11 great garden ground covers

An alternative to grass, different ground covers are better suited to different areas of the garden. Here are some top-notch choices for tough sites including slopes and shaded areas.

• Steep slopes tend to be very dry because rainfall runs off instead of soaking in, so they call for sturdy ground covers that can survive without much moisture.
• Shady areas require ground covers that can thrive without much sunlight.
• Under shrubs and trees, ground covers should not compete for nourishment.
• Ground covers for edging should be particularly dense and hardy.

1. Creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontals)

• Dense, shrubby, evergreen mounds of woody stems with short green or bluish needles; about 60 centimetres tall.
• Full sun

2. Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp. and hybrids)

• Deciduous clumps of narrow, strap-like leaves plus trumpet-shaped summer flowers in a wide range of colours; 30 centimetres to 1.2 metres tall.
• Sun to partial shade

3. English ivy (Hedera helix)

• Long, vining stems with shiny evergreen leaves that are deep green, green and white, or green and yellow; 15 to 30 centimetres tall.
• Partial to full shade

4. Rock rose (Heliantheum nummularium)

• Low, mounding shrubs with grey-green leaves plus pink, orange, yellow or white flowers in late spring; 30 to 60 centimetres tall.
• Full sun

5. Rockspray cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontals)

• Spreading mounds with deciduous, glossy green leaves that turn red in fall; 60 centimetres to 1 metre tall.
• Full sun

6. Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortune)

• Fast-growing creeping or mounding plants with deep green or variegated evergreen leaves; 30 centimetres to 1 metre tall.
• Full sun to full shade

7. Pachysandra (Pachysandra terminals)

• Upright, 15- to 20-centimetre stems bear whorls of glossy, rich green foliage all year long, plus short spikes of fragrant white flowers in late spring.
• Space plants 15 to 30 centimetres apart

8. Periwinkle (Vinca minor)

• Slender, trailing stems clad in small, glossy, deep green leaves create dense evergreen carpets that are 15 to 20 centimetres high. The pretty sky-blue spring blooms are a bonus!
• Space plants about 30 centimetres apart

9. Dwarf Chinese astilbe (Astilbe chinensis var. pumila) 

• Low, dense masses of lacy green leaves are accented with brushy, 30-centimetre plumes of pink flowers in summer.
• Space plants 20 to 30 centimetres apart

10. Spotted lamium (Lamium maculatum)

• Dense, mounding plants form 15- to 20-centimetre mats of silver-and-green leaves 15 to 20 centimetres high and accented with pink or white flowers from mid-spring to midsummer.
• Set plants about 30 centimetres apart

11. Bugleweed (Ajuga reptant)

• Low rosettes of deep green, bronze or variegated leaves are 8 to 10 centimetres tall; they are evergreen in mild climates; 10- to 15-centimetre spikes of blue or pink flowers bloom in late spring.
• Space plants 20 to 30 centimetres apart