Sagina

Sagina is a small creeping perennial plant from the family Caryophyllaceae, represented by about twenty species native to the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In our gardens, we mainly cultivate Sagina subulata, an evergreen ground cover resembling moss that works wonders in Japanese gardens. This 'carpet plant' forms mats that rarely exceed 5 cm (2in) in height, spreading over more than 25 cm (10in) thanks to creeping stems and trailing roots. Its very short and thin leaves come in different shades of green, almost yellowish green in the Aurea variety. In summer, the mat is adorned with small white flowers visited by pollinators.

Sagina is used as an alternative to lawns in areas with no footfall, in cool and slightly shaded areas of the garden where it requires no mowing. It is also a popular plant in moss gardening, commonly used in rockeries, like helxine, or to fill gaps between large paving stones and walls.