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Favorite Flowering Ground Covers

‘Shell’Pink’ and ‘Orchid Frost’ lamiums look lovely side-by-side.

If you have a garden area that needs filling in, whether along a slope, between plants, or beside stone steps or rocky retaining walls, there are many beautiful perennial groundcovers for the job. They range from ones that do well in hot, dry areas to others that like moist shade.  I have chosen groundcovers that have beautiful leaves as well as flowers, which do not overwhelm surrounding plants and are easy to grow.

Flowering Groundcovers for Full to Partial Shade

‘Orchid Frost’ is one of many pretty deadnettles for shady gardens.

Spotted Deadnettle (Lamium maculatum, Zones 3-8): One of my favorites for shade is named spotted deadnettle, or simply deadnettle, even though it has no prickly nettles.  I have had several varieties in my shade garden for years. The early summer flower stalks are about 7 inches tall, rising over 4-inch-tall plants that spread several feet across. There are lots of varieties with variously spotted leaves and blooms of purple, pink, or white that are visited by bees. My favorite varieties include ‘Orchid Frost’ with lavender flowers and beautiful silver leaves, ‘Aureum‘ with bright pink flowers and white-striped gold leaves, Shell Pink‘ with palest pink blooms, and ‘White Nancy’, which has white flowers and silvery leaves. Lamium is deer-resistant, spreads gently, and is easily divided and transplanted. Plant it along shaded bed edges or allow it to cascade from the side of a shaded container garden. Lamium likes full to partial shade, and moist, well-drained soil.

Fragrant sweet woodruff flowers and plants look attractive in shaded gardens.

Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum, Zones 4-8): Another partial- to full-shade groundcover is European sweet woodruff, which also has the benefit of being an herbal plant used to flavor May wine in Europe. It has clusters of starry white flowers in the spring and whorled, star-shaped leaves; both are fragrant, but it’s the flowers that are used to flavor the wine. (Click here for a May wine recipe.) Sweet woodruff is about 8 inches tall and gently spreads around trees and shrubs.  It likes moist, well-drained soil and is deer resistant!

Wild ginger creates mats of attractive foliage through the growing season.

Wild Gingers (Asarum spp., Zones vary): There are many wild gingers with lovely ground-covering foliage and interesting beetle-pollinated spring flowers. The popular native species is Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadensis, Zones 2-8). Its medium-green, heart-shaped leaves look very pretty on bed edges or to hold shaded garden banks. Chinese wild ginger (Asarum splendens, Zones 6-8) is more ornamental with its pointed, green leaves that have spectacular silver markings.  ‘Quick Silver‘ is the best variety. Small, three-petaled, purple flowers appear around the base of the plants in spring. It also does well in full to part shade.  Most Asarum reach 6 to 8 inches, like average well-drained soil, and are deer resistant.

‘Cutting Edge’ Tiarella has attractive spring flowers and lovely leaves. (Image thanks to Proven Winners)

Foamflower (Tiarella spp.): These pretty native perennials have attractive, lobed foliage and spires of foamy flowers that appear in late spring. The flowers may be ivory or pink and attract both bees and butterflies. The pretty clumps of ornate leaves spread over time. Try the new Proven Winners variety ‘Cutting Edge’, which has spectacular green, maple-shaped leaves with red venation. Provide foamflower with full to part shade, and moist, well-drained soil amended with fertile organic matter, such as Black Gold Natural & Organic Garden Compost Blend. In fact, this amendment will create a good soil foundation for all of the shade-loving groundcovers mentioned.

Flowering Groundcovers for Full to Partial Sun

Creeping thyme doubles as an herb and groundcover.

Creeping Speedwell (Veronica prostata, Zones 4-8): Grow this creeping groundcover along a border edge or in a rock garden. The stunning variety, ‘Aztec Gold’, has gold leaves with violet-blue flowers in the early summer.  It reaches 6 inches tall, is heat tolerant, and needs moderate moisture. Deer don’t like it but bees and butterflies do.

Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum, Zones 4-8): This easy garden herb is one of my favorites. It does well between paving stones or cascading down rock walls. The fragrant leaves are tiny plants reach 2-inches-high. The spreading mats have little summer flowers of purple, bright pink, or lavender, depending on the variety you buy. Bees love the blooms! Check out ‘Elfin’ with purple flowers, ‘Annie Hall’ with pink flowers, and ‘Silver Posie’, which has white-edged leaves and lavender flowers. The fragrant leaves can be used in cooking. Thyme needs full sun, very well-drained soil, and is drought-tolerant once established. Like most plants in the mint family, it is also deer resistant.

Creeping phlox is perfect for garden edges and slopes (‘Emerald Blue’ is at the far left, and ‘Candy Stripe’ is at the far right)

Stonecrop (Sedum spp., Zones vary): For hot, dry, sunny, areas nothing can beat, low-spreading stonecrops.  Many have beautiful, succulent leaves, as well as starry flowers that attract bees and butterflies. It is very easy to pull up a piece and replant it to help fill in an area quickly. Some good varieties are the 2-3 inches tall ‘John Creech’ (Sedum spurium ‘John Creech, Zones 3-9) with pink, summer flowers, SunSparkler® Wildfire (Zones 4-9) that has red leaves edged in rose as well as pink flowers in the late-summer, and ‘White Diamond’ (Sedum pachyclados ‘White Diamond’, Zones 5-9) with blue-green rose-shaped leaves and white summer flowers.  The broad-spreading ‘Angelina’ (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’, Zones 5-9) is a popular variety with gold spiky foliage and yellow summer blooms.  Sedums are drought-tolerant once established.

Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata, Zones 3-9): This has some of the most beautiful flowers of all the groundcovers and blooms for up to 4 weeks in the spring.  It averages 5 inches tall and spreads quickly. Plant creeping phlox in open, sunny areas along slopes or retaining walls, in front of shrubs, or in rock gardens where they will get full sun and well-drained soil.  Look for the colorful varieties ‘Scarlet Flame’ with red-eyed rose-pink flowers, ‘Emerald Blue’ with pale lilac-blue flowers, and ‘Candy Stripe’, which has pink flowers edged in white.  Creeping phlox is deer resistant.

Snow-in-Summer can take heat and drought!

Snow-in-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum, Zones 3-7): gardeners with hot, dry, sunny spots that need a flowering groundcover should grow snow-in-summer. It creates a broad, spreading mat of silver leaves that erupt with cascades of white flowers in the summer. Try the more compact variety, ‘Yo Yo‘. It is beautiful! Site it as you would creeping phlox. Bees and butterflies love the flowers!

These easy groundcovers will help to provide needed in sweeps across your garden. Buy a few to fill in bare areas, and you will be glad you did.

Groundcovers to Avoid

It is important to note that there are some popular groundcovers to avoid because they are invasive and have become an ecological problem in wild areas. These include groundcover periwinkle (Vinca minor and Vinca major), wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei), Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans), Japanese spurge (Pachysandra procumbens), and worst of all, English Ivy (Hedera helix). English ivy is a tree-killer in zone 7 or warmer (click here to learn more). The evergreen types are truly the worst because they smother native spring ephemerals and other natives along the forest floor. Avoid planting them, if you can.

Does Moss Make a Good Groundcover?

“Even though moss dries out in summers, will it make a good ground cover for dirt that is largely dark clay?” Question from Susan of Junction City, Oregon

Answer: If you live in an area with consistent moisture and lots of shade, then it can make a good ground cover, though we recommend amending any clay soils first. There are lots of different moss species that are sold by specialty moss nurseries, or mosseries. (Moss Acres is one and Mountain Moss is another.) Most mosses grow best in moist, fertile soil that holds water well and is more acidic (pH 5.0 to 6.0), though some mosses will tolerate some sunshine. (Click here for a list of shade-loving mosses and click here for sun-tolerant moss options.)

Steps for Growing Garden Moss

Here are five steps to getting moss to grow in your yard or garden.

  1. Work up shaded lawn or garden areas that are bare.
  2. Apply fertile amendments, such as Black Gold Natural & Organic Garden Compost Blend or Black Gold Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, into at least the top three inches of soil.
  3. Apply moss as sheets or fragments purchased from a quality mossery. Make sure that they are the right species for your area.
  4. Water in the new moss and keep it moist. Follow the care steps as provided by the mossery.
  5. Keep your moss moist during the hottest, driest times in summer.

