Curious about groundcovers?
Groundcovers are becoming increasingly popular as an effective
means of displaying plants and in creating a low-maintenance
landscape. As well as found under trees and shrubs, groundcovers
are very helpful with erosion and moisture control. Plants
that are low and spread fast are suitable to be used as groundcovers.
After analysing specific criteria of a planting site, such
as exposure, hardiness zone and size, we can start selecting
the right plants for this purpose.
Planting the ornamental grass Festuca ovina var “glauca”
under the commonly used Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) will
achieve a striking effect. The red leafed maple is going to
be set off by the greyish blue grass, which has a compact
habitat. A less striking but very attractive effect can be
achieved by planting the shade loving Pachysandra terminalis
under that same maple but in shady area. Pachysandra with
its dark glossy leaves and distinctive texture compliments
the maple.
For under the Rhododendron in a shady part of the garden I
would like to suggest Gallium odoratum, This fast growing
medicinal herb with its lush fine green leaves gives a distinctive
background to the dark green glossy foliage of rhododendron.
An added bonus is that Gallium odoratum will get covered with
dainty white flowers some weeks after rhododendrons finish
blooming.
Another very useful groundcover is Hypericum calycinim (Creeping
St. John’sworth) which has attractive dark green foliage
and showy, simple, yellow five-petal flowers that appear in
midsummer. This plant helps prevent surface erosion on slopes.
In a dry sunny area Penstemon fucticosus, ‘Purple Haze’
is a good choice. Penstemon is drought resistant and will
attract attention in its bloom period with splashes of purple
bellflowers.
When choosing the right groundcover for the site, considering
hardiness, size, growth rate, sun, shade, soil requirements,
blooming time, and fall colour is the key to success. It is
also important to think about how the chosen plant is going
to correspond with its surroundings through all of the seasons.
The groundcover plant role should be to simplify maintenance
and help create visual balance in a landscape.
Viktorie Hladik
Horticulturist
Landscape Designer
|
