Corsican Mint. This is a fantastic low spreading ground cover with a wonderful scent.

These 3 are sold as evergreen or semi evergreen groundcovers & you might even find freebie starts in a friend's garden, so I've included a pic to help you ID them.

We've used all 3 at our place outside of Seattle. Out of the 3 the Ajuga is toughest, but the others have put up with the occasional ball, hose, or foot just fine. In fact they might need an occasional pruning to stay in place. In some gardens they're considered invasive, but for between flagstones should be fine. They'll spread on their own or propagate easily for you to fill out the area. We planted Ajuga around stepping stones to the hose reel this spring about 8" apart & area is covered now. Plus they're slug resistant though occasional slug damage on the Lamium on young growth.

This pic was from a few weeks ago in a spring planted garden, so you can see the creeping nature of them. I don't have pics handy of what I planted last year & the year before.

1. Ajuga reptans - esp. bronze leaved (not in picture)
2. Lamium mac... (spotted dead nettle) - esp. the golden Aurea (on the right)
3. Lysimachia numm... (golden creeping Jenny) - prefers moist soil & will stay golden with 5 hours sun (round leaves trailing to the left)

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With the creeping Jenny I have had good success with removing the creeping runners by pulling or scissoring free from the main plant as it roots along the stems quickly. It's a pretty tough plant. I've also dug a hole where I want the plant to grow using a bulb planter, then use the bulb planter to create a plug then back to put it in the hole. Then I fill the hole with compost & both places grow quickly if kept moist. What I did in May has completed filled back in.

Hope that helps - Corrine

I love Corsican mint but it is not evergreen for me in SE PDX and I'm sick of replanting it so I've just planted Elfin Thyme instead....not sure yet how it will go. The mint dies off completely and doesn't come back.

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I would prefer an evergreen that doesn't need a ton of water.

I prefer elfin thyme and Veronica repens. also various mosses, and scotch "moss' .

I love the look of Scotch and Irish "moss" but neither has proved perennial for me. Both die off in winter and have had to be replaced. I've had the same problem with blue star creeper and dark blue star creeper....I planted all of them around my front ponds and they looked great the first season and then died off. More than once....full sun, improved soil. Not damp from ponds.

Plantknitter, I like Veronica repens also. It's a pretty tough plant. Mine isn't planted where it gets much traffic. It doesn't get any supplemental watering and does fine right out in the sun with good drainage.
Mike

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Veronica repens on the left with Iberis sempervirens on the right.