Purchase a Variety of Ground Cover Plants from Tn Nursery
- Moisture retention
- Weed prevention
- Soil erosion control
- Creating natural beauty
Rather than using mulch or gravel as a ground cover, which causes a stark appearance, grapes and creeping plants add more anesthetic, creating beauty and interest in the landscape theme. Varying heights, colors, and seasons for blooming can all create variety in your landscape. Ground cover plants and vines tend to be easy to care for and occasionally need simple trimming.
Ground cover plants are also suitable for grass as they reduce maintenance such as lawn mowing and fertilizing and the need for watering in dry areas during the summer.
Ground cover plants come in many different varieties and can be used in shaded areas, sloped areas, and hard-to-reach areas for watering. Tall mixtures can be used on property lines or areas where you want to screen viewing. You can use low-growing ground covers in the front of the house or near walkways.
Another excellent use for ground cover plants is beneath towering trees. Typically grass won't grow beneath giant trees, and protruding roots may be unsightly. Ground cover plants like vinca will quickly grow in these shaded areas and disguise the origins.
Hot sunny areas can benefit from healthy ground cover plants that conserve moisture, like creeping veronica and potentilla. These plants will crowd out weeds and reduce maintenance for naturally drier areas.
Ground cover plants can help control erosion on slopes—the more plants on a sloped area, the better. Not only do they hold the soil in place with their roots, but they can help absorb heavy rains and reduce the amount of water runoff.
Taller ground cover plants can climb trellises and fences to add privacy or make an entertaining diversion with their flowers and leaves.
Vines
Using ground cover in landscaping can be helpful when you're trying to make large swathes of land look cultivated and nice. It's usually composed of low-maintenance plants that don't take much, if any at all, time to maintain. These plants typically have a creeping effect or a vining pattern, so they grow and spread independently with just a little coaxing from you.
So, what situations warrant this setup? What are the uses for ground covers?
To Cover Shady Areas
Often, grass doesn't grow well in shaded areas. There are plenty of shade-loving plants with a vine pattern or tendency to spread that can make excellent ground covers. With these solutions, the landscape doesn't look patchy or bare.
To Cover Slopes
Slopes can be challenging to mow on, making grass a less than desirable option for the landscape. Using a ground cover can help eliminate the need for mowing while still leaving the slope beautifully decorated.
To Overpower Weeds
Weeds can be tricky and overpowering, enough to mar a landscape and make it look overgrown and tacky. Some plants are thick enough to completely choke out weeds, creating a two-for-one solution that is easy and stunning to look at.
To Create Fragrance and Atmosphere
Lastly, whether flowering vines or another species, these plants can create a stunning sight that is a feast for the senses. The fragrant smell of flowers can put individuals at ease and leave a lasting impression.
Vines and other ground cover are overlooked in favor of a lush lawn full of grass; This is a critical mistake, as different situations call for various plants in landscaping. Knowing when to use each plant is a skill that comes with time, one that is invaluable. With enough knowledge, any landscape can transform into something breathtaking.
Ground cover plants stop soil erosion, are great for retention areas, and are stabilizers.
English Ivy - Hedera Hedra
This species of ivy has more abundant and more leathery leaves than English ivy. Native to Turkey, it grows best in hardiness zones 6 to 9. The leaves are not only different in size and texture than English ivy, but they are heart-shaped and have a smell that resembles celery when they're crushed.
Ivy is notorious for its fast growth and can spread to 50 feet in a few years. It prefers part to full shade and is not fussy about soil as long as it is well-drained. Though Persian ivy does best with medium watering, it can tolerate some drought.
An exciting thing about ivies is that it is rare to see ivy flowers or fruit. In most places, winter temperatures keep these evergreen plants from flowering and fruiting, even if the vine is decades old. If the plant is found in warmer climates, white flowers appear in late summer and early fall, followed by black fruit.
Morning Glory -- Ipomoea purpurea
The morning glory vine is an annual. Technically, this means it needs to be replanted every year, but in reality, the vine reseeds so vigorously that it is often unnecessary. It has a wide range and thrives in hardiness zones 2 to 11. Its mature height is 6 to 10 feet, while its spread is 3 to 6 feet. The flowers, which famously open in the morning and close up in the afternoon, bloom from June until early fall. The morning glory prefers full sun, medium watering, and average soil that's well-drained but kept moist. It can be grown from seed, so the gardener should start it indoors about a month and a half to two months before the last frost date in spring. It would help if you scored the seed before it's planted to help it germinate.
This fast-growing vine is prized for its beautiful purple flowers with their white throats. The leaves are broad, oval, and attractive.
The Top Three Flowering Ground Covers For Your Lawn
Flowering ground covers are an excellent choice for your lawn when you want to pant traditional grass. You can bring a bit of color to the lawn, and you can plant these ground covers all over your space. You could also use these ground covers for large fields that you do not want to mow all the time. These ground covers can only grow so long, and they will thicken over time.
Halls Honeysuckle Vines
Hall's honeysuckle vines are very interesting in that they are a bush that seems to have nothing but flowers attached. The plant itself is straightforward to manage, and you can watch it change colors during the year until it goes dormant in the winter. You do not need to worry about these plants getting too big because they can only grow so tall. Plus, you can plant these plants around the edge of your lawn or by the mailbox when you want to cover space without using a traditional vine.
The Halls honeysuckle vine is still honeysuckle, which means that you can taste its nectar when you are in the garden.
Trumpet Creeper
The trumpet creeper has a beautiful red flower that appears to be the bell of a trumpet. These flowers usually stay close to the ground, and their slight red/pink color is glorious to behold. It would help if you remembered that most people using the trumpet creeper would want it for its color. Some ground covers are just green, but this particular ground cover is a lovely shade of crimson.
The trumpet vine is a fun plant to tend because you can take some of its blooms for a bouquet or keep them in the house. The vine grows back very fast, and you will see the colors change from dark to light pink until they die out for the winter. This vine comes back strong in early spring because it increases.
Ajuga Plant
Ajuga plant is also known as bugleweed because it stands up at attention as if called there by the bugle. The soft purple color of the blossoms makes this plant a lovely addition to any lawn, and they could be planted anywhere with no trouble because they do not grow out. Plus, they can only grow to a certain height. You can cover the ground without the flowers looking as though they are merely taking over the yard. In essence, the bugleweed seems purposeful.
Conclusion
When you have invested in these ground covers, you can bring a bit of life back to your lawn. Plus, you can make your yard look as though it should have been designed this way. You do not need grass when you have access to these lovely plants, and you can use them on the edges, by the mailbox, and across the yard to take up space.