What do you use to fill open spaces in your garden?

I'm looking for native perennials, spreading, good for pollinators, kid friendly (no thorns or anything) and will help CROWD OUT WEEDS!!

For reference, will accompany: liriope, rudbeckia, geraniums, azaleas, echinacea, abelia, viburnum, salvia, catmint, mtn mint, hypericum, milkweed, joe pye weed, daisies.

Creeping phlox?

Oh, that's so pretty! That'll def go on the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

I just planted out (at a friend in San Antonio's recommendation) some beautiful blue Dwarf Plumbago. Can't wait for it to get established! It's already putting on new leaves, so I think it may be OK with our alkaline soil. Time will tell.

I also like to use Lamb's Ear for filler in semi-shady spots. I don't care for the bloom stalks much and it rarely sends any out in shadier spots. It has choked out all weeds in the 3 y.o. approx. 50" patch started from one small 4" pot I bought. It is in its 3rd season. I'm planting out some new patches of it this spring also.

I also have some ground ivy that has crept under my cedar fence to my side yard from the front yard. But it has done so in a somewhat weedy bare patch of the side garden, so I'm actually pleased it has moved in there. Previous owner planted the ivy. Free plants are a good thing IMO. It's also confined to that area by a pebble-embedded sidewalk we had poured there to meander throughout the garden without the muddy path (after rain) former owner had used in there. The ivy has effectively choked out weeds in the front yard, so it should do that job in the weedy corner of my side garden quite nicely.

I tend to use Sweet William a lot as a weed suppressant. It's an opportunistic winter grower here, filling in gaps during times when most other plants don't grow. Flowers great, smells nice and easy to identify and weed out when you want to use the space for other plants.

Dianthus (sweet William and others like "cheddar pinks") in general is very good for covering ground at a low level. You may find perennial &/or annual types.

Violets are tough enough to step on, easy to remove if you want to dig a hole for something new, host plant for fritillary butterflies.
Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)

Or quick temporary plants like Coleus (blooms are beloved by hummers, butterflies, bees - comes in low, creeping varieties &/or easy to trim if it gets too tall).

Or ornamental purslane really covers the ground at a very low level, keeping the ground shaded, cooler, but blooms are only open in the AM. These attract a LOT of bees in my yard, the tiniest cutest little bees I never noticed until I noticed them on these plants.
Wingpod Purslane (Portulaca umbraticola)

Butterflies and bees also love basil blooms, but basil can get pretty tall if you're leaving some stems alone to bloom.

Leguminous annuals like clovers can benefit the soil while benefiting pollinators and your eyes.

Stepping stones eliminate weeds. 12" bricks make great stepping stones, paths, that you can re-arrange at will, pick up to dig in case something does creep under.

Cardboard (corrugated, uncoated - remove any tape or staples, overlap seams, no holes) can also help keep an area clear, or kill existing unwanted growth of non-woody entities. Cover with a few inches of mulch and only you will know it's there. Both cardboard & weeds should be gone by next year. This is a great way to easily expand outward without digging up grass.

I like the lamb ear. it does well in my garden. I have it in full sun until 2 o'clock. It's also growing in partial shade. I'm not a fan of it's flower stalks but I leave them because the bees love them. as far as the ivy goes I'll say this-it took me 2 years and close to $500 to get rid of it. it covered the entire back yard from fence to the house. It grew into the windows of the garage. It grew through cinder blocks and plywood. it covered the entire back half of the property-both sides. at one point there were 65 bags of it on the curb for yard recycling. that's all I have to say about ivy.

Wow, thanks guys! I'm loving all these suggestions!

@purpleinopp thanks for so many suggestions! I'm going to look those up! The cardboard idea! Woah! Love that.

@Peggy8b @brieth95 I also have ivy that grows everywhere in my yard. It does prevent unwanted weeds from growing and I pull it up if it starts to creep into places I don't want. It looks nice against the old moss- covered stone tiers of the garden.

The one I really struggle with is the trumpet vine and I've written a post solely about my struggle with that. This year, though, I think I'm just gonna let it grow and see what happens. I can't fight it anymore.

Happy to share! I've started a lot of garden areas that way. Between kids, work, etc... and being a person of small stature and not very much physical strength, it's been a way for me to garden in areas I could never tackle otherwise, and to reclaim areas when I suddenly realize a bunch of stuff has gotten going that I don't want.

The bigger the box, the better. Cut down 1 side or corner so the whole thing can lay out flat. I find the best boxes @ the recycle drop-off on Sunday nights.

Trumpet vine might be something that couldn't be defeated by smothering. Hopefully that's not in the potential smother area. No personal experience but the anecdotes indicate it's too strong and would just keep going sideways underneath until it finds some sunlight at the edge. If you have creeping stuff, going around the edges of your smother area with the shovel to sever the ties should drastically increase the odds of success.

If you were to want to smother something stronger, sheet metal works well but you have to happen to have an extra sheet or 2 laying around.

Bria I like to use sedum and different types of thyme, lemon, wooly, to use as ground cover in between plants. I just love having those bare spots filled in with these. Tiny Monster geranium is also a good plant.

Do not plant trumpet vine, it will take over wherever the roots run underground and it will pop up wherever it wants. Creating a years long battle trying to get rid of it, been there still trying to eradicate this monster plant.

@daylilydreams YES! Couldn't agree more. Original owners must've planted it, then their daughter battled for who knows how long to get rid of it with Roundup. I've dug, cut, pulled. But I'm just gonna let it grow now cause I think all my efforts just made it sprout in more areas.

Bria, I covered my original with a metal bushel basket so it would not get any light after a number of years it was rotted away. Still working on getting rid of sprouts from the roots might take years using brush weed killer painted on cuts I make cutting them down, I refuse to just let it go it will not see daylight here. My original trumpet vine was beautiful I had pruned it's thick vines into a weeping tree shape before it went bonkers and grew like the weed it really is. I got a lot of compliments on it and the hummingbirds loved it. Now I have honeysuckle vines dropmore scarlet and major wheeler they bloom from spring to a hard frost and the hummingbirds love them along with many other flowers in my garden.

For one thing at a time, boiling water can kill the heck out of stuff. Just watch your toes!

Tiffany, while that might work think I'll pass on it. The one and only time I was carrying a pot of hot water outdoors while trying to be very careful concentrating on the pot I fell over something and broke my elbow, at least didn't burn myself thank goodness.

Yikes! So sorry that happened! Yes, it can be hazardous. Works on ant hills too.

I have one garden at my step-moms that I've perennial'ed out. Lol. As filler i like sedums, creeping, mostly, they require so little care and soil, i think they are pretty