Evergreen foliage provides visual interest all year round. Ground covers offer a number of ways to lower yard maintenance. They fight erosion and suppress weeds. Grown on a slope in lieu of grass, they help you avoid mowing in a problem area that, at best, would be inconvenient to mow and, at worst, downright dangerous.
Plants suited to use as ground covers that also bear evergreen leaves must then be considered some of the best plants for landscaping. This list of the best evergreen ground covers includes a variety of options for gardeners, from perennials all the way up to shrubs. Always match a plant’s growing needs to its location when selecting plants. For example, some evergreen ground covers like full sun and are suited to xeriscaping, while others will tolerate shade or want more water. Unfortunately, it’s invasive in some areas, so check around locally before buying it to avoid making a common landscaping mistake. But for landscapes where it’s not invasive (or where having a strong ground cover for dry shade is important enough that you don’t mind the extra maintenance in having to control it), creeping myrtle (USDA planting zones 4 to 8) can be a superb pick. Both Vinca and Pachysandra are deer-resistant and well-suited to xeriscaping in the shade. Red, pink, white, blue, bicolored, rose, lavender and purple are all possible flower colors for this early-spring bloomer. For the best display, grow masses of the plants on a hillside, where they will double as erosion-control plants. Plants will spread over time. If the excess is unwanted in the original planting area, divide them and spread the wealth to another spot in the yard. It’s signature quality is its grass-like blades, whose dark color makes it one of the truly black plants. Creeping thyme has fragrant leaves; the smell is released when you step on it, so tuck it between garden stepping stones to enjoy both the sight of a green carpet and the smell of an herbal fragrance as you stroll through your garden. Various cultivars offer different features; for example:
Aureum has white leaves with golden margins; flowers are pink.The leaves of Golden Anniversary are green in the middle and yellow at the margins (a white stripe in the center adds a third color); flowers are lavender.
Both Autumn Joy and Chocolate Drop are upright plants; if you want a trailing plant to use as a ground cover, grow Angelina sedum. Whereas Autumn Joy has nice pink flowers, Chocolate Drop and Angelina are more often grown as foliage plants. Most all sedums resist drought. The fact that its flowers nod down to the ground makes it hard to see them; if possible, grow this ground cover on a landscaping berm or other elevated area so that you don’t have to kneel on the earth to appreciate their beauty. Or grow the Ivory Prince cultivar, which is the only kind with flowers that keep their heads up. This plant is a great choice as an edging plant along walkways in sunny areas because it’s a low-maintenance ground cover. Other species of Teucrium make excellent topiary plants.
Iberis sempervirens (zones 4 to 8)Iberis saxatilis (zones 3 to 8)Iberis pruitii (zones 3 to 8)
Iberis sempervirens Purity is a good cultivar for moon gardens, as its flowers are a brilliant white. Creeping junipers resist drought once established. They perform best in full sun. Not only are they low-maintenance shrubs, but they also can save you work by holding back the soil on erosion-prone hillsides, thanks to their sturdy root systems. The color will be best in full sun; water needs are moderate. These bushes become 2 feet tall x 4 feet wide; they’re slow growers. This slow-growing shrub for sun (zones 4 to 8) is valued for its blue, awl-shaped, evergreen needles. The bush displays some resistance to drought once established. Many of the new types of English ivy can be grouped by how the leaf differs from the species plant. For example, some have:
Smaller leavesLeaves with crinkled edgesVariegated leaves
Hedera helix Glacier, for example, is a cultivar with variegated leaves. The benefits of bugleweed include:
Its mat-forming habit, which is great for controlling weeds The fact that deer pests don’t like it The beauty of the variegated types
