Plant a Sedum Carpet

Excerpted from Gardening Your Front Yard: Projects and Ideas for Big & Small Spaces by Tara Nolan (Cool Springs Press, 2020)

Designed and installed by Tara Nolan. Photos by Donna Griffith. Sedum mats provided by Sedum Master

As some gardeners work to turn their lawns into garden, others have transformed their driveways into a garden—but one in which cars can still park. This is a novel idea, but it’s one that adds a whole new level of visual appeal in place of ordinary asphalt or a concrete driveway.

Groundcover plants need to be chosen according to a low maximum height. I’ve seen moss, creeping thyme, different varieties of sedum and more used to fill a driveway garden—which is why, when I approached friends about turning a small strip of their front yard into a driveway garden, the first thing I thought about using was sedum mats.

With parking at a premium on a one-way street, this urban semidetached house has the space for two cars between the house and the sidewalk. As such, there is no front lawn. Most of the driveway is asphalt, but there was a small section of (removable) patio stones. The perfect place for a carpet of colorful sedum. And the placement was such that a second car could fit nicely overtop, with the driveway garden fitting well within the wheels of a car.

Sedum mats from Sedum Master can feature over a dozen species, including Acre, Acre ‘Oktoberfest’, Album, ellacombianum, floriferum, forster; lanum, ‘Silver Stone’, glaucophyllum, hispanicum, hybridum, ‘Czar’s Gold’, kamtschaticum, reflexum, selskianum, ‘Goldilocks’, sexangulare, coccinneum, spurium, ‘Summer Glory’ and ‘Voodoo’ and stenopetalum.

I first encountered sedum mats as a suggested option for green roof plans. Sedums are drought and heat tolerant, provide winter interest, and can survive in poorer soil. Another bonus? Sedums attract butterflies, bumblebees, and hummingbirds. They are also lower maintenance than a lawn in the long run. Why not use them on a driveway?

Some sedum mats are rolled up like sod, but mine came in tiles because of the smaller space I was covering. They were very easy to install and the finished result looked like one long continuous, interesting, multi-coloured carpet. Some of the sedums had even started to bloom, sothis little island of vegetation was ready to attract pollinators. Furthermore, it looks so gorgeous, the homeowners are now loathe to allow a visiting car to use the spot.

Half-laid sedum mat s Sedum mat “tiles” are laid out like pieces of carpet. Fifteen whole mats were used to fill a 3 × 11' (0.9 × 3.4 m) area.

Minimum sun exposure is easiest way to three to four hours per day. slice through the Also noting that it is a bit mats that needed of a walkway, sedum mats to be trimmed to will suffer through the odd fit the space. step, but are not meant for constant treading.

I was just filling a small space, but I recommend, if you’re tearing up an entire driveway, that you consult a professional to help assess grade and runoff management.

Installing a Sedum Mat Carpet

Sedum mats need 3 to 4" (7.6 to 10.2 cm) of growing space beneath them. It was recommended that I create a base of 3 to 4" (7.6 to 10.2 cm) of greenroof growing medium, which is a special blend that allows for drainage. Because there was grit beneath the patio stones, I added regular garden soil overtop instead, as recommended by a local nursery that happens to sell the sedum mats. Use a rake to spread the soil evenly throughout the entire area.

1. Lay out each sedum mat “tile” so it fits snug against either the sides of whatever your border is or the mat beside it.

2. Use the soil knife to trim any pieces that don’t fit into the space. Turn the tile so the out er edge isn’t the trimmed one. The inner trimmed edge will fit seamles sly against the other tile, whereas the outer edge will retain that wild, natural look that spills over the edges a bit.

3. Give your sedum mats a good daily watering until the plants become established.

Available in the TBG Garden Shop shop.torontobotanicalgarden.ca

Tara Nolan