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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Uses: Ground Covers + Seasonal Interest: Fall+ Spread: 1 - 3 ft
Displaying 1 - 20 of 98 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.

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
(Common bearberry, Kinnikinnick)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is a fine plant for cascading over the edge of a wall. It's a hardy, prostrate shrub with intricate branching that often forms mats up to 3 feet wide, by runners. Fragrant, white bell-shaped flowers tinged with pink are borne in May and followed later in the season by red berries. The common bearberry's stunning red stems are studded with small, glossy, evergreen leaves.

Aster dumosus Aster dumosus
(New York aster, Michaelmas daisy)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is a short-growing aster with lilac-blue flowers and creeping rootstocks. Many cultivars exist. It can be used on steep slopes for erosion control.

Aster dumosus 'Wood's Pink' Aster dumosus 'Wood's Pink'
(Bushy Aster, Hardy Aster)
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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)
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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)
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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.

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)
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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)
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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.

Campanula poscharskyana 'Blue Waterfall' Campanula poscharskyana 'Blue Waterfall'
(Serbian bellflower)
(3 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Serbian bellflowers have an easy, undemanding habit. Creating a stream of lavender blue, the 1-inch-diameter star-shaped blossoms bloom reliably from late spring to early fall. The foliage remains evergreen in mild winters and needs to be sheared only once in a while to keep its appearance tidy. 'Blue Waterfall' flows beautifully along bed edges and through rock gardens in full sun to partial shade.

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.

Chrysogonum virginianum var. australe Chrysogonum virginianum var. australe
(Goldenstar, Green-and-gold)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

From May to October, this perennial bears bright yellow, daisylike flowers on leafy stalks. It spreads by rooting runners to form an attractive groundcover that is easily controlled. This variety differs from the species in its more prostrate form and its more rapid spread.

Clematis texensis 'Duchess of Albany' Clematis texensis 'Duchess of Albany'
(Scarlet clematis, Leather flower, Texas clematis)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This vigorous climber can easily cover a support of 8 to 10 feet tall once established. Finely textured, dense light-green foliage makes an excellent foil for dainty, pink and carmine teardrop-shaped flowers 2 inches across. Blooms appear in early August and continue well into autumn.

Coreopsis rosea Coreopsis rosea
(Tickseed)
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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.

Coreopsis rosea 'Sweet Dreams' Coreopsis rosea 'Sweet Dreams'
(Tickseed)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The bicolored, white-tipped and raspberry-centered blooms are large (1 to 1.5 inches across) and long lasting. Flowers cover the mound of grassy foliage for weeks in summer and early fall. This hybrid does not produce seed.

Corydalis ‘Blackberry Wine’ Corydalis ‘Blackberry Wine’
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Stunning, fragrant pinkish-purple flowers bloom in spring and then sporadically through fall. The ferny foliage can reach as high as 3 feet and looks great around hostas and other shade garden plants. 

no image available Corydalis flexuosa
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

From late spring to summer, this species produces clusters of brilliant blue flowers over ferny foliage. It is the parent of many of the rapidly expanding selection of choice blue cultivars.


Displaying 1 - 20 of 98 listings   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5View AllNext > Sort By: Sort