I went the stepping stone route too—made a huge difference. Woolly thyme can feel great barefoot, but you're right, that squishiness isn't everyone's cup of tea. Honestly, I found that mixing it up with some creeping sedum or Irish moss helps tone down the "wet bathmat" effect. Plus, it adds a nice variation in texture and color. Might be worth considering if you're ever tweaking things again down the line...
Good tip about mixing textures—definitely helps visually balance a space. I've noticed creeping sedum holds up better in dry spells compared to Irish moss, which tends to get patchy if not watered consistently. How's your experience been with maintenance on these groundcovers? Curious if anyone's tried Corsican mint...heard the scent is amazing underfoot, but wondering if it's worth the fuss.
"Curious if anyone's tried Corsican mint...heard the scent is amazing underfoot, but wondering if it's worth the fuss."
Tried Corsican mint last summer—smells fantastic, but honestly, it was a bit finicky. Needed more watering than I expected. If you're after low-maintenance, creeping thyme might be easier and still gives you that nice fragrance.
I put Corsican mint between some flagstones a couple years back. Definitely agree about the scent—it really does smell great when you step on it, kind of a fresh minty burst—but yeah, it can be picky. Mine struggled a bit in direct sun and dried out quicker than I hoped, so I had to keep an eye on watering more than I wanted to. Have you thought about how much shade your space gets? It seems to do better with partial shade in my experience. Creeping thyme's been easier for me too, but the trade-off is that its fragrance isn't quite as noticeable unless you're really brushing against it a lot. Guess it depends on how much effort you're willing to put into maintenance versus how strong you want that scent underfoot...
I tried Corsican mint once too, loved the scent but it just didn't thrive for me either. Ended up switching to chamomile between my stepping stones—less picky about sun and watering, plus it has this subtle apple-y fragrance that's pretty nice when you walk on it barefoot.
