My bare foot pressed into a mat of creeping thyme on my dry Colorado path. A wave of warm herb scent rose up in the heat. The leaves stayed flat under my weight, then sprang back the moment I lifted my heel. The best plants between pavers are low, walkable, and drought-tolerant. Think creeping thyme, sedum, and ice plant. They take heat and foot traffic without fuss.
Most of these tough fillers are creeping ground covers that hug the soil and spread sideways instead of up. That low habit matters more than the flowers. A plant that climbs above the stone surface turns your path into a trip hazard and gets crushed every time someone walks by.
Three traits separate a good paver plant from a bad one. It has to stay under 3 inches tall so it sits flush with the stones. It has to handle light foot traffic and pop back up after a footstep. And it has to live in the harsh strip between stones, where the soil is thin and fast-draining and the pavers throw back reflected heat all day.
That last point trips up a lot of people. The gap between two stones bakes like a small oven, and rich garden soil dries out fast in it. Pick a plant built for lean ground and full sun, not a shade lover that wants steady moisture. The wrong match looks great for a month, then fries by midsummer.
Creeping thyme is my first pick for narrow joints. It grows about 2 inches tall, smells great underfoot, and blooms purple in early summer while the bees work it over. Low-growing sedum is just as tough and stores water in its fat leaves, so it shrugs off a dry week with no help from you.
For more color, ice plant (delosperma) opens bright daisy-like flowers across hot, sunny gaps and laughs at drought. If your joints run wider, say 4 inches or more, common yarrow fills the space with soft ferny growth and takes a step now and then. Match the plant to the gap size and you avoid a thin, patchy look. Mix two or three of these together if you want, since they all share the same tough nature and blend without a fight.
Skip anything that wants to climb. You may love a trailing vine in a pot, but it will mound up between your stones and snag your toes. The same goes for moss in a sunny spot. It needs shade and steady damp, so it browns out in a baked joint and leaves you bare gaps to fill again.
Set yourself up right before you plant a single plug. The prep work in the joints does more for your success than any fancy variety you could buy. Get your plants between pavers off to a good start and they handle the rest themselves.
- Clear the joints: Remove old debris and weeds from the gaps and loosen the soil so young roots can take hold.
- Add gritty soil: Fill joints with a lean, fast-draining soil mix rather than rich potting soil, which holds too much moisture.
- Plant small: Set in small plugs or divisions of creeping thyme or sedum, spacing them so they can knit together over a season.
- Water gently but regularly until the plants establish, then cut back to occasional watering.
- Choose only low, walkable species so the planting stays flush and trip-free.
New plants need a real drink while their roots dig in, so water every few days for the first month or so. Once a drought-tolerant ground cover like thyme or sedum settles in, you can back off to a soak only during long dry spells. Plant in spring or early fall, give the joints that gritty mix, and your path fills in with a soft green carpet that takes the heat and the foot traffic for years.
Read the full article: 15 Best Xeriscaping Plants for Your Yard
