Thank you for submitting your question to Ask Extension. Congratulations on your new home! It can be exciting and a little frustrating learning to manage your first landscape

It appears from the picture that the plant is Phlox subulata, commonly known as moss phlox or creeping phlox. It thrives in well-drained soil in full to part-sun.

It’s always difficult to diagnose plant problems from a picture. Overall, the bed of phlox appears to be in good condition. When I zoom in on the closeup of the brown patch, I do not see signs of insect infestation or disease.

It’s possible that the bare stems are simply old growth that has become a little woody. Best practice is to cut the plant back by about half shortly after flowering is finished in the spring. This promotes dense fresh new growth. Since you say you are new to this landscape, it’s possible that this was not done. A sign of this might be green growth at the end the long bare stems. When I zoom in on the picture it does appear that the bare stems are quite long, but I cannot tell whether the short green growth is at the tips of bare stems. If that is the case, you could cut out the brown areas now. You would be left with some “holes” in the planting. These will eventually fill in as the plant spreads. It’s pretty late in the growing season so I don’t know that it will happen this year. A lot depends on weather. Continued warm temperatures and adequate moisture would encourage new growth.

Here is a link to some information on Phlox subulate from North Carolina State

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/phlox-subulata/

The spillover onto the driveway can be pruned out at any time. Another possibility would be to try to propagate some of that excess plant material to fill in the holes created by removing the brown patches. If you are interested in trying this, please reply to this answer before trimming and I will send detailed instructions.

As far as suggestions for the unplanted area, I need a little more information. How much sun does the area receive during the day? Is it mostly shady, morning sun, all day sun or late afternoon sun? Are you wanting another low growing ground cover similar to the phlox?

I wish you the best in your new home. I would suggest that as you seek to improve your gardening knowledge you use University vetted sources for information. There is a lot of good information on the web, but there are also a lot of people posing as experts that can steer you in the wrong direction. Asking AI to use scholarly articles or putting .edu in your search inquiry can help weed out some imposters, but it’s not foolproof.

Hi Sarah

There was a delay in my being notified of your reply.

Yes, go ahead and trim out those brown patches. This will allow the creeping phlox to spread into the bare soil. There’s a slight chance the brown may have been caused by a disease. If you notice black areas or if the brown plant material seems slimy please refer to the following article (zoom in on figure 3). Either way the solution is to remove the dead patches. It would be a good idea to clean your pruners/scissors before trimming in healthy tissue. Rubbing alcohol is good for this.

https://purduelandscapereport.org/article/anthracnose-on-creeping-phlox/?TSPD_101_R0=08993c5290ab20009eaffc318d647dc250919c455de94f2a29cc6b6d205d6d9383be63b95c7dcf28088e20b9d114300080ec60823750ea0c5edf122f1dc64015c74e7b33a06031e5a9e6419e66043676b8cadc15f637c71e727d43f89664493e

The bare spots created by removing the dead plant material will eventually be filled in as the surrounding plants spread. There are two ways to try to make use of the excess plant material you remove from the driveway to help fill the spaces quicker.  You can try them both to increase your chances of success

1.Gently lift the outer edges of the “carpet” that is overlying the driveway. Follow it back until you find where it is rooted in the soil. Go back an inch or two further and dig out a section of rooted plant material. You could then cut off most of the foliage, leaving maybe 3 or 4 inches of growth. Pot the rooted plant in a small pot(s) of potting soil. Try to plant the roots at the same depth as they were in the ground. Place the pot in a sheltered spot out of direct sun. The north side of a building or under a porch can be a good place. You just want to avoid direct sun. Monitor the pot to be sure it doesn’t dry out, but don’t keep it too wet. In 3-4 weeks the plant should have put out more roots. You can then gradually expose it to more sunlight every day. Once the plant can handle more than 4 hours of sun, or if the weather is cooler, you can plant the potted plants in the open areas. You will want to keep them moist for a few weeks, watering them if there is no rain. 

