Lawn Border to Forest

Question: Hi,
Could you please recommend some ground cover/smother for us?
(Distant and close up photos attached for ref.).

Here are challenges:

- Zone 7 MD (north Harford county)
- perennial
- easily planted/sown
- low maintenance
- 2-3 feet high
- Border between Forest and lawn (300 feet)
- Needs to be deer resistant
- needs to crowd out aggressive raspberry thorny bush grow
- South southeast facing so good sun until 3 pm 
- Desired: Spreading/propagating fast
- Desired: Affordable
- Desired: colorful good but not required (red purple)
- Desired: coverage in winter (e.g., evergreen?)
Desired: seed planting

Thank You,

Sam

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied February 14, 2023, 3:00 PM EST
response: Hi Sam,  After reviewing your photos, we have a few suggestions to help with this area. Assuming this is the space between the fence and the edge of the wood line and not knowing exactly how wide that is, we have a variety of plants to recommend. You can review our web resource for a list of Deer Resistant Native Plants. Some of these will meet the list of desirable traits you have. You will want to stick with native plants or at least non-invasive plants being on the edge of the woods to help eliminate the risk of any plants spreading into the forest that could out compete any native plants growing there. Considering the sizeable distance you are hoping to cover, providing a mix of a variety of plants would most likely help you accomplish filling in the space and give you a comprehensive list to work with. Planting a mono-culture or all one plant species adds the risk of not succeeding because of varying factors of weather, disease or insect infestations. Including a variety of plants would help protect against this and thus offer greater bio-diversity. You can explore ideas on our webpage for Mixed Privacy Screens to understand how this is beneficial and also see the variety of plant lists for reference as well.  One plant that came to mind while trying to think of a solution is Rhus aromatica 'Gro Lo' . It can be planted in various locations and allowed to spread. It most likely will not keep the brambles from popping up (and not many plants will) but if planted amongst a variety of other plants it could offer the height and red fall color (not evergreen).  If a mixed screen were installed over time (to consider cost and up front maintenance of install and watering) it could be a nice aesthetically pleasing addition to the wood line. Some other plants that come to mind are:Grey owl Juniper-evergreen shrubEastern Red Cedar- taller evergreen treeClethra alnifolia - shrubVarious native grasses-see herbaceous list of the Deer Resistant plant listVarious native perennials - see herbaceous list of the Deer Resistant plant list Another source to explore for a variety of deer resistant plants is Landscape Plants rated by Deer Resistance from Rutgers University. Keep in mind though that some of the plants on the list are not native and we would not recommend planting them on the edge on a wooded area. Some are also annuals meaning they would have to planted every year to see their return.  After exploring these resources, please feel free to reach back out with further questions.  Emily

responder: The Question Asker Replied February 14, 2023, 3:23 PM EST
response: Emily,  Thank you. We'll go through these materials. Sincerely, Sam

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied February 14, 2023, 4:40 PM EST
response: You're welcome.

responder: The Question Asker Replied February 15, 2023, 7:04 AM EST
response: Thank you for the information! I am studying it now.On Tue, Feb 14, 2023, 4:40 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote: