Groundcovers
This large group of plants can in many ways be considered to be the problem solvers in the landscape. They can be used in those less-than-ideal conditions many of us face in our gardens, or to integrate and accent the other elements of the garden.
Planted around the base of trees, in hard to mow areas, under deep shade or to prevent a slope from eroding, groundcovers may be the best solution you have.
Besides their practical use and ways of harmonizing and unifying a landscape by their ornamental value, they can create beauty by being mass planted. It makes a great impact on the viewer to see a sea of pink blooming moss phlox in spring or blue flowering vinca vine weaving in and around under trees or in the front of a border.
The choice of groundcovers depends greatly on the condition you want to fill in. Do not make your choice based only on what the plant looks like. For a groundcover to thrive and really take off it really has to be the right choice for the right situation.
Amending the soil in less than perfect areas is equally important. The only way to improve a sandy or heavy clay soil is through the addition of organic matter. Add at least a 2-inch layer of compost or manure and work it in well. If the area is large, dig planting pockets for each plant and fill them with amended soil.
In our perennial plant listing you can find a column that lists the plants that can be used for groundcovers. In addition to perennials one can use annuals, varieties that self seed, wildflower mixes, bulbs that naturalize, inter-planted with perennials as well as creeping vines and evergreen shrubs.
We give a 10% discount on whole flats of one variety of the groundcovers listed below:
Aegopodium (Snow on the Mountain), Ajuga, Lamium, Lysimachia (Creeping Jenny), Creeping Thyme,
Pachysandra, Phlox subulata, Vinca minor, Sweet Woodruff, and the following Sedum varieties:
'Blue Spruce', 'Larinem Park', 'Oreganum glaucum', and 'Sedum nana'. These varieties are all sold
in 4 inch pots in flats of 18.
We have selected a list of plants for a few specific situations, we have a more complete list available as a handout. Please feel free to ask for one when you visit us.
| Easy to Grow | Slope Stabilizers | Tolerate Deep Shade |
|---|---|---|
| Ajuga - Bugleweed | Coronilla varia - Crown Vetch | Asarum - Wild & European Ginger |
| Pachysandra - Japanese Spurge | Hemerocallis - Daylily | Convalaria - Lily-of-the-Valley |
| Sedum | Juniper 'Blue Rug' or other low varieties | Galium odor. - Sweet Woodruff |
| Sweet Woodruff | Phalaris - Ribbon Grass | Pachysandra - Japanese Spurge |
| Vinca minor- Periwinkle | Vinca minor - Periwinkle | Vinca minor - Periwinkle |
| Spacing bet- ween plants |
Coverage for each flat of 4" = 18 plants |
|---|---|
| 6" | 4.5 square feet |
| 8" | 8 square feet |
| 10" | 12.5 square feet |
| 12" | 18 square feet |
| 15" | 28 square feet |
| 18" | 41 square feet |