The key to a sustainable, cohesive garden is in the details. Once you’ve picked your statement trees, planted foundational shrubs, and brightened the yard with perennial flowers, one element still ties it all together: groundcover plants.
Groundcover does more than fill empty space. Compared to turf grass, groundcover plants typically need less water, less fertilizer, and less weeding once established. Most varieties settle in quickly and look great season after season with very little upkeep, making them one of the easiest ways to reduce yard maintenance while adding color and texture at eye level with the soil.
A quick note on native groundcover: because groundcover plants spread quickly by nature, non-native varieties can become invasive if left unmanaged, crowding out native plants and disrupting local ecosystems. If you plant non-natives, keep an eye on their borders and trim back rampant spread. For gardeners who want a lower-maintenance, ecosystem-friendly option, two of our favorite native groundcovers are:
- Tiarella cordifolia (foamflower), a shade-loving native with delicate white blooms
- Carex pensylvanica, a thick, grass-like native sedge that works well as a lawn alternative
Below, we’ve broken down our favorite groundcover plants by light requirements, so you can find the right fit whether you’re covering a sunny slope or a shady, hard-to-plant corner.
Groundcover Plants for Full Sun
Creeping phlox is an evergreen groundcover that bursts into bloom in shades of blue, pink, and purple. For a few weeks each spring, beds of phlox look like colorful carpets spilling over garden borders. Because it blooms so early, phlox is a favorite for kickstarting the growing season with color before most other perennials wake up.
Creeping Juniper
Creeping juniper is a low-growing evergreen shrub that tolerates poor soil and high heat, making it one of the toughest, lowest-maintenance groundcover options for Virginia gardens. It stays attractive year round, and once established, its root system helps stabilize slopes and prevent soil erosion, a useful trait for hillside or bank plantings. Blue Rug Juniper is a great choice for adding cool, bluish-green tones to the landscape.
Sedum (Stonecrop)
Sedum, also known as stonecrop, is a family of succulent perennials known for drought tolerance and adaptability to poor soil. With so many varieties suited to groundcover use, there’s a sedum for nearly any sunny spot. Try Blue Spruce sedum for a soft blue accent along garden beds, or Dragon’s Blood sedum for deep ruby red color.
Groundcover Plants for Shade
Ajuga (Bugleweed)
If you want a thick, weed-smothering carpet of groundcover, ajuga is hard to beat in partial to full shade. Its glossy foliage in shades of bronze, purple, and deep green draws the eye downward and fully covers bare soil. Purple flower spikes appear in late spring and can last for months. Some of our favorite varieties include Bronze Beauty, Chocolate Chip, and Burgundy Glow.
Pachysandra
Pachysandra is a classic low maintenance groundcover for the darkest, driest corners of the garden where little else will grow. Available in solid green or variegated foliage, its distinctive leaf shape adds texture at ground level. Once established, pachysandra tolerates drought and is rarely bothered by pests, making it a dependable choice under trees or along shaded foundations.
Vinca Minor (Periwinkle)
Also known as periwinkle, vinca minor is a vining groundcover with small, waxy leaves and star-shaped blooms in late spring to early summer. The purple, blue, or white flowers draw attention while in bloom, but vinca minor stays quiet and understated the rest of the year, letting the trees and shrubs above take center stage.
Why Groundcover Belongs in Every Garden
Groundcover plants bring texture and color to the parts of the garden that often get overlooked, the shady corners, the steep slopes, the hard-to-mow strips along a fence line. The right groundcover can be chosen to match your garden’s exact conditions and to complement the trees, shrubs, and perennials already in place.
Ready to fill in the gaps in your landscape? Explore our full groundcover selection at Cross Creek Nursery or stop by one of our locations and our team can help you find the right plant for sun, shade, slopes, or anywhere in between.