Veronica chamaedrys: Height: 10-35 cm (4-14 in.). Stem ascending-erect, opposite sides hairy. Flower: Corolla almost regular (actinomorphic), bright blue-purple, dark-striped in middle, 10-12 mm (0.4-0.48 in.) broad, fused, 4-lobed, wheel-shaped, short-tubed. Calyx 4-lobed, lobes linear, with glandular hairs . Stamens 2. Pistil a fused carpel. Inflorescence a lax, axillary raceme. Racemes often in pairs. Flower-stalk longer than subtending bracts. Leaves: Opposite, lowest short-stalked, others stalkless. Blade ovate, with blunt base, both sides hairy, large-toothed. Fruit: Cordate, flat, shorter than broad, shorter than calyx, hairy capsule. Veronica persica: Height: 5-30 cm (2-12 in.). Stem limp-ascending, sparsely haired. Flower: Corolla almost regular (actinomorphic), blue, 8-12 mm (0.32-0.48 in.) wide, fused, 4-lobed, wheel-shaped, short-funnelled. Calyx 4-lobed, lobes lanceolate, with tapered tips, do not overlap, hairy along edges, otherwise glabrous. Stamens 2. Gynoecium fused, single-styled. Flowers solitary in leaf axils. Flower-stalk longer than subtending bract, descending oblique in fruiting stage. Leaves: Opposite, short-stalked. Blade widely ovate, light green, large-toothed. Fruit: Very widely notched, flattish, twice as long as wide, net-veined, capsule only with glandular hairs. http://www.topwalks.net/plants/blue/veronica_persica_01.htm http://www.florasilvestre.es/mediterranea/Antirrhinaceae/Veronica_persica.htm Here is a link that might be useful: Veronica chamaedrys

Sounds encouraging. I'd read some mixed reports on the effectiveness of 2,4-D (alone) against Ajuga, but (possibly) better results with a 3-way product, which Killex is (2,4-D, Mecoprop-P, Dicamba) http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg0918365630041.html http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=276043 So, it will be interesting to see your results. Yes, you are right Killex is available (at Canadian Tire), but only in British Columbia, Alberta & Manitoba. You are in BC, right? I'm in QC...sigh. Kind of farcical really, this provincial herbicide 'ban', when commercial lawn care companies can readily get the stuff (and political parties also). At least a third of the residents on my estate have their lawns sprayed....whether they really need it or not. I reckon the previous owner of my house was one and that chemical-dependency was at least part of the reason for my lawn problems....all those dormant seeds. That's my excuse anyway. Anyhow, I'll persist with the Roundup (no other choice now). Whilst slow (it's been about 2 1/2 weeks) it does appear to be working. Probably would have been quicker if I'd sprayed affected areas, rather than leaf-painted, from the start. Seems kind of counter-intuitive to water the weeds, but keeping the treated areas moist definitely helps. So, at the current rate of progress I'm still hoping that I'll be able to over-seed by mid-September. The thing that concerns me though is the sheer number and variety of weeds that are still coming up. Sure, the best natural weed-defense is a thick turf, but I'm beginning to think that I really do need to tackle at least the perennial broad-leafs, and if possible the dense carpets of crabgrass, which are now starting to turn to seed. The white clover that is taking over some areas I can live with. In fact I'm not averse to the idea of a mixed grass-clover lawn, though I can't speak for the neighbors. But the black medic (yellow trefoil) that is prevalent on my front lawn is less desirable. As someone commented on another forum - organic living is all well and good but sometimes you need a prescription from the doctor. I have inquired whether one the lawn-care firms (the one that acknowledged they use herbicides) might do a one-off spray, but they are only interested in offering a 'full year' maintenance plan. There's no way I could manually pull all of this stuff, as adept as I am with a Weed-Hound, and a lot of it is now partially obscured by crabgrass and clover/black medic. So, I guess I could try the available iron-based Weed-B-Gon, several neighbors look like they are having some success, at least with spot sprayed dandelions, but I think I'd need a bit more than spot treatment. Or else see if I can get hold of some Killex (might come back you). The big question then is how much treatment at this stage would put back fall over-seeding (killing time plus soil residual to consider). Don't really want to wait until Spring, as I'd like to try and get an early start with a pre-emergent then. What to do? This post was edited by WorBry on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 14:11

I also have some polka dot plant in some of my containers (I thought it was called fittonia), but have only ever seen the pink variety, not the green and white kind as shown in the last picture. If I take off a flower spike from the container plants, will it seed new plants in my shade area? Also, where do you get the different varieties? Cynthia, Painted-Net Leaf Plant (Fittonia) and Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) look similar, but are completely different plants. I don't have any experience with Fittonia. Maybe someone else can guide you as to how they perform in the yard. Polka Dot plant is sold in small pots in Walmart, Lowes and Home Depot. Frequently they will have three different shades in a single pot. Sometimes they will have a single color in a pot, too, in case you don't want to mix, but I don't see that as often as the mixed pots. They usually run $2.50 - $4.00. All of my different colors are from new seedlings that were a result of parent plants cross-pollinating on their own. The plant in the last picture is actually pale pink and dark green. If you look at the leaf near the bottom of the photo and the leaves closer to the ground, you can see the pinkish hue. I think you will like Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine 'Margarita'. Stick as many starts as you can afford from your parent plant. Once they have rooted, the lime green color can be made really vibrant/chartreuse by giving them a periodic watering with Miracle-Gro. I usually use it half-strength on everything - but the ones on my front porch went from blah lime-green to POP lime-green once I hit them with the liquid fertilizer. Have fun and good luck! Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Google Images - Fittonia

Every ground cover I have I spend time pulling up, spraying or digging up, to keep any of it from owning a space - I can't stand the feeling that something is taking over, like english ivy... the following are some of what I have and love. Veronica, Georgia Blue - light and airy growth when it's in bloom and the blue flowers are delicate. I have it growing around and through some green and white euyonomous. creeping Sedum, the variety that looks like blue spruce. It's soooo elegant. I grow it around my blue colored evergreen shrubs. I have a periwinkle that has green and white leaves and larger, deeper purple flower. Sweet Woodruff is nice under my rhodies and among my lady's mantle. I love Creeping Jenny's chartreuse color, but it goes mad. Also, Choc Chip ajuga is beauuuuutiful in bloom, and sea thrift, and cheddar pink dianthus are lovely groundcover. I like using clematis to creep on ground, too. also, some of the shorter hosta actually perform like ground cover among some shrubs. I have white delaware azaleas, and between them I have bright lime green hosta... wow.