal neighbors. Maybe a deep snow will protect them. Loved this video. 🦌🦌🦌

Thanks!

Hi Summer, love your video's, thanks for sharing your passion and inspiring me! I would really love to see a video of you explaining how/where to plant/design a garden bed. So how do you pick the plants for a bed, how many do you buy (and why) and how do you decide where to place them? I love the esthetics of your gardens, and have quite some beds to fill myself on our estate, but relatively new to gardening on a larger scale, land would really appreciate you talking us through your thoughts and decisions while planting. Wishing you all the best!

This was so timely. I just had the rogue's gallery of invasive weeds pulled out of the woods along a bank on my property in the Hudson Valley and I have been looking for ground covers to hold the soil and discourage all the seeds that are doubtless still there from germinating. It would be great if you could share some of your sources that do mail order. I have bought excellent, healthy, good-sized native plants from One Nature in Beacon NY. They are local for me but have recently started online ordering. I find that unless I put a cloche over them, small plants are likely to be destroyed by the local fauna (groundhogs, deer, etc.) before they have a chance to root in. Thanks for the informative video!

honestly this is right up the alley of what i'm trying to find, i am considering the more drought tolerant of these to cover the side of a small hill, grass has never, and does never, want to live on it, luckily my mom's instantly on board with the idea. and tbh i'll be trying some of these to just compete with the several invasive/introduced groundcovers i see everywhere, i'd love for something native to actually compete under these massive trees, conveniently much more ambiently moist everywhere but that hill out front, so i'll have more options

"Every insect is noble in it's own right." Oh child, you are just beginning to see the wide world in which we live. Do you want to see more?

I just saw your wonderful video sbput fruiting groundcovers and although it's a little bit "older" I must recommend the following plants: Frangula alnus (it blooms and fruits and blooms again...); bees

I have just now boiled 5 kg of lingonberries (purchased) for this year's consumption. Lingonberry and milk are a good snack

Kinnikinnick grows prolifically here on the west coast of Canada. We have a few very large established ones in the forest area of our yard, and next to our driveway, loads of berries.

Where I can get those berries ground covers? Do I have to start from seed?

A really nice overview, thanks! Plant breeders here would label many (if not most) of those as acid-soil loving, not just the Vacciniums. Guess your soils are acidic enough, just a pity they might not work here. Strawberries and the Rubus species do very well here as well though!

Good afternoon. This is truly an excellent video with superlative production values. - inspirational, motivating and heartfelt. But of course, that's to be expected from a strong self sufficient woman such as yourself. My favorite method of maintaining a sustainable pantry and garden and stockpiling items long term for the whole family s what I consider to be the most practical, utilizing every type of technology both old and new. . Except for the fruits and vegetables that get canned, I keep perishable items like meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables and dairy products in the refrigerator on a short term basis until I'm ready to use them for a big family meal - and for even longer term sustainable storage, a large separate freezer, which can store a half side of beef with plenty of room left over for homemade ice cream etc. . I'm considering upgrading to a walk-in freezer at some point.in the near future, if my plans to open a bed and breakfast come to fruition. Sometimes, however a nice round of cheese can do well for quite awhile on a pantry shelf at room temperature - and doesn't mind even if it has to stand there alone. Store bought canned goods get shelves.in the large pantry closet - several for canned meat like corned beef hash, spam and sandwich spread and another for canned vegetables Bread, rolls, grains, homemade pasta, cereals and the like are stored in special humidity controlled bins I order from Amazon Prime - which usually get delivered to my doorstep about an hour after I order them. . Stuff from the family garden and orchard, like onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumber, pumpkins, carrots, corn celery,, potatoes and yams, cherries, blueberries and strawberries get canned in Mason Jars and stored in the cool, root cellar of this wonderful rambling former farmhouse (circa 1867) I share with my extended blended family and several rambunctious dogs raised on table scraps from the some of the finest food from a plethora of sources both commercial and home based. . There's even a special separate "summer kitchen" which I converted to store butter and ice cream churns, pots, pans, utensils, extra storage containers, foil, bags, cutlery, and other meal related accoutrement. Out back in the woods, just beyond the big pile of wood I maintain all year, (for use in an antique woodstove I keep on hand, in case the power goes out) there's even an old rusting vintage still where my great grandfather made some of the finest corn whiskey for miles. Next to it is the rusting hulk of the Ford Model A he used to transport that powerful hootch by the light of the moon on soft summer nights to his eager customers in a tri-county area. Further into this verdant forest of mostly sycamore, oak, pine and scrub, runs a cool stream into which I occasionally cast a rod or net to catch some Brook Trout, Bluntnose Shiners, or whatever takes the bait (just earthworms for the most part). And yes, hunting season means wild turkey, deer, and even an occasional wild boar. Next week, I'm planning on filing for a permit to 3-D print a smokehouse in order to be able to create gourmet artisan handcrafted, beef, bacon, turkey, and beef stick jerky, which interested local merchants can private label for other people to share with their families and their family dogs. Unfortunately, I had to break the bad news to my free range hens today that due to expected egg shortages regretfully numbered are their days of laying a couple of eggs and then basically taking the rest of the day off with ranging privileges' within the parameters of a few very nice rural acres - parts of which are rich with fat grubworms. There's even a short dirt road between the main barn and the farmhouse which they're free to cross to get to the other side as often as they'd like. My rooster Ben overheard me and he ain't too happy either, knowing full well that due to oncoming egg shortages, he'll be "workin'g overtime to make sure there's plenty of eggs for the family and I. 😉😉🌹🌹🌻🌻

that cranberry can also do well in hanging baskets for people lacking this sort of space but you have a balcony or a porch there are a lot of these smaller berry bushes that do well in hanging baskets and planters.

