previous
  • 6 Tips for Weed Control
    6 Tips for Weed Control
  • Containers as Focal Points
    Containers as Focal Points
  • Elephant's Ears
    Elephant's Ears
  • Homegrown / Homemade
    Homegrown / Homemade
  • Colorful Selections for Shade
    Colorful Selections for Shade
  • Dwarf Citrus Trees
    Dwarf Citrus Trees
  • Lawn Alternatives
    Lawn Alternatives
  • Thoughts From a Foreign Field
    Thoughts From a Foreign Field
  • Designing with Curved Terraces
    Designing with Curved Terraces
  • Stylish Shady Containers
    Stylish Shady Containers
  • Fragrant Plants for Pathways
    Fragrant Plants for Pathways
  • In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
    In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
    Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
  • Make a Succulent Topiary
    Make a Succulent Topiary
  • Save Money by Growing Your Own
    Save Money by Growing Your Own
  • Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
    Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
  • Mulch for a Healthy Garden
    Mulch for a Healthy Garden
  • Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
    Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
  • Comfortable Alfresco Dining
    Comfortable Alfresco Dining
  • Plants that Spark!
    Plants that Spark!
  • Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
    Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
  • Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
    Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
  • NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
    NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
  • Pretty in Pink
    Pretty in Pink
next

Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Uses: Ground Covers + Seasonal Interest: Fall+ Height: 1 - 3 ft.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 95 listings   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5View AllNext > Sort By: Sort
Alchemilla mollis Alchemilla mollis
(Lady's mantle)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This plant has lobed, densely hairy, chartreuse foliage that is crimped at the edges. Soft, frothy, yellow-green foliage hovers above the plant from early summer through autumn.

Aster dumosus 'Wood's Pink' Aster dumosus 'Wood's Pink'
(Bushy Aster, Hardy Aster)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is a short-growing aster has creeping rootstocks and pink, daisy-like flowers with yellow centers. It can be used on steep slopes for erosion control.

Aster macrophyllus Aster macrophyllus
(Bigleaf aster)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This striking, richly-textured, deciduous ground cover has heart-shaped leaves that turn mauve in autumn. Purple, blue, or white flowers appear in late summer to early fall.

Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Burgundy Lace' Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Burgundy Lace'
('Burgundy Lace' Japanese painted fern)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Burgundy Lace' is a real showstopper in shady borders and containers, with its silvery purple-bronze fronds. The low-growing clumps are a good choice for edging pathways, and the plant looks terrific when planted in groups. 'Burgundy Lace' grows best in humus-rich, moist soil but will also adapt to conditions that are less than ideal. -Chris Kelley, Regional Picks: Midwest, Fine Gardening issue #120

Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Ursula's Red' Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Ursula's Red'
('Ursula's Red' Japanese painted fern)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The broad silvery leaves of ‘Ursula’s Red’ have a showy burgundy band at the center of the leaves in spring. This plant can double in size in a single growing season, as it spreads from rhizomes. Though deer do like it, it may simply grow more fronds and not show any lasting damage. --Michael Ruggiero, Regional Picks: Mid-Atlantic, Fine Gardening issue #127

Begonia grandis ssp. evansiana Begonia grandis ssp. evansiana
(Hardy begonia)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This tuberous begonia bears green heart-shaped foliage with red veining and claret-stained undersides that steal the show when backlit. Pendent clusters of slightly fragrant, satiny pink or white blossoms open from midsummer until frost. It makes a good perennial companion for ferns and hostas.

Bouteloua gracilis Bouteloua gracilis
(Blue grama, Signal-arm grass, Mosquito grass)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Blue grama is a perennial grass from the Americas bearing unusually bent and flattened inflorescences. Being native to open grasslands, they are drought tolerant and at home in meadows. They provide the garden with shades of tan that persist throughout winter. 

