|
With so many stately flowers, majestic trees and stunning spring blooming shrubs it’s no wonder the lowly ground cover gets overlooked. It just lays there taking up room with hardly a thing to recommend themselves. But is that true? I think not. The world would be a sorry place without them, a barren place, woeful and bleak. Think I’m exaggerating? Doth mine ears hear you scoffing? Then you need a lesson in the wonder that is the supposedly lowly ground cover.
So, what exactly is a ground cover? Merely any plant which serves to hold the soil together, protect it from the elements and keeps it viable. This would make your lawn, a tightly packed patch of Strawberries, my large collection of Daylilies, and even the weeds on the side of the road ground covers. Have you ever seen a patch of bare soil, I mean really bare soil? Short of a barren sand dune on Fire Island, the badlands of South Dakota and the Mojave Desert, I think not. It’s against nature to have bare soil. That’s why there’s always something covering it either by a living plant or a mulch of freshly fallen leaves.
What landscape professional call ground covers are low-growing plants used for the prevention of soil erosion, as a decorative cover under trees and on sloping hills where other things have difficulty growing or to line the edge of flower beds providing a softness around harsh corners and against garden edging. The ground cover is indispensable although they have a tendency towards being tenacious. But that’s the quality that makes it a good ground cover. It’s a vicious cycle but it also gives you loads to share with friends. Nothing bad about that.
Here is a list of common and not-so-common ground covers which you’ll enjoy growing.
Creeping Jenny, also known as Pennywort and Moneywort is pretty grown in a hanging basket or cascading over a garden wall or into a backyard pond. It does great anywhere sunny and wet. They have nice bright yellow flowers and round bright green leaves and reaches no taller than 3 inches. They root along the stems which is great for holding the soil around a stream.
Creeping Phlox grows mounds 8 inches tall and looks amazing in rock gardens. The tiny flowers come in white, pink, red and violet and bloom in early spring.
Creeping Thyme has purple flowers and lemon-scented leaves that may be used in cooking. Barely grows over 3 inches tall forming mats about two feet in diameter. Bees love it!
Sedum is a fast-growing succulent. A multitude of different sedums come in yellow, pink, red and white flowers and with different colored fleshy leaves, some bright green , others burgundy but all lovely.
Vinca Minor also known as Periwinkle with its bright lavender-blue flowers loves the shade but grows equally well in full sun. Mounds grow to 6 inches high with bright green oval-shaped leaves. Very pretty under trees for protection against nasty weed-whackers and lawn mowers.
Blue Rug Junipers, Juniperus Horizontalis procumben is in the shrub category and grows about a foot high. Plant this on a sloping hillside with decorative stones as a mulch for easy, no-fuss gardening.
Blue Grass Festuca, these grow in pretty little tufts and have a grey-blue hue to them. They like things on the dry side and often self sows. Very pretty in a cactus garden.
Chameleon plant has tiny insignificant white flowers but the leaves more than make up for it. They have pink, red, yellow, white and green all swirled together. Grows about a foot high both in sun and part shade.
Maiden Pinks or Cheddar Pinks form 8 in high mounds of pink flowers in early summer. Lovely cascading over garden walls, stuck in little niches on stone walls or in the rock garden.
Ice Plant is a succulent somewhat like sedums but has daisy- shaped flowers of pink or yellow. It grows to about 6 inches tall and spreads relatively slowly.
Lady’s Mantle has unusual ruffle-shaped leaves and greenish-yellow blooms. Grows about 8-12 inches tall and mixes well with many perennials. One of my favorites for edging a flower bed.
Crane’s Bill comes in white, blue, red and pink and have ballistic seeds. That means when you touch them they explode. Cool, huh? Well, your kids will think so and that’s how they spread so well.
Lamb’s Ear has a greyish fuzzy leaf and if you don’t let the unattractive flower stalk grow it will stay below twelve inches forming nice, touchable mounds a foot wide.
Ajuga carpet bugle grows in sun and shade in wet or dry soil and spreads like wildfire. Once established, and that’s super easy to do, you’ll never get rid of it short of dousing it with gasoline but you won’t want to. It forms tightly packed mounds 6-10 inches tall and in mid- late spring is ablaze in blue-purple flower clusters. Great for under trees where protruding roots are a problem. Makes a great living mulch.
I’m certain, now that you see all the great uses for the ground cover you won’t be too quick to over look them. Go on and do yourself a favor and plant some. Your garden will thank you.
|
Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 For more garden talk and sundry other topics visit: http://www.helium.com/user/32782
Didn't really find what you were looking for?
|
|
|
| |
|
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](images/rss.gif "Subscribe to our XML Feed for RSS")
(Read 50+ times)
