Did you even know there were 101 landscaping ground cover options? This is the one stop to learn about all the landscaping ground covers available to you!
Landscaping Ground covers in your garden serve the same purpose is carpet in your house. It keeps dust out of the air, adds a layer of texture to the space, and outdoor ground cover should also help to prevent weeds, bugs, and soil erosion.
Any type of ground cover you choose should be dense, low-lying, and strong enough to protect the surface underneath. Basic grass is the most common ground cover. For most of us, this is the ground cover option we use for our entire lawn. However, garden options have a wide variety of ground cover options depending on the look, feel, maintenance, and area you are in.
There are four main types of ground cover, but they all serve the same purpose.
- Organic Ground Cover. An organic ground cover is a low-lying plant that is dense, beautiful, and blends in with the garden around it. When you choose a good ground cover, it should be hardy, easy to maintain, and durable. The best ground covers are no-fuss plants, that meet the design aesthetic of your garden bed and congruent with your landscape theme.
These is the largest category of ground cover options. Because there are so many different types of plants you can use for organic ground cover, depending on where you are located in the country.
- Between Pavers. If you’re looking to provide ground cover in between pavers or stones, you need a specific type of ground cover. Ground cover between pavers should be dense enough to prevent weeds and no more than 2-inches tall. They should also be beautiful enough to soften the hard lines between the stones.
- Non-Green Ground Covers. These are organic materials like bark and mulch that can still provide nutrients and benefits to your garden but they aren’t a plant in and of themselves. These ground covers benefit from having black yard fabric underneath to prevent weeds and grasses growing through them.
- Inorganic Ground Cover. Rock, rubber, and other inorganic materials provide a beautiful appearance with minimal maintenance but they don’t provide any additional nutrients to the garden. Many gardeners like to use rocks because they don’t ever have to be replaced or watered, they aren’t blown away or displaced easily, and they don’t naturally decompose and attract bugs, However, they can sink into the soil, retain heat, and disrupt fragile root structures. Though it may be expensive if you have a large space, rubber ground cover such as this one look realistic, stay above the ground surface and are more durable all year round. If you want a ground cover with no maintainance required, choose this one.
Are you ready to start down the list? Make sure you have your yard fabric and your edging kit and supplies ready before you plant. Here you have it, the ultimate list of 101 ground cover options:
Thick Ground Cover | |
1 | Acaia |
2 | Aeonium |
3 | Ajuna |
4 | Alipine Strawberry |
5 | Alyssum |
6 | Amethyst |
7 | Angeline Sedum |
8 | Bacopa |
9 | Barrenwort |
10 | Bergenias |
11 | Black Mondo Grass |
12 | Blue Star Creeper |
13 | Brass buttons |
14 | Bugleweed |
15 | Bunchberry |
16 | Butterburs |
17 | Chameleon Plant |
18 | Cherry Laurel |
19 | Creeping Jenny |
20 | Creeping Juniper |
21 | Creeping Phlox |
22 | Creeping Thyme |
23 | Crocus |
24 | Dead Nettles |
25 | Dianthus |
26 | Dutchman’s Breeches |
27 | Echeveria |
28 | English Bluebell |
29 | Fassen’s Catmint |
30 | Fescue |
31 | Fleabane |
32 | Geranium |
33 | Germander |
34 | Grap Hyacinth |
35 | Hakone Grass |
36 | Hens and Chicks |
37 | Hosta |
38 | Inland Sea Oats |
39 | Interrupted fern |
40 | Ivy |
41 | Lady’s Mantle |
42 | Lamb’s Ears |
43 | Lamium |
44 | Lily of the Valley |
45 | Lilyturf |
46 | Liverleaf |
47 | Lobelia |
48 | Lungwort |
49 | Mache |
50 | Mondo Grass |
51 | Oregano |
52 | Periwinkle vinca Major |
53 | Phlox |
54 | Rock Cotoneaster |
55 | Scotch Mos |
56 | Sedge |
57 | Sedums |
58 | Siberian Squill |
59 | Solomon’s Seal |
60 | Spotted Dead Nettles |
61 | Stonecrop |
62 | Sweet Woodruff |
63 | Thyme |
64 | Trillium |
65 | Western Sword Ferns |
66 | Wood Anemone |
Between Pavers | |
67 | Baby’s Tears |
68 | Blue Star Creeper |
69 | Chamomile |
70 | Creeping Thyme |
71 | Dollhouse Fern |
72 | Dymonida |
73 | Irish Moss |
74 | Jewel Mint |
75 | Mondo Grass |
76 | Sweet Woodruff |
Inorganic | |
77 | Cobblestone |
78 | Criprap |
79 | crushed concrete |
80 | Decomposed granite |
81 | eff rogg |
82 | Gravel |
83 | lava rock |
84 | marble chips |
85 | pea gravel |
86 | recyclced glass |
87 | red lava chunks |
88 | river rock |
89 | Rock |
90 | shredded rubber |
91 | white beach pebbles |
Non-Green | |
92 | Bark |
93 | Cypress Chips |
94 | Dyed oak mulch |
95 | Hardwood mulch |
96 | Hemlock |
97 | Mexican beach pebbles |
98 | Nut hulls |
99 | Pine cones |
100 | Pine straw |
101 | Hay or Straw |