Bouteloua gracilis 'Hachita' Bouteloua gracilis 'Hachita'
('Hachita' Blue Grama Grass)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Hachita' has narrow, blue-green leaves that form dense mounds. In summer, elongated seedheads add visual interest. This tough, drought-tolerant grass thrives in sand or clay soil with full-sun exposure. It needs a setting with good drainage, as it won't thrive in wet conditions. -Scott Vogt, Native grasses, Fine Gardening issue #124

Browallia americana Browallia americana
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This plant produces distinct, 2-inch blossoms primarily in rich blue (but also in shades of purple and white), with dark eyes smudged white. It is suitable for sun and partial shade.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'
(4 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This woodland plant is valued for its flowers and its heart-shaped, ground-covering leaves. Its small blue flowers go nicely with ephemeral bulbs in mid- to late spring,  as the enlarging leaves block out the ripening bulb foliage. 'Jack Frost' can take dry summers and wet winters. This cultivar is prized for its improved tolerance of heat and sun. -Marty Hair, Regional Picks: Upper Midwest, Fine Gardening issue# 127

no image available Brunnera macrophylla 'Langtrees'
(Siberian bugloss)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This woodland plant is valued for its flowers and heart-shaped, groundcovering leaves. 'Langtrees' can take dry summers and wet winters. This cultivar is prized for its improved tolerance of heat and sun.

Calluna vulgaris 'Spring Torch' Calluna vulgaris 'Spring Torch'
(Scotch heather, Ling)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Spring Torch' gets its name from the vibrant color of its new growth in spring. The mid-green leaves are tipped in shades of cream, orange, and red. Later in the summer, mauve-pink flower spikes cover the plant and last into the fall. As cold weather sets in, leaves acquire bronze or purple tones, adding further interest. This small, mounding evergreen shrub makes a good groundcover or rock garden plant. Bees love it. Different cultivars are beautiful woven together in the garden to form a colorful tapestry.

Carex divulsa Carex divulsa
(Berkeley sedge)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This sedge is one of the most adaptable of the ground-cover grasses. Its ability to look the same in sun or shade makes it a valuable asset in plantings that go in and out of full sun. Berkeley sedge is a good solution for areas under stress where lawn grasses often fail. The flowers are not particularly noteworthy.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This lovely herbaceous species is versatile and undemanding. It is the star of the late-summer garden with its spiky bright red flower buds and vivid blue flowers, displaying long-lasting mahogany red foliage in fall. Spreading slowly via underground runners, this long-lived plant makes a solid mat with erect, slender red stems and bright green leaves.

Coreopsis rosea Coreopsis rosea
(Tickseed)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This plant bears a profusion of lavender-pink flowers with yellow centers from mid-summer to early autumn. This perennial has finely textured leaves that give it an airy appearance.

Correa 'Dusky Bells' Correa 'Dusky Bells'
(Australian fuchsia)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This spreading ground cover flowers from fall into spring. Its tubular, dusky pink flowers attract hummingbirds, and its deep green leaves release a citrus scent when crushed. Tolerant of dry conditions, frost-hardy 'Dusky Bells' correa should be tip-pruned regularly to promote new growth and improve flowering. Healthy specimens can live up to 50 years or more.

Corydalis flexuosa 'China Blue' Corydalis flexuosa 'China Blue'
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is one of the coveted blue corydalises. It produces whorled clusters of sky-blue flowers on 18-inch tall plants. 

Corydalis linstowiana Corydalis linstowiana
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This species produces copious purplish-blue flowers in spring and fall. It has light green ferny leaves with a mid-rib of silver.

Corydalis lutea Corydalis lutea
(Yellow corydalis)
(3 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This species has bluntly spurred golden yellow flowers from late spring to early fall. Its pale green, glaucous leaves form compact, ferny mounds.

no image available Cotoneaster horizontalis
(Rockspray)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This deciduous shrub has a spreading habit and branches that form a herringbone pattern. Its glossy, dark green leaves turn red in autumn.White flowers tinged with pink appear in late spring and mature to bright red, round fruit.


Displaying 1 - 20 of 95 listings   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5View AllNext > Sort By: Sort