Creeping sedum ‘Little Miss Sunshine’

* Common name: Creeping sedum ‘Little Miss Sunshine’

* Botanical name: Sedum kamtschaticum ‘Little Miss Sunshine’

* What it is: ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ is a low-growing, low-care, succulent, perennial groundcover that grows in neat, spreading clumps.

It’s a particularly heavy-blooming variety of creeping sedum. Bright-yellow, star-shaped flowers nearly cover the low, dark-green mounds for weeks in June and July.

* Size: Grows six to eight inches tall and spreads gradually two to three feet out in a few years. Space 18 inches apart at planting.

* Where to use: Since creeping sedum is especially tolerant of heat, drought, and poor soil, this one is a good choice for your hottest, driest areas. Among the best spots are along driveways and sidewalks, around sunny mailboxes, and in sunny rock gardens. Just avoid soggy sites.

* Care: Water the first season to establish the roots, then ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ should be fine without watering. Fertilizer usually is not needed either.

This variety spreads but not aggressively. Shovel out and transplant or give away any sections that are growing beyond where you want.

Lightly trim off the spent flower heads if they bother you, but it won’t hurt to let them alone to save even that small bit of maintenance work. Plants are evergreen to semi-evergreen in winter, so there’s no need for winter cutbacks.

* Great partner: The yellow flowers of ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ pair nicely and bloom at the same time as red shrub roses.

Plants make good groundcovers under green evergreens, such as dwarf Hinoki cypress, holly, and upright junipers, and around any ornamental grass.