Selecting the right ground cover helps in beautifying your landscaped garden. The different types of ground cover suitable for shaded areas have been discussed further.
Whether you have a small garden or a large one, maintaining the garden and choosing the right plants is absolutely essential. A landscaped garden is a visual delight, and you should design your garden in such a way that it looks beautiful and elegant.
Many novice gardeners usually only concentrate on the different varieties of flowers that they would like to plant in the garden. But one very important element that most of them forget about is the ground cover.
Low-growing plants that cover a large area of ground are known as 'ground cover'. They are used to provide protection from erosion and drought, and to cover the bare earth for aesthetic appeal.
If your garden receives low amounts of sunlight, then it is wise to choose a ground cover for the shaded areas. These types of plants thrive in temperate climates which do not receive too much afternoon sunlight.
Some of the best ground covers that you can choose are evergreens. They are easy to grow, easy to maintain, and grow densely. To qualify as ground cover, plants must be under 12 inches in height and should have enough spread to cover a large area.
Lily of the Valley
It grows up to a height of 6-10 inches. Its botanical name is Convallaria majalis. The plant blooms with white fragrant flowers and small red berries at maturity.
Black Mondo Grass
This plant grows to a height of nearly 12 inches and its botanical name is Ophiopog planiscapus. It has a very dense black foliage and has small flowers that are violet in color. It is quite hardy and grows rapidly.
Purple Wintercreeper Euonymus
This plant grows to about 8 inches in height. It can withstand freezing weather conditions and is quite resilient. It can cover a large area and the leaves are waxy green in color.
Foam Flower
The botanical name of this plant is Tiarella cordifollia. It is a hardy woodland flowering plant that blooms with small white flowers in the spring. The leaves form dense foliage that cover an extensive amount of ground.
Japanese Spurge
Its botanical name is Pachysandra terminalis. This plant has light green leaves. It grows well in well-drained soil, in neat compact rows. The plant has no flowers, but its leaves are ornamental.
Asian Jasmine
It grows to a height of 12 inches and its leaves are dark green in color. It thrives well in well-drained soil and is resistant to extremely cold weather.
Elephant's Ears
It is an evergreen plant that has quite large, round leaves. In the spring, white and pink flowers bloom that make the garden very attractive.
A very resilient, but often overlooked, ground cover for landscaping is moss. Moss is very easy to grow and it will give the ground the look and texture of a green carpet. The best thing about using moss is that it grows well in any kind of soil.
If you have a problem with deer entering your garden and eating your plants, then you need ground covers for deer control. Some plants that are also deer-resistant are blue oat grass, catnip, variegated liriope, creeping thyme, and dead nettle.