Groundcovers The Unsung Heroes of Home Landscapes: How Groundcovers Can Transform Your Garden and Scale Down Your Maintenance
When it comes to designing a home landscape, most people focus on the showstoppers: towering trees, colorful shrubs, and dazzling flowers. But what about the unsung heroes of the garden? The groundcovers.
Groundcovers are a group of low-growing plants that spread quickly and form a dense mat, covering the soil and choking out weeds. They may not be as flashy as their taller counterparts, but they play an important role in the overall health and beauty of a garden.
Benefits of Groundcovers
The benefits of groundcovers are many. Here are just a few:
- Weed control: Groundcovers are excellent at suppressing weeds, which helps to reduce the amount of time and effort you'll need to spend weeding.
- Soil health: Groundcovers help to create healthy soil by reducing soil erosion, retaining moisture, and adding organic matter as they decompose.
- Water conservation: Groundcovers help to conserve water by reducing soil evaporation and runoff, which means you'll need to water your garden less often.
- Biodiversity: Groundcovers provide habitat for beneficial insects, such as bees and butterflies, as well as small mammals and birds.
Choosing the Right Groundcovers for Your Landscape
When choosing groundcovers for your garden, there are a few factors to consider:
- Sun or shade: Some groundcovers prefer full sun, while others prefer shade. Be sure to choose plants that are well-suited to the conditions in your garden.
- Moisture level: Some groundcovers prefer moist soil, while others are drought-tolerant. Be sure to choose plants that are suitable for the moisture level in your garden.
- Growth rate: Some groundcovers spread quickly and aggressively, while others grow more slowly. Be sure to choose plants that are well-suited to the scale of your garden.
- Height: Some groundcovers stay very low to the ground, while others can grow up to a foot tall. Be sure to choose plants that are appropriate for the space you have available.
Examples of Groundcovers
There are many different types of groundcovers to choose from. Here are a few examples:
- Creeping thyme: This fragrant herb prefers full sun and well-drained soil, and it spreads quickly to form a dense mat of tiny leaves and pink or purple flowers.
- Wintergreen: This evergreen shrub prefers partial shade and moist soil, and it spreads slowly to form a low carpet of glossy green leaves and bright red berries.
- Creeping phlox: This hardy perennial prefers full sun and well-drained soil, and it spreads quickly to form a colorful carpet of flowers in shades of pink, purple, blue, and white.
- Japanese spurge: This shade-loving perennial forms a dense mat of glossy green leaves and small white flowers in spring.
Final Thoughts
Groundcovers may not be the most glamorous plants in the garden, but they are certainly some of the hardest working. By carefully choosing the right groundcovers for your landscape, you can transform your garden and scale down your maintenance, leaving you more time to simply enjoy the beauty of your outdoor space.