Swedish Ivy (aka creeping charlie)?

Here is a link that might be useful: Swedish ivy pictures

It looks like Glechoma hederacea, ground ivy to me.
Heres another picture.

Question! Was it out there over last winter?

The nursery guy probably meant "mentha" but it doesn't look like mint and if it doesn't smell like it then it's probably not. Looks like the pics of swedish ivy linked above.

Thank you, all. I believe it's closest to the "ground ivy" pic. The stems are square and it has a strong smell, not sure it's exactly like mint. It wasn't here last winter. I asked the guy who did our landscaping whether they had planted it or if it was a weed, and he didn't know, but thought it looked good!

We're trying for a woodsy look in the front yard and I'm going to put some out there. Google says it's evergreen, but surely not here in the Rockies?

Hi Susan,

Im still not sure if you have ground ivy (Glechoma) or Swedish ivy (Plectranthus). Did the landscaper put it in, or did it just show up? If the landscaper put it in, it could be either. But then why doesnt he know what it isand if its Swedish ivy, why would he put a tropical outside! And Glechoma h. IS sometimes sold commercially (dont know why!) so it could be thatit looks so even, Im inclined to think he did put it in, and maybe he just didnt want to tell you what it was! If he didnt put it in and the ground was bare, then most likely its ground ivywhich will come up anywhere theres bare ground.

Both Glechoma and Plectranthus are in the mint family (Lamiaceae), so the square stems wont help decide which it is in this case (most things in the mint family have square stems). I agree with Dafy that the guy at the nursery noticed the square stems and was trying to tell you, you had something in the Mentha species. Most things in the Mentha species do smell like mint, but most things in the mint family dont smell like "mint" as we think of it.

Watch for flowers, and if it blooms, if the flowers are white you have Swedish ivy, and if theyre purple/lavender, you have ground ivy. If its Swedish ivy, its going to freeze the first time you get a hard frost, and if its ground ivywellI consider it a weed. Youre going to wind up with it coming up absolutely anywhere you have even the tiniest bare spot of soil. I dont have any growing in my yard, and I dont have a clue how the seeds spread from other places so easily (possibly the wind), but every year I have it coming up here and there all over my yardespecially in the lawn wherever there are (very) small bare spots. So, if its ground ivy, besides coming up all over your yard, itll be coming up all over your neighbors yards too. If your landscaper did put it in, I recommend he pay to replace it!

If you just want a nice even ground cover in there, why dont you put in one of the prettier Ajugas. Chocolate Chip makes a really pretty, low, shiny, and dense ground cover (if I get a chance, Ill try to remember to come back and post a picture on my next days offdont have any downloaded right now), and for something with larger leaves, Bronze Beauty would be nice. And there are the plain green ones too if thats what you prefer. Dont get Burgundy Glow if you go looking at them. Its pretty, but it just doesnt grow as well as the others and probably wont fill in nice and evenly. Oh, theres another fairly new one, Black Scallop thats really pretty, and I think itll fill in well, but Im not real familiar with it yetjust have a tiny one Im starting. And there are lots of other nice ground covers you could use that wont become a nuisance to you. There are some really nice ground cover Veronicas, or you could even go with Alpine (sometimes called French gourmet) strawberries, Fragaria vesca (usually Rugens Improved). Theyre runnerless, so they stay inbounds, and they produce very small, but very intensely flavored edible strawberries. Theyd have a nice, woodsy look to thembut they wouldnt fill in quite as quickly as Ajuga or most of the other spreading groundcovers.

Fingers crossed that you dont have Glechoma,
Skybird

I believe I just used this plant in a design. If it has a strong smell it is almost certainly Asarum caudatum common name western wild ginger

There is great information for it at this link