I'm not sure what color you are looking for, but I've had some success in coastal rainy far northern California with scotch moss. I've planted it between bricks set in the ground below a garden arch at the entrance to our yard, and also between both large and small bricks and concrete in a patio we constructed last year. The moss is a bright light gold-green, grows well all year here, and is certainly walkable. Sunset's western garden book says it will grow in your zone. Hope that helps, Jim

Corsican mint is a tricky character - it does tend to have sporadic dieout and it disappears easily only to pop up in another, unintended location. And it is NOT reliably evergreen here. For a damp and partial shady location, I'd suggest baby tears (Solierolia soleirolii) or Corsican sandwort, Arenaria balerica. The baby tears should remain evergreen in all but the nastiest of winters and even then will resprout and flush out nicely in spring. The sandwort is a tough, durable matlike groundcover that will take all sorts of abuse. Scotch or Irish moss can work, but these are not true mosses and really prefer a rich, moist soil in a sunny location. They also tend to form mounded hummocks once established that may not be ideal between pavers.

Isotoma, baby blue eyes, fills in nicely. I haven't noticed whether it sticks around in the winter. My Corsican mint self-sowed into my lava rock path over plastic weed barrier and seems to like it. I assume the rock keeps it moist, as I've read it likes moist soil. The Isotoma can take some drought. Cotula squalida (Leptanella) spreads, stays very flat, and needs average moisture, but has not died where I don't water it much.

I love my corsican mint but agree with Gardengal that it's sporadic and pops up in surprising places. It has been evergreen for me for the last two years and survived its first year with limited dieback. As for spreading, it's easy to remove and so is never a problem. I've found some of the "popups" to be very appealing.

We just put in a paver/sand path with moderate traffic on the west side of our house and are using creeping thyme. GG, please comment on this groundcover if you would. I have heard that baby tears and scotch moss are invasive. Sandwort is new to me but looks very attractive and is a great alternative if the creeping thyme doesn't work out.

Suze

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Really good to know it's not just me killing off the corsican mint. Thanks for the suggestions, as well. I think I'll definitely be replacing the mint, even though I like it's subtle fragrance.

I've also heard that the Irish and Scotch "mosses" are horribly invasive (in fact, I believe I've been weeding some out of my beds that I really have no idea how got there for some time now). Originally those were what I thought I wanted, but I'll need something a bit better behaved.

I like the looks of the Isotoma and Solierolia. I won't want them invading or choking out plants in the surrounding flowerbeds, so how do those behave?

I like the look (from the stepables picture, anyway) of Hutchinsia alpina (awesome dark, dark green). Anyone have experience with that one? Once again the stepables website gives that vague "can be evergreen" statement!

Thanks again for all the help!

Groundcovers by definition are spreaders, some more so than others. I have never found either Scotch or Irish moss to be "invasive" - in fact, many consider them difficult to get established. FWIW, these are not mosses, just another form of dense, mat-like groundcover that resemble moss, and are unlikely to be found growing spontaneously in your garden. I have both the green and gold forms of baby tears growing in my garden and while they do spread, neither are so rampant or aggressive as to possibly choke out other plants. Besides, they are just too tiny :-))

I don't care for blue star creeper in any of its forms (Isotoma, Laurentia or Pratia) - to me it just looks weedy - but it too would work well in this situation. Leptinella/Cotula needs good drainage so not sure how well that would respond in a damp situation.

SeattleSuze, creeping thyme is an excellent choice for a very sunny, well drained location. Not fussy about soil quality and fragrant to walk on. Very appealing to bees when in flower, so watch those bare feet in summer! Lots of choices for scent and flower color as well.

Great thread! Thanks GG for your input on creeping thyme. It was also good to know that baby tears and the 'mosses' are very manageable.

I just came across something called Creeping Mazus. Does anybody have information on this? Thanks.

Suze

I haven't grown it personally, but Mazus reptans is an aggressive, freely spreading groundcover. Roots from runners and can invade lawn grasses. Needs pretty rich soil and even moisture. Will take considerable foot traffic and is good around pavers, but may spread more than desired. Sun to part shade. Both purple and white flowering forms available and is mostly evergreen in mild areas. I haven't found it to be a big seller in this area.

Thanks so much for the heads up. Will not buy it at all. Heading gratefully for the baby tears and mosses.

Suze