My suggestion Creeping thyme

This might help too http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/grdcvr/msg0517120026854.html

Would Creeping Thyme grow in Hawaii? It's not a tropical plant.

Creeping thyme grows well in my sub-tropical los angeles garden, so it can handle heat, not sure about humidity.

Pennyroyal grows well in lawns and very fragrant, but is not edible. (insecticide, an abortificant) Some chamomile. Red clover is a great medicinal/edible. And don't forget dandelions! Maybe wood sorrel. Purslane is very nutritious. Not sure which of these might grow where you are.

I have an interest in this topic as well. We have hit a budget snag. We have over 1.4 acres, and it's not necessary to put edibles in the front yard because there are orchards and raised beds in back.

In front, we will have a line of dwarf citrus, creeping rosemary, Nasturtiums and Amaranthus, but the lawn area is the problem.

DH wants a putting green there. Artificial turf. Money stream going elsewhere, so that will need to wait. This is in the front, and easily viewed by passers-by, so I'm liking all of your suggestions. Do any of these have the ability to fill in a lawn size space? DH does NOT want to mow.

I forgot you can eat Dandelion Greens. Just Rounded-up quite a few of them. Shrug. More will come.... :-))

Suzi

I plant a rosemary that lies down near the ground, but I do not know the name.

golden purslane! I can't wait to get mine going this year. Likes hot weather, and very ornamental compared to the weedy kind.

I'm not sure of it's life cycle outside of the 4 seasons world.

I got my seeds for this at pleasant valley farm I think.

picture:

http://content.outsidepride.com/images/products/detail/herbseed/purslanegolden.jpg

leaves can go in salad, but we prefer them in stirfry, stems too. Very nutritious

My thyme grows fine with humidity in zone 8b.

Edible ground covers we've been looking at for a zone 7b garden:

Corsican mint, prostrate rosemary, creeping thyme, golden creeping oregano, Lingon berries, sweet woodruff, wintergreen, nodding onion, bunchberries.

list of sources:

Richter's, victoryseeds dot com, mountain valley growers, Raintree nrseries, tiny seeds dot com, darcy from the forest dot com. Haven't verified the reputations. Buyer beware, caveat emptor, your mileage may differ, batteries not included, no warrantee expressed or implied.

Mint if you can confine and control it though its often invasive there are a lot of varities, some that grow slower than others.

I've used oregano very successfully in my yard/garden here in central TX. I'm about to plant a LOT more of it, too.

Oregano spreads nicely here in NY. I have also used thyme - which is nice, because there are many varieties.

My grandfather's favorite joke: What's common thyme? 4/4. For all the music nerds on GardenWeb.

Love the joke. LOL. I do use a lot of oregano for ground cover. This year it's getting eaten by the Four-Lined Plant Bug, a recent scourge here in central TX. Hopefully, it's just a good year and won't be an ongoing problem. The oregano is growing back, though, which is another reason I love it.

I also vote for oregano. Mine's grown so much I've been digging portions of it up to plant elsewhere. Very hardy.