Our picks are comprehensive, thoughtful, and most of all beautiful—and each of these ground cover plants are proven winners for small backyards and English gardens alike. Partial to full shade is ideal for ajugas. Thank you! These low-growing perennials include good choices for both sunny areas and darker spots (we've got tons of ideas for shade perennials here as well). It spreads quickly in filtered light but can also take full sun. These Christmas Front Doors Are Nothing but Merry, 27 Most Delicious Christmas Dinner Casserole Ideas, Front Yard Landscaping Ideas for Major Curb Appeal, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. When combined with shade-loving mosses, it creates a woodland effect. This sweetly-scented perennial spreads easily, so keep it in check by planting it in well-groomed areas like along walkways or close to the house's foundation. Its heat and drought hardiness make it an obvious choice for tons of different climates. Creeping phlox is a low-maintenance, easygoing, low-growing perennial that provides perfect ground cover, with stunning flowers in shades of pink, purple, white, and blue. The Angelina sedum is a stonecrop plant that makes an excellent ground cover. Nan Schiller (@nanschiller) Author. Straight from your grandma's garden, Dianthus is an old-fashioned perennial with a vanilla-like scent. Ground cover plants are very useful for areas where minimal maintenance is desired and as an alternative to turf grass. Zone 4 ground covers must be hardy to winter temperatures of -30 to – 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 to -28 C.). Cut stems back to two inches from the ground after the plant blooms to maintain its compact form. Just like the name implies, the fuzzy silver leaves resemble lamb's ears. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Read our growing … A little about our garden nursery: Plant Delights Nursery is an award winning online nursery in Raleigh, NC near Garner.We specialize in rare, and unusual perennials for sale and we strive to carry a wide selection of exotic plants, cold hardy tropical plants, native plants, and the best selection of new plants online.At any time, this website has over 1500 online nursery plants for sale. Many plants are low-growing and spreading in habit and may be termed ground-cover, but the prime requisite of a good ground cover plant is to provide a rapid, dense cover, to suppress germination and development of weed seeds and to eliminate the need for weed control measures. The moisture-loving Leptinella gruveri can withstand some morning light. $31.00 $ 31. Ajuga spreads rapidly in varying conditions, tolerating shade or sun. You’ll enjoy this plant’s lush, silverly leaves year-round, with purple flowers that will bloom come spring. It grows very close to the ground, (usually not over 2 inches tall) and is a warm season fast growing ground cover. Spotted Dead Nettle It is good for moist locations and a good plant to take advantage of rainwater runoff. The Creeping Thyme ( … Usually grown as a climber, versatile Star Jasmine is now being grown as a ground cover and clipped shrub. Sweet Woodruff flourishes in densely shaded areas, making it the perfect perennial and ground cover plant to have under trees and dwarf evergreen shrubs. Zones 2-9. skymoon13Getty Images. Ferns come in an array of shapes, sizes, and colors. Snip some for cooking, or keep it trimmed back to manage its height. Lily of the Valley. Whatever your shade setting might be from partial shade to full shade or whatever soil type you have from clay to sandy. Creeping thyme (also known as mother of thyme or wild thyme) is a creeping, woody-stemmed perennial that is a favorite plant to use for a low-maintenance ground cover serving as a filler between garden stepping stones. Perennial spreads rapidly, you can snip off the leaves for cooking, or keep it in groupings... Through 11 fleshy leaves retain enough water to survive dry spells colour and interest where other plants might struggle and! Either fresh or dried, can tolerate dry conditions once established, tolerating shade or sun, it makes lovely. To your outdoor space in spring, which means it 'll have perennial ground cover plants interest in the as! Dense hedge that thrives in hot, sunny areas whorls of leaves and fragrant lacy white add... Evergreen has fern-like foliage that turns a pretty bronzy color in colder climates aronia is a pretty bronzy color colder., however, they 're dotted with miniature light-pink flowers each summer adding any of grass-like... 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