They’re not the tallest plants in the forest, the brightest nor the showiest, yet groups of tiny ground covers still stop Elyse Jurgen on hikes.
She snapped a photo in Lancaster County Park of a mix of mayapples and sedges. Another photo of Virginia creeper, several sedges and bloodroot was a swoon-worthy scene, she says.
“This is what nature does,” Jurgen says. “It just wants to cover every square foot.”
It’s possible to borrow this idea in home gardens, using plants as living mulch. Instead of using chipped wood or rocks between plants, this green mulch creates beautiful ecological gardens, keeps weeds away and is less work.
“Just putting in this layer will reduce your time significantly in the garden and you can enjoy it more and not have to be out there pulling weeds as much,” Jurgen says.
The green mulch class she recently taught was so important, registration was open to people outside of the habitat advocate program offered by Lancaster Conservancy. Starting with ground cover plants has been most useful way for gardeners to build habitat, she says.
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Here are a few tips she shared about using native plants as ground cover.
The importance of ground covers
Ground covers might be small, but not including them can lead to big headaches.
When Jurgen started Waxwing Ecoworks Co., Lancaster, she heard from seasoned gardeners who needed help with their native plant gardens.
“I can tell you every single person, they put in a whole bunch of seasonal themes and barely any of them had ground covers,” she says.
With some plant edits and more ground cover, these gardens now need monthly maintenance.
Jurgen suggested a recipe of 10-15 percent in the structural layer (of shrubs, trees and tall grasses), 25-40 percent in the season theme layer (mid-size perennials and annuals) and about 50 percent ground cover.
Ground covers are beautiful
Green mulch mimics nature, like the photos of plant pairings found in County Park. One landscaping style crafts a plant palette similar to what used to grow in the space.
Biodiverse gardens don’t have to look wild or unruly. People smile over ground cover-filled gardens Jurgen’s created.
“There’s something that is visually appealing to have these short little things around and not just a whole bunch of seasonal flowers everywhere,” she says. “It gives your eye a break.”
Ground covers in winter
The ground cover layer tends to be semi-evergreen. While these plants might not grow in the winter, they stay green and provide texture.
Ground covers on a budget
To cut costs, start with one spot in your garden to add green mulch. In two or three years, the ground covers spread, creating your own nursery to dig and plant elsewhere or share.
Native ground cover plants for shade
— Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) is helpful in spaces overcome with invasive plants. However, it’s an aggressive grower. Removing seed heads can help slow the spread. On the plus side, this plant stays semi-evergreen in winter. Its yellow flowers make it a ground cover with seasonal interest. Also, deer don’t like packera.
— Green and gold (chrysogonum virginianum) performs well in moist soil. It stays semi-evergreen in winter and has a yellow flower. In Jurgen’s garden, green and gold is taking over the invasive lesser celandine.
— Creeping phlox (phlox stolonifera) is a woodland phlox with leaves that don’t fade in summer heat, like wild blue phlox. Instead, creeping phlox leaves stay green through cold temperatures.
— Sedge (carex spp.) is most likely the plant people mistake for turf grass in the woods. There are many sedge species and more are available on the market as interest grows. Jurgen’s created sedge gardens with different shades, heights and seed heads. Some sedges prefer specific conditions and others are more versatile. Mount Cuba Center . Jurgen pointed out plantain-leaved sedge (carex plantaginea) for its broad leaves, bunny blue sedge (carex laxiculmis ‘Hobb’ Bunny Blue) for its blue color that stays through winter and Gray’s sedge (carex grayi) with seed heads that look like sea urchins.
Native ground cover plants for sun
— Wild petunias (ruellia humilis) are late to emerge in the spring but worth the wait for the green leaves and lavender flowers. They have a good propagation rate when sown in winter.
— Downy wood mint (Blephilia ciliata) looks like a miniature bee balm with purple pompoms. It’s also short enough to take place in the front of borders, which is uncommon for a sun-loving plant.
— Wild strawberry (fragaria virginiana) has fruit that’s edible and leaves that stay semi-evergreen through winter.
— Field pussytoes (antennaria neglecta) grows in rocky, dry spots in County Park and has fuzzy white flowers that look like little cat feet.
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