Shade gardens are lovely, but often take a bit of patience and work to create and maintain. Ground covers are low-growing compact plants that offer excellent choices for dry and moist areas of shade gardens. They add color, texture, and interest while also taking a lot of work out of gardening as they are relatively maintenance free. If you plant ground covers that suit your soil and climate, you'll have a more beautiful and enjoyable shade garden.
Perennial Ground covers for Dry Shade
Corydalis is perhaps the best ground cover for shade. It s ferny foliage adds a light, airy feel to a shade garden, and its delicate yellow flowers brighten up dark shade. It grows in mounds and reseeds itself but is not invasive. There are also varieties that bloom blue and pale lavender. Corydalis mounds grow to about twelve inches tall. It works well along borders or in the front of a shade bed or scattered in a woodland setting. It tolerates dry spells and is hardy to zone 5.
Epimedium is an excellent ground cover for dry shade, especially under trees where little else will grow. It grows in mounds about ten inches tall and ten inches or more across. The leaves are a heart shape of light green with red edges. One of the most charming aspects of Epimedium is the way the leaves quiver in a light breeze and add another dimension of interest to your garden. They produce small red or white flowers in very early spring and are one of the first plants to emerge after a long, cold winter. You can divide the clumps after a couple of years and have more clumps to plant or give away. Epimedium is hardy in zones 4-8.
Lamium spreads quickly and is happy in shade. It prefers a moist area but tolerates short periods of drought. The foliage will die back in extremely dry conditions, but pop up stronger than ever after a good soaking. The foliage is silvery and it produces pretty pink, white, or lavender flowers in early spring. It prefers part to full shade and is hardy in zones 3-8. Loam or sandy loam is its favorite soil type. Lamium grows four to eight inches tall and one plant will form a mound to cover a sixteen inch space. It works well in borders and as a ground cover in woodland settings.
Sweet Woodruff is an herb with lovely lance-shaped leaves and white star-like flowers that form a white carpet in spring. It prefers dappled shade and tolerates drought. The white flowers give off a sweet hay scent and add a magical quality to a woodland garden. Sweet Woodruff will quickly spread and fill in areas where nothing else will grow, especially under large trees. It is hardy in zones 4- 8. We planted Sweet Woodruff around our mailbox in dense shade and it's covering a twenty by ten foot space after only a few years. It also survives harsh winters and road salt! Sweet Woodruff is mostly known as an ingredient for May wine.
Bishop's Weed or Goutweed is considered a curse by some gardeners. This is because it is so tenacious and aggressive you can't get rid of it once it's put down roots in your garden. I asked my Dad what to use on Bishop's Weed and he said, "A flame thrower! " That's when I knew it was exactly what I was looking for in the dry shade under our huge old Sugar Maples. I love it because it's white and pale green foliage brighten up dark shady areas. Grows eight to ten inches tall and will crowd out anything in its path, so keep this in mind before planting it. It is hardy in zones 3-9. Bishop's Weed produces flowers in late summer that resemble Queen Anne's Lace. If it starts to look leggy and bedraggled late in the season, simply run over it with the law mower and it will bounce back stronger than ever.
Violets are another bane in the existence of folks who strive for a perfect green grass lawn, but they make perfectly lovely ground cover in dense shade. Their heart-shaped leaves and pretty pale purple, white, or speckled flowers bloom in early spring. It gives most other plants a run for their money and right now the Bishop's Weed and the Violets are head-to-head in the shade areas under our mature trees. Violets are very cold hardy in zones 3-9.
Moist Shade
Ferns may not be thought of as 'ground covers' but they truly are excellent in moist shade. Japanese Painted ferns are a silvery gray with red stems that are low-growing and really add interest to a moist shady area. They are a tad bit expensive and don't spread rapidly, but are perfect as a focal point along a walkway or front porch area that gets very little sun and stays moist. Cinnamon Stick ferns are tall, so really aren't considered 'ground covers' but they do rapidly fill in moist shady area and add a magical, forest quality to any shade garden. They are hardy in zones 3-9.
Miniature Mat Daisy requires moisture and does well in shade. It grows only 2" high and is a vigorous ground cover. Small white daisies bloom from late spring through summer. Its tiny spoon-shaped leaves give your shady areas a fairy-garden flavor. It is perfect for planting between pavers or walkways, but must be kept moist. It is hardy in zones 5-9.
Vinca or Creeping Myrtle does very well in moist shade and fills in areas quickly with evergreen oval leaves and lovely purple flowers in early spring. We replaced the lawn in our front yard with Vinca because grass was difficult to grow under the large old trees. Vinca helps the trees because we let the fallen leaves compost down into it over the winter, which feeds the trees and keeps the Vinca healthy at the same time. Vinca Alba produces white flowers and is very pretty, but spreads much more slowly than the common variety. It is hardy in zones 4-9.
Ground covers of all types are much more eco-friendly than grass because they require very little maintenance and no chemicals to keep them healthy. They are indeed the lazy gardener's friend!