Ground Cover Plants – When Where And How To Grow them Most Effectively
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By Jonathan Yaakobi
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The need to find plants that can be grown consuming modest amounts of water is becoming increasingly urgent for gardeners in dry climates and not so dry ones as well. As lawns are known as the chief water guzzlers in a garden, ground cover plants are often considered as an alternative to them. However, in order to achieve the best results and avoid disappointment, it’s necessary not only to choose the right species for any given location, but also to be clear in which circumstances they can be planted as a viable alternative to grass, and when not.
Ground cover plants can never take the place of a lawn as far as use is concerned. Whether a certain area is planned for playing, hosting family picnics, or whatever, there is no known low-growing plant that is able to take traffic like a lawn.
It should also be remembered that grass, in addition to its many functional purposes, has a specific aesthetic role to play in the overall garden design. Trees and shrubs are looked on in architectural terms, as “walls and ceilings,” and the lawn on the other hand as the open space or the “floor” of the garden. While there is no shortage of low growing plants that allow for an open view, it is an illusion to believe, that any ground cover plant can compare to a lawn when it comes to creating a neat, clean ground plane. When then can a ground cover plant replace a lawn?
*On slopes and banks, shrubs and sprawling plants often look better than grass. From a water conservation point of view, species can be chosen with a quarter or less of the requirements of a lawn. Furthermore, the use of lawn sprinklers is particularly wasteful on slopes, as so much water runs off. Instead, the ground cover plants can be irrigated by drippers, which if installed properly, ensure that the water is applied to the soil, at a rate that it can be absorbed.
*Grasses are often laid in small inaccessible spots where mowing is difficult and no practical purpose is served by the lawn. If entertaining or playing are not envisioned in a particular part of the garden, then it may well be worthwhile putting on the thinking cap and working out some creative design solution involving low growing plants.
*Lawn size can be reduced by making a transition area planted with ground-hugging species, between the edge of the lawn and the shrubbery or flower bed. With intelligent designing, this can often create a more satisfying composition, than when the lawn borders the flower bed in the usual way. This solution could lead though to serious maintenance problems, if the grass species like Bermuda or Zoisia, is a perennial one which spreads by rhizomes. These grass types are highly aggressive and liable to smother the ground covers.
*For similar reasons, it is essential to eradicate all perennial weeds prior to planting ground covers, particularly if they are very prostrate in their habit.
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Author Bio Box: Jonathan Yaakobi
 My name is Jonathan Ya'akobi.
I've been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984.
I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners.
I also teach horticulture to students on training courses.
I'd love to help you get the very best from your garden,
so you're welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com
or contact me at jonathan@dryclimategardening.com
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