Scarlet Flame Creeping Phlox

Fill the sunny garden with spring blooms on Scarlet Flame, a quick-growing, heat- and humidity-tolerant groundcover that simply blankets the garden floor with brilliant color in early and mid-spring. A long-lived perennial that deer and rabbits leave alone, this low grower is the perfect choice for covering large areas, tumbling over rocks and terraces, and filling in bare spots in normal to sandy soil.

Just 4 inches high, this quick grower sports evergreen foliage that is needle-thin and colored a rich grayish-green. In early spring it disappears beneath hundreds of brilliant pinkish-red blooms that last for several weeks, bringing the first butterflies of the season into the garden. Spreading up to 2 feet wide in no time, it's never invasive but does a great job of creating a dense, matted cover for the garden floor.

Space plants about 18 to 20 inches apart in the garden for best coverage, and consider planting them where they can scramble over rocks and down slopes. This is a plant that needs normal to sandy soil with good drainage, plus plenty of sunshine. Given those elements, Scarlet Flame does the rest. You will find it a prolific bloomer and very hardy garden presence for many seasons.

Trim the plant back after flowering, if you like, for fresh gray-green foliage growth during late spring and summer. This plant remains evergreen in warm climates, stands up to nibbling critters, and is very resistant to most diseases. In other words, truly a "plant and forget" delight! Zones 3-9.