Ground Cover Gems and Horrors
By Howard Drury
What actually is Ground Cover
Is it simply covering the ground with a variety of plants?
Any plants chosen must look sympathetic to area
To give the area or landscape a more dramatic effect
With purpose to suppress weeds and others
Good ground cover can reduce or minimize the maintenance input
In today's modern society gardens and landscape have to be cost-effective
A trading balance between hard and soft landscape
Scale of Ground Cover
Is it to show off the beauty of other plants to make them stand out from the ground cover?
Informal cottage garden style
Large scale garden plantings
Modern architectural block planting
Commercial scale estate landscaping
Rewilding to bring back a natural landscape
Alpines as Ground Cover
Non invasive?
Evergreen?
Flowers?
Alpine Gems
Acaena
Ajuga
Achillea several around 15-20cms
Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow' and other cultivars. With variegated or coloured leaves. Ideal for dry soils.
Alyssum saxatile, A. s. ‘Citrinum’
Antennaria dioides 'Rubra' Pussy's toes, with pink flowers all summer over grey foliage, ideal for sun and dry soils.
Arisarum
Arabis
Aubrietia deltoides and cultivars Attractive flowers in April and May after which they are best cut hard back to keep neat and tidy.
Cotoneaster congesta ‘Nana’
Geranium (Cinereum Group) 'Ballerina' and similar cultivars
Lithodora diffusa 'Heavenly Blue'
Phlox subulata ‘Samson’
Thymus serpyllum ‘Elfin’
Alpine Horrors
Sedum spathulifolium Cape Blanco
Leptinella squalida ‘Platt's Black’
Bulbs as Ground Cover
Addition to otherwise boring ground cover
Extend season of interest in that area
May grow where little else grows
Good under deciduous canopy
Early season flowers such as Crocus are valuable to wildlife
Non invasive? Must not smother other plants or outgrow their allotted space
Bulbous Gems
Anemone blanda
Anemone nemerosa Wood anemone, good in shade
Cyclamen coum Flowering from November until March and early summer dormant
Cyclamen hederifolium August and September flower. Very attractive leaf forms, dormant in early summer.
Eranthis hyemalis Winter Aconite Yellow flowers in January and February, will grow where little else grows, prefers a n alkaline heavy moist soil.
Erythronium including E. 'White Beauty'
Galanthus Snowdrop. Numerous species and cultivars flowering in January and February
Bulbous horrors
Muscari Grape Hyacinths multiply rapidly by seed and multiplication of bulbs
Scilla biflora
Herbaceous as Ground Cover
Technically, herbaceous plants grow, flower and die back to ground level each season. There are a number that retain their foliage such as Bergenia but are still classed as herbaceous.
Very good as group plantings in informal settings
They are often combined with plantings from other groups
Some herbaceous plants like Astilbe collapse at the end of the growing season, making them labour saving and self tidying plants.
Some plants in this group such as Bergenias are low maintenance evergreen herbaceous
Herbaceous Gems
Achillea millefolium
Aster x frikartii 'Mönch'
Astilbes many good hybrids available
Astrantia major, many named good forms that often hybridize
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’
Cardamine pratensis
Geranium himalayense ‘Birch’s Double’
Ligularia stenocephala ‘The Rocket’
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Blackfield'
Primula bulleyana
Pulmonaria ‘Moonshine’
Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm
Herbaceous Horrors
Aegopodium podagraria ‘Variegata' Variegated Ground Elder, very difficult to control or eradicate. Best grown in a pot or large container.
Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon' Best grown in a pot or large container.
Lamium galeobdolon (Yellow Archangel)
Grasses as Ground Cover
Including other monocots such as Carex and Luzula
Offer long term architectural structure
Interesting contrast with broad leaved plants
Tips on evergreen and deciduous grasses
Low labour input
Seedlings can be an issue as demonstrated at Royal Botanic Garden Kew.
