10 Top Ground Covers: Living Mulch for Weed Control, Soil Health, and Beauty

Bare soil invites weeds, drought, and erosion. Mulch helps but needs replacing. Living mulch — ground covers — insulates soil, builds humus, hosts beneficial insects, and adds color with flowers or foliage. Any soil-hugging plant qualifies: herbs, perennials, low shrubs. Here are 10 all-stars.

Arthur Lathouris Garden Designer

1. Ajuga (Bugleweed)

Mint family; dense carpet in shade. Rounded leaves in purple, bronze, green, variegated. White/pink/blue spring-summer flowers. Frost-hardy. Can smother in ideal conditions — trim occasionally. Cultivars: 'Catlins Giant', 'Burgundy Lace', 'Black Scallop', 'Pink Elf'.

Outhouse Design

2. Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonicus)

Strappy evergreen clumps; tolerates sun, shade, drought. Dwarf 'Nana' ~1 ft, spreads slowly — divide clumps to accelerate. Black mondo (O. planiscapus 'Nigrescens') prefers full sun.

Paul Jackson Gardens

3. Low-Growing Succulents

For hot, sunny bare spots. Mat-forming, low maintenance, little water/pruning/feeding. Pair with taller showcase plants (dracaena, yucca, aloe). Good choices: Senecio serpens (blue leaves), kalanchoe, Sempervivum, sedum, Echeveria.

Pod Garden Design & Landscape

4. Kidney Weed (Dichondra repens)

Evergreen spreader with shiny heart-shaped leaves, inconspicuous green flowers. Lawn substitute in low-traffic areas. Sun or part shade with ample moisture. Fast in ideal conditions.

Art in Green

5. Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)

Usually a climber, now used as ground cover/clipped shrub. Scented white flowers, dark green year-round foliage, tolerates sun, shade, frost. Variegated 'Tricolour' bred as ground cover — green/cream/pink leaves, 3 ft wide, 16 in tall, fewer flowers.

MARPA DESIGN STUDIO

6. Spanish Shawl (Heterocentron elegans)

Hot-pink blooms in frost-free areas. Low dense carpet, indefinite spread (can be vigorous). Well-drained soil, sun or part shade. Good for rock gardens, hanging baskets.

7. Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina)

Fuzzy silver foliage carpet, cottage to contemporary. Pink/purple spring-summer flowers (some cultivars nonflowering like 'Silver Carpet'). Poor soil OK if well-drained; loves sun, tolerates shade. Divide every 2–4 years to prevent center browning.

The Garden Consultants, Inc.

8. Creeping Thyme (Thymus praecox)

Low herb form spreads widely. Ground cover or lawn substitute. Tiny aromatic leaves; purple/mauve/white summer flowers. Frost-hardy; moist, well-drained soil, sun. Many varieties — choose for spread and leaf color.

Fenton Roberts Garden Design

9. Bergenia

Large paddle/oval leathery leaves — ideal for cold-climate subtropical themes. Pink/white flowers for cottage gardens. Winter leaves reddish-brown. Part shade, moist well-drained soil (tolerates sun if roots cool). Forms large clumps, dividable. Cultivars: 'Red Beauty', 'Bressingham Ruby', 'Bressingham White'.

Architectural Gardens, Inc

10. Lilyturf (Liriope muscari)

Dense grassy clumps, spiky purple-blue summer/fall flowers. Low maintenance (watch for snails). Frost-hardy. Perfect for dry shade under trees/shrubs; also full sun. Common edging plant. Divide in autumn after flowering. Cultivars: 'Royal Purple', 'Variegata', 'Big Blue'.

Architectural Gardens, Inc