10 perennial ground covers ideal for protecting and beautifying your garden

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A ground cover is a quickly covering plant clumps, rockeries, dry embankments or even around trees… It opposes strong competition to weeds, which is not to displease gardeners refractory to weeding. This is not its only advantage. Both protective and aesthetic, it naturally finds its place in the garden. Let’s see what its strengths are and paint a quick portrait of 10 perfect ground cover plants to plant for protect in beauty other plants as well as the soil against drought, cold and leaching.

The advantages of ground covers in the garden

Ground cover plants are essentials in the garden because of their innumerable advantages, namely:

  • Great covering power,

  • Rapid growth,

  • Very resistant,

  • Undemanding in care,

  • Smother weeds,

  • Protect the soil against erosion,

  • Limit watering,

  • Are available in a wide range of species and varieties which offers an incredible choice,

  • Floral and/or decorative floral…

So this large palette of ground cover plants allows you to choose according to the type de sol (acid, neutral, poor, difficult…) andexposition (sunny, semi-shaded, shaded, dark…).

Which ground cover to choose for a protected and aesthetic garden?

Everyone can choose ground cover plants adapted to their terrain or according to the flowering periodfrom flower color or also according to their hardiness. Before buying, it is obviously important to learn about the needs of each of them and their particularities.

here is the top 10 maintenance-free ground cover plants which bring a very decorative note to the garden and multiply year after year. They are ideal for enjoying a breathtaking carpet of flowers.














Ground cover plant

Family

hardiness

Plantation

Bloom

1 – Muguet

(Convallaria majalis)

Asparagaceae (Phylogenetic classification),

Convallariaceae (classical classification)

From -12 to -15°C

Late September to early November

April May

2 – Soft lady’s mantle

(Alchemilla soft)

Coat of Our Lady,

lion’s paw

Rosaceae

Down to -15°C

In spring, or from late summer to mid-autumn

Jaune

May to August

3 – Wild thyme

(Thymus seryllum)

wild thyme

Aromatic and medicinal ground cover plant (edible flowers and leaves)

Lamiaceae

Down to -14°C

In the spring in the nursery

In place in May or June or even at the end of the summer

White, pastel pink, hot pink to purple,

June to August

4 – Perennial Geranium

(Geraniuimendressii)

Geraniaceae

From -15 to -18°C

Between March and April or between September and October

Rose mauve

All summer

5 – Witch Claw

(You eat sprouts)

(Succulent plant)

Aizoaceae

Not very hardy (-2°C)

Not before May for planting in the ground

Fuchsia, pale pink, mauve, purple, red, white, yellow (depending on variety)

May until frost

6 – Heathers

(Mainly Genus Calluna and Gender Erica)

More than 800 species

Ericaceae

-20°C

Spring (after Ice Saints) or very early fall

White, purple, mauve, pink,

In any season depending on the species and varieties

7 – Cyclamen de Naples

(Cyclamen hederifolium)

Primulaceae

-15 to -17°C

Rose mauve,

August to November

8 – Bluebells

(of the kind Campanula)

(more than 250 species)

Campanulaceae

From -15 to -20°C

For acid soil


In spring

In autumn for planting in the ground

In bells available in a wide range of colors

March until frost

9 – Iberis

(Iberis sempervirens)

Silver Basket

Brassicaceae

Fear frost (plant in well sheltered area)

In autumn

White-silver gray

From February to September (depending on the species)

10 – Sweet woodruff

(Gallium scented)

Rubiaceae

Down to -24°C

In spring

Blanche

May to June

All these planting periods are understood outside frost period.

Of course, there are many other perennial ground cover plants which are also worth a detour. Among them are, for example:

  • the pervenche major,

  • The Epimede,

  • Ivy,

  • The violet,
    Spotted Deadnettle (on wet ground),

  • Aubrietia,

  • Hellebore,

  • Bear’s Ear,

  • Dear Nepeta,

  • Sedum which prefers sandy soils,

  • La Symphorine,

  • The creeping Bugle,

  • The Ceraist…

The gardener therefore has enough to beautify his garden with perennial ground covers and take advantage of their protective assets in all seasons. The good idea is to multiply species to be able to take advantage of staggered flowering and bring touches of different colours to its natural space.

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