by Janette Peel

Created on: May 21, 2009

Easy-care groundcovers provide an attractive carpet of flowers and greenery and will save you a lot of ongoing work.

A good groundcover spreads to make a mat of foliage over the ground, thick enough to smother weeds and give you greenery all year round. Many will bear colorful flowers which are a delightful bonus.

Groundcover can be a clumpy, spreading perennial, a creeping one, or even a climber which you allow to sprawl over the ground rather than growing upwards. The choice is vast. There are suitable varieties for all climates and soils such as:

Knee-deep groundcover:

Mass together one species of plant such as Pelargonium for a groundcover that reaches 60cm in height.

Ground hugging groundcover:

Growing to 15cm, ground-huggers like Dorotheanthus are perfect on banks and in paving gaps.

Drought resistant groundcover:

Plants like the prostrate Acacia spectabilis provide a tough and colorful groundcover.

Herb groundcovers:

Usually aromatic and very versatile, herbs such as Rosemary and chamomile will look beautiful and provide fragrance wherever they are planted.

Groundcovers can be used anywhere you want to clothe bare ground, but do not want the height and bulk of shrubs. They are low-maintenance and a simple carpet of one or two species can frame and harmonize a mixed planting of trees or shrubs. An attractive groundcover can make a pleasant feature in itself.

The more strongly growing groundcovers like Periwinkles and Ivy Geraniums come into their own on banks or sloping areas. You can use daintier types like Ajuga and Viola hederacea in tight corners, between stepping stones, or to make a living mulch beneath shrubs and taller plants. Allow them to spread over the edges of paving to soften its hard lines.

Fill in the gaps while you are waiting for your permanent plants to grow with low-growing annuals like Alyssum 'Carpet of Snow' or French Marigolds like 'Dainty Marietta'. To save money, multiply the crop by dividing mature plants, which can be placed in the ground immediately.

Instead of mowing steeply sloping areas, cover them with a blanket of easy-care, long-blooming flowers.

Rock gardens look as though they need lots of maintenance, but they are really quite easy to care for. All rock garden plants need to thrive in full sun or dappled shade and soil that is well-drained and rich in humus.

Rock gardens can feature a fascinating mix of plants, and picking them out and arranging

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