Grass Gems
Carex siderosticha 'Banana Boat’
Hakonechloa marcra, Japanese Forest Grass
Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'
Grass Horrors
Luzula like many of the grasses, this seeds everywhere
Ferns as Ground Cover
There are an amazing number of ferns available today, some prefer Sun while others are best in shade
We often think of ferns being plants that thrive in moist or wet ground, actually there are a number that prefer drier soils.
Most ferns are of a creeping habit, but most are not of an invasive habit
Whilst there are many evergreens, some ferns are deciduous and are best cut back in spring.
John Massey demonstrates in his stumpery that ferns may be underplanted with bulbs such as specie Fritillarias.
Fern Gems
Asplenium trichomanes (Maidenhair Spleenwort)
Blechnum penna-marina (Austroblechnum penna-marina)
Fern Horrors
None
Shrubs as Ground Cover
Shrubs offer many possibilities with huge range of shrubs of varying sizes
Plants may be evergreen or deciduous
Often have many attributes including attractive stems bark or foliage, others may have scent or flowers, along with spectacular autumn colour.
Can be used in wide range of situations
Most shrubs can offer very low maintenance
Can be a security benefit when they have thorns, spines or irritant hairs on stems and leaves. eg Fremontodendron californicum, always wear clover, cover arms and protect your eyes when working with this shrub.
Shrub Gems
Cornus canadensis (Creeping Dogwood) Great for shady situations with white flowers
Cotoneaster
Epimedium × versicolor 'Sulphureum'
Shrub Horrors
Symphoricarpos albus (Snowberry)
Evergreens as Ground Cover
Landscapers often use evergreen ground cover on a very large scale, which can become boring
Plant collectors conversely often fail to plant in sufficient numbers to be effective ground cover.
Cotoneasters depending on factors such as winter temperatures may remain as true evergreen or become semi or even deciduous in extremes of cold weather, most will recover as they are very hardy plants.
Possible heights. We often think of ground cover being short, there are roses such as the county series which will grow to 90cms (3ft) and I would still class as ground cover subjects if planted in sufficient numbers and close enough together.
Evergreens often need plants with other attributes to make more an area more appealing
A good planting of evergreens can act as a canvas to architectural features
Some evergreens can be damaged when carrying out maintenance issues
Evergreen Gems
Cotoneaster dammeri ‘Lowfast’
Cotoneaster horizontalis
Pachysandra terminalis (Japanese Spurge)
Vinca major (Periwinkle)
Vinca minor (Periwinkle)
Evergreen Horrors
Conifers as Ground Cover
Mainly Juniperus but includes many others
Picea abies ‘Procumbens’ Podocarpus, Taxus baccata ‘Dovastonii, Tsuga canadensis ‘Pendula’
Conifers offer a huge range of sizes, heights and colours
Can be co-planted with bulbs to provide extra attractions during the seasons
Conifer Gems
Juniperus communis var. depressa
Juniperus conferta ‘All Gold’
Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’
Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’
Tsuga pendula
Conifer Horrors
Climbing Plants as Ground Cover
Accidental or deliberate ground cover
Clematis flamula, C. montana, C. orientalis, C. rehderiana, C. tangutica
Hedera canariensis, H. helix Hibernica,
Lonicera periclymenum
Parthenocisus henryana, P. quinquefolia (Vitis hedracea ) P. tricuspidate (Ampelopsis veitchii)
Climbing Horrors
Fallopia baldschuanica Russian vine or mile a minute plant ( syn. Polygonum baldschuanicum
The information given in this Fact Sheet is provided in good faith. It is however of necessity general information and advice on the topic. Howard Drury will not be under any liability in respect of the provision of such advice and information, and you are strongly advised to seek independent advice on any particular gardening problems or queries you may have, preferably from experts who can (when appropriate) inspect the problem before providing advice.
© 2022. This material has been produced by Howard Drury and must not be reproduced in part or full without the written consent of Howard Drury, Kings Heath, Birmingham B13 0SJ.
JHD/08/04/2022
