I’m looking for a sort of lawn alternative. We have a large area of dirt (4 thousand square feet) that is needing coverage. We do not want to plant grass due to maintenance. We are looking for a low growing, medium traffic, drought tolerant, not too picky on soil type and something that won’t attract a whole slew of bees (as kids and adults will be playing in an around). We live about 4 hours north of Toronto and so has to be durable enough to sustain winters. We initially thought of clovers however I believe this attracts bees and hornets. After months of research I think the elfin creeping thyme is a good choice. Do you have any suggestions?
It is a great idea not to try to create a golf-course-like grass lawn; too much water, chemicals, and labour, when you could create a far more interesting landscape.
Elfin thyme is a good plant to consider; however, for an area as large as you are describing, it could be extremely expensive to use only thyme. Thyme requires very well draining soil, so that is a consideration. And if using thyme, a more interesting effect can be created by using several additional thymes, such as silver, creeping, and woolly, for a variety of colors and flowering times. Of course, thyme does flower, so bees will love it. But bees are really quite harmless. Dutch White Clover is, indeed, a great groundcover and I would urge you to rethink this option.
You don’t specify whether this is large area is all sun, all shade or a mix (which is more likely). Again, in such a large space, I would recommend a mixture of plants, not a monoculture, basing your choices on the light available. Here are some to consider for the sunny areas:
Creeping Juniper ( Juniperus horizontalis )
For areas that get partial sun:
Bearberry ( Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
For the shadier areas:
Wild ginger (Asarum canadense)
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)
Barrenwort (Epimedium), various species and cultivars
Wintergreen ( Gaultheria procumbens )