It’s that simple! If you like the look of mossy rocks, you can even apply moss starts to rocks to get that lush, green, mossy look.

Happy gardening!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

What Are The Best Shade-Loving Native Groundcovers For New Jersey?

Shade Native Groundcovers For New Jersey

“What are the best ground covers for where I live in coastal New Jersey? The location is shaded 75-80% of the day.” Question from Thomas of South Amboy, New Jersey

Answer: The groundcovers that grow best in the shaded areas in your area of coastal New Jersey are natives. Here are four of the prettiest and toughest for your area.

Native Groundcovers for Shade

American Alumroot (Heuchera americana) forms large mounds of textural, red-veined leaves make this hardy perennial a great groundcover for shaded spots. Truly, any Heuchera can be planted en masse to cover a lot of shady ground and look great. One note: they do not appreciate mulch over their crowns.

American Ginger (Asarum canadensis) is an attractive, low-growing, spreading groundcover with bright green, heart-shaped leaves. It is easy to grow and pretty.

Evergreen American Wild Ginger (Hexastylis arifolia) is a low-growing, spreading groundcover with beautifully mottled leaves. It is one of my favorite native groundcovers.

Appalachian Sedge (Carex appalachica) forms fine, grassy clumps of foliage that are very attractive. It will tolerate both dry and moist shade.

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is a rare fern that is evergreen, grows well in dry shade once established, and spreads. Multiple plants must be planted over an area for it to cover good ground. It is my favorite groundcover for shade. (Click here to learn more.)

If natives are not your thing, then bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is a pretty, low-growing spring bloomer with deep green foliage and spikes of bright purple flowers in spring. There are lots of attractive varieties available.

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

 

How Do You Get Grass to Grow in Shade?

“How can you grow grass when you have so many trees you get no sunlight on the ground?” Question from Terry of La Place, Louisiana

Answer: Sadly, the best thing to do is to grow something else. Grasses are notoriously sun-loving and none of the common lawn varieties will grow well in deep shade. Beds of attractive, low-growing groundcovers for deep shade are a much better choice. Some options are even grass-like, such as sedges. Here are some of the finest groundcovers for deep shade in Louisiana. You may even mix these up to create a more textural, interesting planting.

Southern Groundcovers for Deep Shade

Ajuga is an easy-to-find, spring-blooming groundcover for deep shade.

Partidge berry and little brown jug are my favorites because they are native, cute, tough, and feed wildlife. There are also lots of ferns to consider if the soil is not too dry beneath your trees. These include wood fern (Thelypteris kunthii) and Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora).

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

What are Inexpensive, Easy Groundcovers to Stop Erosion?

“We have a small fenced-in backyard with a dog. Due to sloping, and poor drainage, we have little topsoil left, but a lot of mud that gets tracked in the house. Are there any inexpensive suggestions for easy-to-grow hardy ground coverings or grass that will alleviate these issues? Our back yard has a mixture of sun and shade and is primarily red mud, so any assistance would be greatly appreciated! THANKS!!!” –Cathy of Mooresville, North Carolina

Answer: Whatever you plant, you will need to allow it to become established before you let your dogs back in the yard. It sounds like this is a problem that will take several steps, even if you choose the least expensive approaches. Here are my recommendations.

Steps for Establishing a Lawn and Groundcover on Sloped, Clay Ground

Taller, denser groundcovers will keep your dogs away from tree and bed areas. Curvaceous groundcover bed areas look tidy and attractive.

Here are my recommendations for managing your erosion and muddy yard troubles.