2. Phlox subulata spreads by rooting where its stems touch the soil. You may be able to take the “carpet” of phlox removed from the driveway and lay it on top of a shallow container of moist potting soil or coarse sand. Because you have removed the plants from their root supply you will want to cover the container to maintain moisture. The covered to go containers with black bottoms and clear tops work great for this. You could cover a regular pot with a plastic bag with some slits cut in it for ventilation. Make sure the container has holes in the bottom for drainage and in the top for ventilation. As above, place the container in indirect sunlight, keep the soil moist but not saturated.  Check in a few weeks to see if roots have developed, remove the lid for increasing amounts of time. Once completely uncovered move gradually into sunlight and transplant into bare spots.

Alternately, you could try planting the dug up rooted plants from the edge of the driveway directly in the bare spots, but I think the chances of success are better if you do the above to allow the plants to establish more roots under controlled conditions. Not only will they have more roots when you transplant them,  but it will be later in the growing season with somewhat cooler temperatures and less intense sun.

In answer to your other question about planting now, late summer and early autumn are excellent times to plant perennials. I will get back to you shortly with some plant suggestions.

I found a video that does a good job of explaining the process of digging and potting creeping phlox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISunm0kHzL4

Here are some suggestions for native plants at the top of the slope. 

Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

• Safety: Entirely safe and non-toxic. This species is fully non-toxic to both dogs and cats. It contains no harmful chemicals, meaning you can plant it freely without worrying if your pet takes an occasional nibble.
• Type: Semi-evergreen perennial wildflower.
• Sunlight: Partial shade to full shade.
• Moisture: Moist, rich, well-drained soil; prefers organic matter.
• Appearance: Forms loose mats of oblong green leaves. In spring, it sends up stems reaching 10–15 inches tall topped with highly fragrant, five-petaled flowers ranging from lavender-blue to pale violet.
• Landscape Use: Perfect for woodland gardens, shaded borders, naturalized cottage gardens, and complementing early spring bulbs.

Native Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)

• Safety: Generally non-toxic but use caution. The ASPCA clears Sedum ternatum as non-toxic. However, like most succulents, its fleshy leaves contain sap that can cause mild drooling, oral irritation, or minor stomach upset if a dog or cat chews on it heavily. It is safe for a pet-friendly yard, but best kept away from notorious plant-eaters.
• Type: Succulent perennial wildflower.
• Sunlight: Partial shade to full shade (unlike most sun-loving stonecrops).
• Moisture: Moist, well-drained soil; tolerates occasional drought once established.
• Appearance: Low, creeping mats of small, rounded, fleshy green leaves arranged in whorls of three. In spring, it produces distinctive, star-shaped white flowers with dark purple anthers.
• Landscape Use: Excellent native groundcover for shady rock gardens, woodland paths, tree bases, and moist shade gardens.

Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica)

• Type: Native perennial sedge (grass-like).
• Sunlight: Partial shade to full shade.
• Moisture: Dry to medium, well-drained soil.
• Appearance: Fine-textured, bright green leaves that grow in soft, weeping tufts reaching about 6–12 inches tall. It spreads slowly via rhizomes to form a lush, loose carpet.
• Landscape Use: Excellent shade lawn alternative, understory groundcover for woodland gardens, or matrix plant for suppressing weeds.

Bigleaf Geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum)

• Type: Rhizomatous perennial cranesbill.
• Sunlight: Full sun to deep shade.
• Moisture: Adaptable, highly drought-tolerant once established.
• Appearance: Large, deeply lobed, aromatic leaves that emit a pleasant herbal scent when brushed. It produces clusters of pink to magenta flowers in late spring and turns brilliant red-bronze in autumn.
• Landscape Use: Fast-spreading, weed-smothering groundcover for dry shade areas under mature trees

Google AI was used to assist in assembling the above information

If you live near a native plant nursery, they may be able to give better suggestions based on your local growing conditions.

I wish you luck with your new home and landscape.