Very informative. It will be helpful if you keep the plant name on the screen while talking about the plant.

Looking up the sand cherries , they look similar to a mystery plant(tree?) That the birds planted years ago. Its now 7 ft tall, produces these small sweet smelling white flowers and produces these caper sized black/dark purple berries that are edible but has a huge seed. And the plant has large woody thorns that will grow into branches . Im in texas and in sand.

So curious how you guys deal with Lyme ticks where you are? They are so prevalent where we are, I am loath to plant too much ground cover in fear of making perfect habitat for them close to our home. On another note, I just planted Bearberry this past month! Lovely plant. I now am inspired to add more in our stone retaining wall. Love learning from your videos! (Our kiddo is considering Ithaca College...beautiful area!)

The Wintergreen is HIGH in Methyl Salicylate, which is related to Acetal Salicylic Acid (Aspirin). It is purported to have all kinds of medicinal uses. I was raised in south New Jersey and loved this particular plant. I just haven't found it in California or New Mexico, where I currently live.

Which one would you recommend to snuff out the posion oak in my food Forrest 🤔

There'd be enough to make a pie for sure.

Wild dewberries are a good ground cover too, they are similar to blackberries but a little better

Strawberries spread by stolons (above ground structures aka runners) not below ground rhizomes

Never really seen great amounts of berries in bearberries, even in sunny locations where they cover most of the ground layer of pine forests. I think the taste is akin to lingonberries, though more mealy, less acidic and less aromatic.

Really useful, is the Creeping Raspberry also called a Cloudberry? I planted a Luma berry plant this year which i’m told has great flowers, scent and berries.

Question: would many of these acid-loving plants grow well near and around evergreens? Would they be good companions with any type of evergreen? Awesome informative time. Thanks.

How did the strawberries do this year?

Thank you for this! The raspberry plant at 29:15 - I would love to plant some of that, hopefully I can find it to purchase it in our area here in Scotland.

Live in NYS and can't find these berries locally. Anyone know where to order them?

if you mean to make jam out of lingon berries, you should wait for the first frosts to take a bite and make them mushy! (unless your frosts come so late that they turn into berry wine)

Prunus is a genus

Asking for a friend, what kind of overalls are those?

Heads up it’s PALatable not paLATable. You info is so good I kept getting distracted remembering my English teacher. He’d say your emPHAsis is on the wrong syLAble😊. Awesome video.

What do you use to figure out the amount of hosts for one plant?

If you all (or anyone who sees this) has some tips for getting bunchberry to establish I could use some help. I think I've finally figured out wintergreen after 5 or 6 plants and placements but I've had a lot of trouble still with bunchberry. I love the flowers so much I just want some in my yard. :)

This is a little off topic since you are talking about woody perennials but I just bought a book that might be helpful for you native plantings. It's called Pollinators of Native Plants, by Heather Holm. It lists 65 plant species and the insects they attract. Great video! Thanks!

So you have seeds for all of ground covers?

creeping raspberry looks a lot like cloudberries, both for the leaves and berries. interesting

Even spell check autocorrect lingonberry into lingo berry

Ripped out a bed of lilly of the valley and planted wintergreen from seed wish us luck

pal·at·a·ble

Aronia is good to low blood presure. You can eat raw berries too. I do.

You should do a video on fruiting ground covers that are best for zone 10. I’m sure it will be a very short video …..i don’t think there are any.

Yes please help us with plant names. Very difficult to capture and spell without help.

"palatable": root word palette, like for art, or with regard to taste & cuisine.

It is PALL it a bull.

Whoa, awesomewidgies!!!

I assume you are in New York near the finger lakes but since you never say where you are, I don't really know. Please just clarify where you are. It matters for native plants. I love the videos though.

What the hell is a palladable? sounds like a platypus labia

I put kitchen scrap and cuttings in the corner of my property for wild life, and they no longer get my trash bins. It's been twenty years, and there is now an " animal trail" to that spot.. but no longer toy house.. yay

Hi babe ❤

Flock me!

Sorry to get personal but I want your hair, your teeth and most of all your drive as iv'e got little of any of these.

none of these plants exist in Texas

WHAT WAS THAT ?? " PLAT- A- ABLE ??? OHHH HONEY , ITS PALATABLE " PAL-IT-ABLE"

Palatable is pronounced Pal-it-uh-bull.. not pul-AT-able. Your mispronunciation of it is super cringey.

I loved listening to you try pronouncing "palatable", but you lost all credibility with the planting of non-native species. Yeah, you like them. They're pretty. But with as much as you've studied about the dangers of non-natives, even those that don't seem problematic, you'd think that you'd learn the lesson. Unfortunately, it always comes down to "me, me, me." Folks around the nation are saying the same thing. Millions of them. And we wonder why things are going poorly in the ecosystem! I particularly loved how you mentioned that the creeping honeysuckle wasn't a "listed as invasive right now, but that could change in the years ahead." Right. See the problem? You acknowledge that it can self-seed and be dispersed all over the country by birds... but because it hasn't been deemed a problem by the overworked and underfunded government 'professionals' right this instant.... it's perfectly cool for you to plant. And in ten years when it does get listed as a nuisance or invasive, are you going to be around to clean up the area you planted it in? Will you be able to clean up all the hundreds of plants you've sown around via the birds in your area? It's really amazing to me how people will justify their actions even when they know better.

Please learn how to say ‘palatable’ properly 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️