Groundcovers

Garden groundcovers are low-growing plants that spread across the ground, providing a dense and uniform carpet-like cover. In addition to adding aesthetic value to your garden and landscape, ground-covering flowers and foliage also help to suppress weeds, reduce soil erosion and provide food

Benefits of planting vibrant, pretty ground covers in your garden.

1. Weed Suppression: Groundcover plants create a dense mat of foliage that shades the soil, which helps to prevent weed growth, thereby reducing maintenance needs.

2. Erosion Control: Groundcovers are effective at stabilizing soil on slopes and preventing erosion caused by wind and water runoff.

3. Soil Moisture Retention: The dense foliage of groundcover plants helps to reduce evaporation and retain soil moisture, which can lead to better water conservation.

4. Improved Soil Health: As groundcover plants decay and decompose, they enrich the soil with organic matter. This process can enhance your garden’s underlying fertility and structure.

5. Visual Appeal: The best ground cover plants give a carpet-like cover and add more texture and color to your gardens and landscapes. Importantly, they also provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to lawns or bare soil.

6. Low Maintenance: Many groundcovers are low-maintenance, requiring less care - like pruning, weeding and mowing - than traditional lawns and rock gardens.

7. Diverse Options: We offer many groundcover options so you can choose the perfect groundcover plant for your garden’s specific requirements: soil type, sun exposure, color, foliage vs flowering, water needs, and USDA zones.

8. Pollinator Attraction and protection: Some groundcovers, such as creeping thyme, sedum, and ajuga, produce flowers that attract and provide food sources for pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, thereby contributing to biodiversity. Others provide important nesting materials for both pollinators and wildlife.

9. Reduced Soil Compaction: The robust root growth of some groundcover plants can help to reduce soil compaction. This can then benefit your soil and your garden by facilitating rain penetrations and decreasing surface runoff.

10. Lawn Alternatives: You can use groundcovers as more colorful, interesting alternatives to traditional lawns, especially in areas where grass struggles to grow. They create an attractive more low-maintenance, vibrant space and are much more beneficial to the environment.

11. Noise Reduction: They can help reduce noise in your outdoor space by absorbing sound and providing a soft, quiet surface.

12. Drought Tolerance: Some groundcovers are drought-tolerant or require low water usage, which makes them ideal for water conservation efforts in arid or water-restricted areas.

13. Seasonal Interest: Many groundcover plants offer year-round interest, with many providing colorful foliage or flowers, even during the cooler months.

You can use groundcovers in various locations, such as between steppingstones, on slopes or at garden borders. They can prevent erosion under trees, inhibit grass growth, and serve as a more pollinator-friendly lawn alternative.

Common groundcover plants suitable for shade include hostas, ajuga, vinca minor, and pachysandra. They thrive in low-light, partial-shade, or full-shade conditions.

Common sun-loving groundcovers include creeping thyme, sedum, creeping Jenny, and ice plants. They thrive in full sun, and well-drained soil areas, making them perfect for sunny spots. Some of our favorite full sun groundcover plants are hardy iceplant (Delosperma nubigenum), lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus), golden sedum (Sedum x adolphii) beach primrose (Camissonia cheiranthifolia) African daisies (Arctotis).

Many ground covers require minimal maintenance, such as light pruning, occasional fertilization and some watering. Needs will vary upon the specific groundcover plant, but Annie’s Annuals & Perennials offers many options that are low maintenance and require very little water.

Yes, you can use them as a more environmentally friendly lawn alternative, especially in areas where grass struggles to grow or is not desired. They often require less water and maintenance while adding valuable sources of sustenance and nesting materials for pollinators. Overall, many groundcovers improve biodiversity when compared to traditional lawns.

Creeping phlox, ground morning glory (Convolvulus sabatius), and sedums are popular landscaping ground covers, known for their ability to spread and cover large areas quickly. Some of our personal favorites are Geranium ‘Rozanne’, Lippia repens (syn. Phyla nodiflora), and little ears (Falkia repens).

Consider your garden's sun exposure, soil type, and water needs and your personal maintenance preferences. Additionally, select ground covers that complement your overall landscape design.

Yes, they can serve as effective weed barriers when planted densely. Most groundcovers supress weeds by creating a dense cover that competes with weeds for space, sunlight, and nutrients.