In spring, Pachysandra roots readily, so rather than buying plants, see if you can find a neighbor with a nice stand and get some starts.
Even un-rooted pieces stand a chance of growing on for you if planted immediately after cutting or pulling. I found this out when I wanted to move some from one area to another and my non-gardening husband decided to "help." Instead of carefully digging the plants, as I had planned, he just yanked them out and I was greeted by a pile of basically rootless stems and stolons. I was not best pleased, I can tell you! With many misgivings and muttered imprecations, I quickly scratched shallow trenches in the unprepared native clay, about a foot apart, and laid the stems in thickly so that just the leafy ends were above soil when the trenches were backfilled. I watered them in well and to my surprise, most of them rooted and grew. This is not recommended planting practice, nevertheless, and you'll have better success if you plant well-rooted cuttings!
Lamiastrum galeobdolon is a rampant spreader that will grow in part sun or deep shade. All it asks is soil that drains well but is relatively retentive. I'm not sure how well it will do in really sandy soil. The photo shows the form 'Variegatum' in bloom, covering ground beneath a group of trees. The soil is native clay that had absolutely nothing done to it before planting. This bed also has Pachysandra in it. These two plants have been jostling for territory for nearly twenty years. In the last couple of years, it looks like the Lamiastrum may be winning the battle.
The variegated leaves are attractive just about year around. I have read that they can revert to the more dominant green of the species, but have not witnessed this in my garden in twenty years. It's rated hardy from USDA zones 3 to 9, but I find that the foliage tends to get fairly ratty looking after a severe winter. While Pachysandra spreads by underground stolons, Lamiastrum throws out long runners that root at the leaf nodes where they touch soil. It's pretty easy to pull and you can mow it down with your mower set on its highest level. The clear yellow spikes of bloom in May (for me) are attractive, but don't last long. This one will also seed around a bit. The major growth spurt is immediately after bloom, so if you want to mow it to tidy things up, do it right after it blooms. It really does light up a dark, dank corner.
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