Plant Strawberries for a Sweet, Edible Groundcover

Recently, while I was on vacation in Northern Arizona, I was admiring some beautiful perennial plantings along the street.

I really liked the overall design of this area and how they used plants with contrasting colors and textures. Much of the area was planted with a variety of different ground covers. However, I was drawn to the ground cover that was planted right next to the sidewalk.

I looked closer and was pleasantly surprised to discover that they were strawberry plants.

 I love the idea of using edible plants in place of ornamental plants. Now, I absolutely love eating strawberries and the idea of also growing them as a ground cover in the garden makes perfect sense. As a small child, I remember my grandfather’s large strawberry patch in his back garden in Germany.

How to Grow Strawberries

Strawberries are perennial plants that will survive for a few years if cared for properly.  ‘Everbearing’ and ‘Day-Neutral’ strawberries work best as ground cover compared to other types of strawberries.  They can be grown in most climates.  To learn which varieties grow best in your state, check out “Strawberry Varieties by State”.

Strawberries require fertile, well-drained soil and will spread from the original (mother) plant. Plant in spring once the soil can be worked. After planting, apply an all-purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer or if you prefer the organic approach—apply blood and bone meal instead. Keep soil moist, but not water-logged and apply mulch around the strawberry plants.