Sprouts Proliferate

By God, this is an exceptionally fine day. Not only do I have three Scotch bonnet seedlings; my Santa Sweets are coming up.

I got myself a pint of Santa Sweet tomatoes, which are my favorite small tomatoes on earth, and I cut a couple open, and I stuck some seeds in my special germinating dirt. I didn't bother drying them or anything. That was on the 16th, pretty late, and this is the 19th. And I already have two seedlings half an inch high. Now that I think about it, that seems pretty fast.

I was afraid I had pawed my Scotch bonnets to death while wrenching them out of the flower bed for transplant. But they're huge today.

I have always had excellent luck with plants, so I guess this is just par for the course. I always treat them badly, and they always grow and prosper until I abuse them beyond the point of no return.

New question.

I have an area about twenty feet long and ten feet wide. It's in the shade for about half of the day. It's mostly bare dirt. Somewhat sandy, over coral rock. What's a good thing to put there to cover it up and make it less depressing? It has to be something that grows well in Miami, doesn't need a full day's sun, and can tolerate ups and downs in the watering cycle. Seems like all the herbs I've looked up require lots of sun. I know scheffleras and Surinam cherries do well in this location, but they suck.