Fast-growing ground cover for small area?

[BreatheAndFocus]

can anyone recommend some plants or shrubs that would be suitable for ground cover, grow quickly and look decent all year round?

I’ve got two small areas at the front of my house either side of a short path. It’s a new house and the developers just put bark down with the most pathetic tiny sprigs of something that’s not grown at all in months. The trouble is that the local cats have identified these bare bark areas as an ideal toilet. It’s disgusting to get up to 5 or 6 ‘deposits’ every morning right by my front door and path. I’ve tried all the deterrents which on,y work briefly, so the obvious answer is to find a nice low-growing, fast-growing shrub or plant to deter the little bs and to make that area look nice.

Any suggestions? All I can think of is big shrubs which aren’t really suitable. The size of the areas are one side is approx 1m by 1m, the other side is L shaped and maybe 3M round the outside of the L and less than a metre wide.

Thank you in advance 🍃 🌸

Vinca is a good fast growing ground cover. Also there's one or more protrate junipers which would look nice and be definitely tough enough to deter cats. And creeping thyme.

Prostrate - sorry fat fingers in car!

I need to cover some bare areas too and just googled the suggestions. The vinca looks nice but is an annual so would need replanting every year.

I quite like the look of creeping thyme.

Creeping phlox looks nice too.

Vinca’s not an annual, but Vinca major can be invasive, look for Vinca minor.

Hardy geraniums and heucheras are also a good bet. Sweet woodruff (galium
odoratum) is lovely ground cover but tends to hide underground in winter.

Vinca is not an annual. I suggest whatever website told you that is knocked off your list of reliable sources

Dryas. Mine is going crazy.

I wouldn't recommend vinca. Look at the thread about 'plants I wish I hadn't planted', and it it's mentioned time and again. I have vinca minor and it's quite hard to dig up, has spread where I didn't want, and nettles and sticky Willie will still grow through it.
something like a prostrate cotoneaster will give good cover and is bushy and twiggy enough to deter cats.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/34062/helichrysum-italicum/details

Curry plant would fit your bill and is said to deter cats.

Vinca is a complete nightmare, as will be most ‘fast growing’ ground cover.
I would closely plant lower growing perennials with lots of dwarf daffodil/crocus/wood anemones and sprinkle orange peel to deter the cats. In the meantime pin down some netting or find some holly twigs!

Oh gosh big controversy over the vinca. I retract the suggestion.
Agree with someone else's suggestion of heucheras though - if you use a specialist heuchera nursery there's an astonishing range of varieties and colours (but they do bloody die on you easily I've found 😒).

Go into the countryside and clip lots of hawthorn twigs from a random tree. Scatter them over the area and the thorns should keep them off. Also Berberis might work.
Or buy some berneris plants.I think they grow to different sizes so choose a not too big one- some are purple leaved and some green .5 little plants should knit quite quickly.

I think that was me with the heuchera suggestion. I’ve found that they either die in their first year or go on forever. The purple varieties seem the most robust.

Hardy geraniums. Aka “Cranesbill.”

Thank you all so much! Excellent suggestions here 😎 I’m googling the names I don’t recognise and am actually excited to choose some plants 🌱

I didn’t expect such a great response. Very much appreciated 😊 💐

Geranium St Ola is a low growing groundcover, its semi evergreen and flowers in May/June. That might work?

Herringbone cotoneaster could be what you're looking for. I've got a variegated one which is pretty. It's low growing and prostrate and twiggy so cats won't easily scratch it up when once it's established. It is deciduous,, but it has small flowers that bees love and berries in the autumn for the birds.