best ground covers - Fine Gardening

  • ground covers for shade
    Design

    27 Better Ground Covers for Shade to Replace Problematic Plants

    “Ground cover” technically refers to the base layer of the four forest levels: ground cover, shrub, understory, and canopy. But in gardening, ground covers are generally considered low-growing or trailing…

  • ground cover with color
    Design

    A Ground Cover With Color All Year Long

    At the mention of ground covers, most gardeners immediately think of periwinkle (Vinca minor*, Zones 4–8), Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens, Zones 5–9), or lilyturf (Liriope muscari and cvs., Zones 5–9).…

  • ground cover
    Design

    6 Big-Impact, Low-Care Ground Covers

    Ground covers may be the most underappreciated plants in the garden. They don’t have the flashiest blooms or the most interesting habits, but they’re invaluable in so many other ways.…

  • Design

    10 Small Plants to Grow Now

    The front garden where my property hits the road had enough of a slope to make mowing the grass a little iffy. Like any good gardener, I thought, “Why grow…

  • Design

    Problem-Solving Ground Covers

    In almost every garden there are spaces that cry out for a simple palette of plants to create a soothing scene. Perhaps it’s on the edge of the driveway, at…

  • Design

    Covering Ground With Creeping Plants

    These herbaceous ground covers spread quickly and are easy-care favorites

  • ground covers
    How-To

    Got a Little Ground to Cover?

    One garden cliché that drives me crazy is that ground covers are rambunctious troublemakers. The problem is that a few aggressive thugs give the entire lot a bad name. Most…