Great Ground Covers
By eCountryLifestyle Staff Writer
A great option for beautifying a problem shady spot is to use a ground cover plant. Low growing plants that spread naturally are characterized as ground covers and many ground covers grow well in varying degrees of shade.
Although expensive to purchase, the lush pachysandra (pronounced pack-ih-sandra) is an excellent choice for placement around trees. It is one of the few perennials that will grow well under pine trees. Pachysandra will quickly fill any shaded area and provide rootstock for expansion to other areas.
Pachysandra sports a rosette of glossy saw tooth leaves per 10 to 12 inch stem. Leaves may be deep green or variegated depending upon variety and retain their color year-round. In the spring a tiny pale white flower blooms in the middle of the rosette in sharp contrast to the dark green leaves. Pachysandra responds well to a moderate amount of fertilizer in the spring but once established requires little or no maintenance. Pachysandra can add an elegant touch to the landscape with a minimal amount of effort.
Or consider planting the nostalgic favorite ground cover, lily-of-the-valley. These smaller leafy plants, just 8 to 10 inches tall, produce a profusion of white bell-shaped flowers on delicate stems in the mid to late springtime. The scent of the lily-of-the-valley has been a perfume favorite for centuries. While they multiply at a slower rate than the pachysandra, these hardy perennials will fill their space even in dense shade and last for decades.
Another low-growing ground cover is the White Nancy variety of lamium. White Nancy grows to a mere 6 inches in height but add brightness to a shaded area with its tiny triangular silver leaves that are edged with pale green. White Nancy produces a profusion of small white flowers during the summer months. This hardy variety of lamium spreads rapidly even in poor soil and requires little maintenance.
There are numerous varieties of lamium available to the home gardener. A common variety is called yellow archangel lamium also known by the rather unattractive name of golden dead nettle. Yellow archangel has small yellow flowers similar to the White Nancy lamium and the leaves can be a shiny dark green or variegated with an interesting color combination of a silver grey and dark green. Yellow archangel tolerates poor soils and will fill a problem area as long as it gets sufficient moisture. Beware, though, as many a gardener has considered yellow archangel to be invasive as it spreads very rapidly in good soil conditions.
These ground covers are readily available to the average homeowner throughout most of the United States, are easy to grow and maintain and are remarkably hardy, tolerating a variety of soil and light conditions. When you are searching for shade-loving plants, remember that they won’t be displayed in the bright sun with the petunias and snapdragons. The plants for shady spaces will be discreetly tucked underneath the tables holding the brightly colored annuals. Your local discount or hardware store or nursery does stock these plants. You just need to ask or search for them.
