Question
What would you recommend for perennial ground cover, drought resistent, full sun, good drainage -- Cape Cod is sandy soil? How should the soil be prepared. Thank you.

Answer
Mary Ellen,
For full sun and sandy soil you could plant Bearberry - this plant is a bit hard to get established in that you can't over water it but it must be watered enough to keep it alive the first season.  After that, it will be fine with no water other than the rain.  It is evergreen and a bit slow to get going.

Your other option, and my personal favorite, would be to plant Goldstrum Rudbeckia. (Blackeyed Susans) This plant is weed-smothering, so once it fills in you won't have to weed or mulch much.  (No matter WHAT you plant you will have to weed some, and early on you should keep on top of the weeds so they don't grow in the areas between the plants.)  This Rudbeckia spreads and self-seeds, so you will get good coverage in a few years.  You can buy small plants and plant them between 18" to 2 or more feet apart, and they will fill in well.  Goldstrum looks good from the time it comes up in the spring to when it's in bloom in July through September to when the frost and snow are on the seedheads.  Have it cut down by a weed whacker once a year in January or February.

For both of these plants it would be good to till the soil to loosen it, working in some compost, composted leaves or loam as you do this, and then plant and mulch for the first year or two to keep weeds at bay.  Water both of these plants once a week deeply if it doesn't rain - always water deeply less often.

A light application of ORGANIC fertilizer in early spring should be all the feeding you do.  Do not be tempted to overfertlize to "speed things up."

I hope this helps,
C.L.