1. Trailing Periwinkle (Vinca Minor)
This ground cover plant will fill your garden with gorgeous periwinkle blossoms that give off a very pleasant scent. If left unattended, it will rapidly spread across your garden, which is why you should carefully monitor its growth. This is a great plant to have, since it will be happy in either sunlight or shade, making it a good plant to grow around the base of your trees or at the top of a rock wall.
2. Dragon’s Blood (Red Sedum)
A bold and beautiful ground cover plant, Dragon’s Blood really loves the sun. It boasts a beautiful deep crimson color, which grows more brilliant as it is exposed to more sunlight. It can grow to a full 8-inches tall and can spread rapidly through your garden. It is a tough ground cover plant which can withstand changes in temperature and dry soil with ease.
3. Creeping Phlox (Phlox Subulata)
This low-lying ground cover plant produces flower blossoms in loads of different colors. This plant spreads faster than any of the others listed in this article, so you'll need to ensure that it is regularly trimmed. When it isn't blooming, you will instead be treated to the sight of many lush green leaves.
4. Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia Nummularia)
This shaggy ground cover plant is best placed in wet areas. While it will still grow in partial shade, exposing it to full sunlight will provide it with the most vibrant colors. It has long trailing stems, vibrant yellow flowers, and round chartreuse leaves. It is able to quickly cover large areas, killing weeds and tearing out roots along its stems.
5. Mazus (Mazus Reptans)
A fairly low-maintenance plant, mazus is able to grow in full shade but is ideally planted in partial shade. In mild climates, mazus will remain green all year round, blooming in early spring. If planted in a tropical environment, it’s very important to keep it moist during hot weather.
6. Tufted Creeping Phlox (Phlox Stolonifera)
A native North American plant, the tufted creeping phlox is best planted in moist soil and exposed to partial sunlight. Its needle-like evergreen leaves usually create a dense mat across the earth, efficiently suppressing any weeds it comes across. It produces small white or pink flowers in the early springtime and can grow up to 12-inches high.
7. Creeping Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum coccineus)
Creeping thyme grows close to the ground and thrives in full sunlight. It is resistant to droughts, high temperatures, and even deer! It will get rid of any weeds in your garden, and come summertime it will erupt into plenty of stunning crimson flowers.
8. Big Root Geraniums (Geranium macrorrhizum)
Big root geraniums thrive in dry to medium moisture and full sunlight and need to be planted in well-drained soil. They form a weed-resistant ground cover and are able to reach up to 12 inches in height. In late spring and early summer, you will be able to see blooms of purple-pink flowers all over your garden.
9. Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
The bearberry is a low-growing evergreen shrub, which can be planted in rocky, sandy or dry soil. It is a highly durable plant and can grow up to 12 inches high and 6 feet wide. It blooms in early spring with tiny, drooping, pink or white flowers, which transition to rounded, berry-like fruits in August and September.
10. Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
This beautiful plant thrives in densely shaded areas, which makes it the ideal perennial and ground cover plant to have under bushes and trees. It adds eye-catching textures to your garden with its fragrant lacy white flowers and star-shaped whorls of leaves.
BONUS: How to Choose, Plant & Grow Ground Cover Plants
