Dress Your Naked Soil

 

Groundcovers add unity and color, cut work, improve environment

Rick J. Lewandowski

Director

Mt. Cuba Center

Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) and creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) are adaptable and carefree groundcovers for part shade and well-drained soils.

Much to my delight, winter is progressing toward its inevitable, though as yet, uncertain end with February nearing a close.  As each day passes, the first glimmer of translucent light on the early morning horizon now replaces starlight’s last burning embers that were clearly present this time of day only a month before.  If you are like me, you can feel that irrepressible gardener’s itch beginning to take hold.

A satisfying way to take care of that “itch” is to get out in the garden to evaluate those areas that need some attention.  Among the most obvious at this time of year are the open, bare patches of soil next to the house, beneath trees, among shrubs in border plantings, or in perennial flower beds.

These bare spots, often in shady and challenging areas, are perfect subjects for groundcovers.  The use of vigorous and attractive groundcovers can successfully unify garden spaces, add seasonal color, reduce maintenance, and even prevent erosion.

Each groundcover has specific requirements and optimum uses in the garden. Fortunately, there are a wide range of groundcovers worth considering.  Below is a sampling of the many groundcovers to consider for your garden.

Score Year round with Evergreen Groundcovers

Evergreen groundcovers can add lustrous year round garden interest.  They provide repetition in the garden and are excellent companions for a variety of other showy flowering plants.  One such elegant companion is Callaway ginger (Hexastylis shuttleworthii harperi ‘Callaway’), a delightful evergreen groundcover with rounded, heart-shaped, dark green and silver-veined leaves up to 3" in diameter.  It performs well in part to deep shade in well-drained, acidic and slightly moist soils.  Though, a bit slower growing than other groundcovers, Callaway ginger rewards serious gardeners with long-lasting enjoyment.  Interestingly, its common name is derived from the strong ginger-like aroma produced if roots are inadvertently damaged. 

The low growth and heart-shaped leaves of Callaway ginger (Hexastylis shuttleworthii harperi ‘Callaway’) make it an excellent garden companion.  Its silver-veined leaves grow up to 3 inches in diameter.  The plant performs well in shade in well-drained, acidic and slightly moist soils.

With its deeply lobed fronds and habit of clumping and spreading, Chrismas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is a stunning plnat, producing evergreen foliage in moist, well-drained to drier soils and shady conditions.

Two ferns to consider for groundcover use are lady fern (Athyrium felix-femina ssp. angustum ‘Lady in Red’) and Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides).  Both produce excellent evergreen foliage displays in moist, well-drained to drier soils and shady conditions.  Additionally, in summer, lady fern, particularly the cultivar ‘Lady in Red’, has finely textured upright fronds with a central mid-rib that is reddish when light conditions are brighter, while Christmas fern has deeply lobed, dark green spreading fronds that overlap forming an attractive clumping groundcover.

Another outstanding evergreen groundcover is Allegheny pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens).  This easy-to-grow and happily spreading groundcover is tolerant to conditions from light shade to deep shade, is adapted to a wide soil pH range, and effectively covers the ground with large sharply toothed leaves that are dark green throughout the growing season.  The leaves turn a delightful bronze to silvery-green color during the winter.  In springtime, Allegheny pachysandra provides additional value in the garden with many clusters of tiny pinkish-white, pleasantly fragrant clove-scented flowers.

Another evergreen groundcover is Allegheny pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens), which is tolerant to conditions from light shade to deep shade.  It is adapted to a wide soil pH range and provides pleasant, year-round texture in the garden.

Plug into the Color of Seasonal Groundcovers

There are more options to groundcovers than evergreens alone, though. Several deciduous and semi-evergreen plants are excellent workhorses during the growing season, bringing additional qualities to groundcovers such as flowers and seasonally changing foliage displays.

Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) and woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) are two carefree and easy-to-grow examples of perennial deciduous groundcovers.  Both have lovely white to purplish-blue flowers in mid-spring, depending upon the cultivar selected and they can tolerate part shade to shade on acidic to neutral soils.  Creeping phlox, as its name implies, hugs the ground and produces flowers on short, 3" to 7" tall floral stalks, while woodland phlox produces upright running stems 6" to 12" tall with flowers borne atop the stems.  Both plants are excellent companions beneath the structure of shrubs, as well as, meandering among other herbaceous perennials in the garden. 

For a faster spreading groundcover, consider barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides). Don’t be fooled by the name, though, this is a lovely low-growing and fast spreading plant with bright green small strawberry-like leaves.  Barren strawberry produces soft yellow, five-petaled flowers in early spring on floral stalks up to 6" tall.  It spreads nicely in shade to part shade, moist well-drained to drier soils, and is pH adaptable.  It is often called a semi-evergreen groundcover because its leaves will remain green throughout the winter in mild years like this winter.  A less common, yet, worthy cousin to consider is Piedmont barren strawberry (Waldsteinia lobata) which has a more clumping-spreading habit with beautifully round-lobed, bright green leaves in summer, turning a rich bronze, burgundy or yellow color in autumn color.  It is also considered semi-evergreen. Though less common in the nursery trade, Piedmont barren strawberry is well-worth the search to complement your garden.

The bright green, strawberry-like foliage of barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides) is attractive year-round in mild years.  Its yellow flowers are a pleasant surprise in the spring landscape.

In autumn, the foliage of Piedmont barren strawberry (Waldsteinia lobata) can develop colors that range from yellow to bronze and burgundy.

Finally, golden ragwort (Packera aurea) shouldn’t be overlooked when considering robust groundcovers for the garden.  This stout semi-evergreen perennial spreads very happily in part shade to light shade on well-drained neutral to slightly acidic soils that are seasonally quite dry.  Golden ragwort produces branched flowering stems from its base up to 18" tall above spatula-shaped leaves with many small bright golden-yellow daisy-like flowers in mid-spring.  In the dappled shade of the garden, this plant can dramatically brighten the spring landscape.

Though groundcovers can be evergreen, semi-evergreen, or deciduous and generally only grow a few inches tall, they can certainly be larger plants, too.  If the growth form, branching, and root systems naturally spread, even low-growing shrubs can be used as groundcovers, as is the case for winged sumac (Rhus copallinum), bush honeysuckle (Diervilla sessilifolia), Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), and yellow-root (Xanthorhiza simplicissima) just to mention a few.

Yellow-root is an attractive low-growing shrub with divided leaves that spreads happily in the garden.  In autumn its foliage can become bright golden yellow.

Needless to say, the world of native groundcovers is rich and varied.  We’ve only scratched the surface, but take it from here and develop your own list of favorite native groundcovers. 

Don’t forget to take care of those bare spots in the garden, though.  Be a good steward of your natural resources; plant a few native groundcovers to beautify your garden, prevent erosion, reduce watering, and eliminate some of the grass you need to maintain.  Your garden, the environment, and your pocket book will benefit!