  1. Identify and attempt to stop the source of erosion. If you can identify the water source (a bad gutter or washout from a driveway or a patio), you can often divert the water away from your yard by creating dry-wells. The method of diversion will depend on the source. (Click here for some more ideas and here.)
  2. Define sunny lawn areas and shaded groundcover areas around the base of trees. Athletic Field Fluorescent Orange Striping Spray Paint works well for drawing out bed areas on the soil. Be sure that you create appealing lines for tree beds or gardens.
  3. Scratch up lawn areas with a hard rake, top-dress the soil with approximately 1 inch of Black Gold Garden Compost Blend or Black Gold Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, then lay down a cost-effective biofabric with grass seed, like Grotrax Burmuda Rye Mix, which can be purchased by the roll. Products like these stop erosion while encouraging lawn establishment. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for care (click here for more information), and keep pets and people off of the area until it has fully sprouted and started to become lush.
  4. In shaded bed areas around trees, I recommending working up the soil and adding lots of compost amendment. If your yard is large, consider buying it by the yard from a landscape company because it costs less. Finally, cover the beds with quality, all-natural bark mulch, which is also cheaper when purchased in bulk by the yard.
  5. Plant plugs of groundcover for dry shade in the beds then water them in. A good groundcover layer will hold the soil in place as it becomes established (list below).
  6. Keep the plugs watered and cared for until they begin to really grow and spread–around two to three months.
  7. You may also create stone or pebble pathways for your dogs where they run the most. (Click here for a good DIY idea.)

Good Groundcovers for Dry Shade and Clay

There are lots of good groundcovers for a difficult, dry shade that reduce or stop erosion. Buy these by the flat at your favorite local garden center to get the best deal. Good choices include creeping wire vine (Muehlenbeckia axillaris ‘Nana’, light shade, Zones 6-10), sweet box (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis, Zones 6-9), evergreen vinca (Vinca minor, shade, Zones 4-9), dwarf mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’, shade, Zones 6-11), and the evergreen creeping plum yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Prostrata’, Zones 6-9).

If you like native groundcovers, consider evergreen arrowleaf ginger (Asarum arifolium, shade, Zones 3-9) or wild ginger (Asarum canadense, Zones 3-8), Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens, shade, Zones 4-9), and the pretty green-and-gold (Chrysogonum virginianum, part sun to shade, Zones 5-8). Any of these plants can be mixed.

I also recommend that you click here to learn more about the best garden mulches and creative groundcovers.

I hope that these solutions help!

Happy gardening,

Black Gold Horticulturist

Jessie Keith

What are Shade- and Sun-Loving Groundcovers for Florida?

Texas Frogfruit is a native groundcover that feeds bees and butterflies.

“Can you tell me, please, which ground cover plants do well in SW Florida, in a shady and wet location, as well as an area that is drier and gets sunshine most of the day!” Question from Colleen of Englewood, Florida

Answer: There are several groundcovers, for wet and dry areas, that are suited to your Zone 9 landscape.

Florida Groundcovers for Moist Shade

  • Ogon Golden Variegated Sweet Flag (Acorus graminius ‘Ogon’): This evergreen, grassy perennial will tolerate soil moisture, shade, and brings sunny yellow color to shaded spots.
  • Evergold Sedge (Carex hachijoensis ‘Evergold‘, Zones 5-10): Evergold produces moppy clumps of grass-like blades of green striped with gold. The plants will tolerate both moisture and shade. 
  • Snow Drift Caladium (Caladium hybrids, Zones 9-11): All Caladiums are beautiful, but snowdrift is extra elegant and brightens shady spots. They will grow well in moist soils and shade.
  • Fizzy Mizzy™ Sweetspire (Itea virginica Fizzy Mizzy™): These compact shrubs grow well in partial shade, boggy soils, and are natives that feed wildlife. White, fragrant, spring flowers feed bees and butterflies and the fall leaves turn shades of russet-red.

Florida Groundcovers for Dry Sunshine

Texas Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora, Zones 8-11): This semi-evergreen groundcover reaches 3-6 inches and produces small pinkish-white flower clusters that feed bees and butterflies. The flowers may appear from late spring to fall. It is a Florida native that can tolerate sunshine and partial sun as well as moist and dry soils.

Asian Jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum ‘Minima‘), Zones 8-11: The evergreen Asian jasmine is compact, slow-growing, and it has deep-green, glossy leaves that are bright red when they first emerge. Throughout the growing season, it produces small, white flowers that are fragrant. Established plants tolerate drought and light frost.

I hope that this list gives you some ideas.

Happy gardening!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist