8 Stunning Ground Cover Plants - Create A Carpet Of Color & Texture (even in difficult places!)

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Hooked and Rooted is a gardening show on KZbin. My shows & content include topics such as: Offering gardening tips for beginners, low maintenance garden ideas, landscaping for beginners, new build garden transformations, how to make your garden beautiful, sharing perennial plants and evergreen shrubs for the garden, and the best ground cover plants you can plant in your garden.
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Hooked and Rooted
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About this video:
Have you ever gotten tired of mulching? Truth be told, while I love the look of a newly mulched garden, I really don't enjoy the work involved. Over the last several years, I've been adding ground covers to some areas. My hope is that over time, these ground cover perennials and evergreens will continue to spread, so that those areas will require little to no mulch. Which means less effort on my part to maintain a beautiful garden. Tell me are you team mulch, or team groundcover, or do you prefer a combination of both? Thanks for watching - Steph (Gardening in Massachusetts zone 6b) #gardening #gardeningtips

[@dianehernandez6051]

I just wanted to compliment you on your presentation skills! Articulate, speaks reasonably quick and provided lots of info. Good job!

[@HookedandRooted]

Thank you so much for your kind words 🥰

[@Raushangardenideas]

Beautiful garden

[@chloek.5076]

Thank you for putting names on the screen!

[@peggyrhoads-ro8us]

My favorite is Sweet Woodruff. I love the pretty white flowers and the smell of the flowers in the spring.

[@featherednests4374]

Your presentation was perfection! You’ve done such a beautiful job. Thank you for sharing

[@TheGardeningMe]

That's my goal! Adding mulch to our beds year in and year out is a true pain - and I'm not getting any younger, lol!

[@HookedandRooted]

Hi Margaret! I agree, less mulching is always a good thing. We're beginning edging this week so that hopefully we can get our mulch next week, and definitely not looking forward to moving that big pile.

[@GardenscapesbyKae]

This is the next goal for my garden adding a bunch of ground cover in open spaces. I’m over buying all this mulch yours are beautiful

[@profesoraky]

I, too, love my Purple Dragon Lamium. Creeping Thyme is also one of my favorites. I left 5 small planting containers with dirt at the edges of my creeping thyme over the fall and winter, and I just planted those five clumps in another area of my garden. They grew up through the bottom of the containers. My sedum overtook my creeping phlox, so I just let it keep growing. It's a bit thuggish, but I like it. I enjoyed your video with examples of ground covers. Thank you.

[@GardenwithJoanna]

I have many of the ones you mentioned too! One of my favs for really sunny spots is creeping thyme. ‘Thymus Annie Hall’ is my favorite variety of the creeping thymes. It’s an improvement of ‘Mother of Thyme’. Beautiful growing in between stepping stones and bonus-it stands up to my kids running through it,which is a major plus for me! 😊

[@HookedandRooted]

That sounds like a great Variety Joanna! I'll check it out. Thanks for sharing 🌱

[@jessicakillian3738]

I have silver leaf Artesia and lots of sedum varieties! Love sedum

[@thisiscarolyn7670]

Here in my California garden, my favorite ground cover is creeping thyme. It's especially useful because it can take foot traffic well, smells good when stepped on and is evergreen for me. I also have a low growing geranium with a white bloom that I don't know the name of, but I am able to divide it frequently, also evergreen for me. And I also have a sedum that is similar to the bronze one you showed, but this one is a silvery green.

[@ITOLDUDA]

Creeping Jenny is the perfect ground cover. Turns golden yellow in the sun, and it grows so aggressively that weeds don't stand a chance. In the south, we have to grow it in part shade to keep it from taking over, but in your more moderate northern climate, it should not spread in an undesirable way since the shorter season puts it to sleep. It tends to like moisture, but it will take remarkable drought once established. Pretty amazing plant.

[@MsCurliegirlie]

It’s also very easy to pull when it goes where you don’t want it to!

[@littlemissy8356]

Extremely invasive.

[@karend5880]

one other thing to note, you can pick a piiece of it, stick it somewhere in the ground, if it doesn't take off that year, it will the next. I'm in alabama and have it in a place that gets morning & early afternoon sun, surrounding roses.

[@Anikanoteven]

Please do not plant creeping Jenny. Is non-native and it is very invasive.

[@ruthannecoro6198]

I find creeping Jenny very aggressive and somewhat of a bully. Easy enough to pull.. I have it everywhere and I’ve always “weeding it out”

[@lindaga820]

STEPH, your ga4den beds are looking really good !! I'm aiming for more ground covers because at 74 less mulching is a good thing !! 😊

[@HookedandRooted]

Thank you so much Linda! I agree, mulching less at any age is a great thing. More time enjoying our gardens, and less time working in them 😉💚

[@michellefrance1165]

I have almost all of them you mentioned, my hope is eventually a lot less mulch!

[@youbetcha108]

Nice work ! Great camera person! Good editing. Quick identification of species and printed names on the screen.

[@HookedandRooted]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for your kind words.

[@TamaraLMJ62]

I have been looking for ground cover ideas. You have given me a lot of great options! Thank you.

[@HookedandRooted]

That's great to hear Tamara! Thanks for watching 🌱

[@KP-gw5zv]

I have an ajuga ground cover and it has blue bloom spikes right now as well as I have a hardy geramanium that has pink blooms and it is doing really well. I think I will divide it up this fall. Thank you for your tour. Love your channel.

[@cynthiabiel7714]

On that slope I would try a rock garden combination dry river bed.

[@mira7640ify]

Hellebores for me, the blooms are so spectacular!

[@hilltopbrenda]

I love pachysandra for dry areas, always evergreen. Longwood and Winterthur have huge areas under trees with this cover.

[@karenpatterson8574]

I took one clump of violets from my parents yard many years ago. I’ve been able to do away with mulch in one garden bed. I’m starting to transplant to my other large bed to do away with the annual chore and cost of throwing down bags of mulch. Yes they pop up all over my yard but they can be popped out with a weed popper if need be. They also give bunnies something to eat instead of my plants . Oh and they choke out weeds like crazy. They are just stunning in spring with their tiny purple flowers.

[@GardenreetLighting]

Really appreciate the honest take on mulching! Your garden looks beautiful with those perennials and evergreens.

[@paulahaddad5114]

It's great to find out you are also in zone 6! Gives me ideas for plants that I can actually grow.😊😊😊😊 Thanks

[@sbingham1979]

I love seeing all these lovely plants!! Your garden shows the pleasure that you & yr. husband take in creating it - thank you for the great ideas for ground covers!

[@HookedandRooted]

Thank you so much!

[@MilesSherry]

Ajuga is the gift that keeps on giving, as well as Lamb’s Ear. Sedum is my favorite but I planted several varieties in pots. They serve containers well, especially Angelina and Lime Zinger.

[@QueenAnnesLace13]

Thanks Steph, great question from the 'camera man' hellebores it is.

[@linakhoury6623]

Hi Stef 🌺. I love all these groundcovers in your garden . I have sedum , Iceplant , Lewisia ,afrecan daisy ... Have a wonderful day. 🌺🌻🌺

[@HookedandRooted]

That's wonderful Lina! They are great alternatives to having to use too much mulch. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day!

[@brittcorley]

I don't know if it's technically considered a ground-cover but I have a tricolor sage plant that I absolutely love. I bought it on a whim last year, and I wish I would have bought more because I haven't come across it again this year. It cascades over my landscaping stones so nicely.

[@nikkireigns]

I just bought one in Wisconsin at a local garden center! So pretty

[@swankyclass8654]

I am just getting started with ground covers in the garden. I love them in my pots and now adding more to the garden. The one in the garden that I really enjoy is the Bugleweed Black Scallop. It’s so beautiful to me. Thanks for sharing the others as I need more ideas to add to the garden.

[@pamhastings3857]

This year my creeping Jenny is really spreading and adding color. Also John Creech sedum has spread and is about to bloom. Excited to have ground covers and not so much mulch!

[@SMElder-iy6fl]

My favorite ground covers are Ceratostigma and Geranium macrorizome

[@HookedandRooted]

Thank you so much for sharing! I planted some Ceratostigma (plumbago) last fall! Its starting to return for me here. 🌱

[@sbffsbrarbrr]

I also have ajuga chocolate chip. Started out with two 8 cell containers five years ago and now it's spread out everywhere. Love the flowers in spring.

[@sammysworld5485]

Hi Steph I grow everyone you mentioned… also with wooddrift, candytuft, ferns, creeping Jenny & creeping phlox.

[@HookedandRooted]

Wonderful! Thank you for sharing the other varieties you grow, those are great choices as well! I love ferns, creeping jenny and phlox also and have some in my garden 🌱

[@carolynmareck1182]

European Ginger is probably my favorite groundcover…I find mine grows best in dappled light and rich soil, Steph. 😊

[@HookedandRooted]

Thank you so much Carolyn! Its a beautiful one 🌱

[@jennifero7189]

Always so happy to see a new video! You and George are the best!

[@HookedandRooted]

Hi Jennifer! Thank you so much for your kind words, and for watching my videos. I really appreciate the support, thank you. So happy you are here!💚

[@pauletteworoniak431]

I love Scotch Moss, especially when it blooms. It is a great ground cover but unfortunately it doesn’t live very long. I planted Ajuga 'Black Scallop' and ‘ Burgundy glow’ last fall. I also love October Daphne Stonecrop. The ground cover I hope to add this spring is Blue Creeping Sedum.

[@suec9816]

your videos are great

[@catherinelarkin247]

Helen Von Stein does bloom. Not much though. I have a huge patch. Love it. I also have blue spruce and Angelina sedum, ice plant, and Mother of Thyme (creeping thyme). I also have helebores-- I never knew they could be a ground cover.

[@bettygreen3238]

Thanks for your response. You are one of my favorite!

[@thejillykilly]

Can you please do a video on your Japanese maples, their special features and why you chose them?

[@HookedandRooted]

Coming soon!! They are just about all leafed out.

[@mariacosta6086]

I ended up getting some Lamium to put in some small containers that I put on the deck . I’ll transplant them to the garden at the end. I noticed your Jacob’s Lader is looking beautiful. Great video. ❤❤❤

[@8helenjhouston8]

Lemon coral sedum is my new favorite groundcover!

[@patriciaflores2776]

Thanks for showing your ground covers & info.love the lambs ear, blue rug juniper & the sedium. 💚🌱😊

[@HookedandRooted]

You are so welcome! Thanks for watching Patricia! 🌱

[@Kandicookheller]

Love your video. I find that when I plant ground covers in my garden they always get a bit out of control. I'm getting away from mulch in my beds and use compost for top dressing and only use mulch in my pathways or stone between my rocks. I'm not ever using landscape fabric again. I used it many years ago when I first installed my one acre gardens and I still find pieces of it flying around from underneath my paths. It never prevents weeds and ends up breaking down rather fast and just makes a mess. I'd rather just weed and not have pieces of landscape fabric all around my gardens showing here and there after 25 years. Nothing works like proper weeding with a good sharp weeding knife.

[@MyFocusVaries]

Those are some beautiful ground covers. European ginger is really hard to find in garden centres I've found but I'm still looking! I'm not a fan of all the plastic landscape cloth. It doesn't really stop weeds long term and it contributes to microplastic in the environment. And if you have mulch on top, weeds grow into the mulch and roots into the cloth, making it extremely difficult to remove the weeds. It's not necessary under a deep mulch (it stops the mulch being able to improve your soil) or under pavers.

[@LifeHomeandGardenwithAnaRica]

I like the Sedum as a ground cover they look really nice.

[@HookedandRooted]

Thanks Ana! 🌱

[@BloomCatBloom]

I am a huge fan of ice plants as groundcovers!

[@lisamorris4232]

Thanks for sharing the varieties of ground cover. I also use creeping thyme serphyllum in an extremely hot, dry area which is contained. It is so fragrant by our back door. Sedum Angelina is also a favorite in my garden. No muss, no fuss, no mulch!

[@maureenmckenna5220]

I love groundcovers but my one caveat is that weeds tend to grow in the middle of them and they have to be weeded.

[@nicholasryan5401]

Greeting's from Ireland, I grow ajuga and brunerra jack frost in pot's and orvala in the garden bed.

[@jessicageorge9136]

So many lovely choices! I hope to incorporate several soon!!

[@verawallace9055]

Some wild grass was coming up through my low sedum , i have a fight on my hands

[@HookedandRooted]

That's a tough one. I have some kind of weedy grass in some of my beds too. Its quite a job to get rid of. Persistence and Patience Vera. Thanks for watching!

[@verawallace9055]

@@HookedandRooted You're welcome

[@jasminelouisefarrall]

I love all these selections they’re beautiful every year 🍃🌺🍃

[@monicamacauley3750]

Here in Zone 9b in SoCal Ivy geraniums provide a perfect pop for a colorful ground cover drift.

[@angiemorian4956]

Great content. I got so much inspiration from this video. I'm really enjoying your channel and appreciate that yours is unique!

[@cmbooks2000]

I love your garden, the birdsong and Maverick. Thank you.

[@mal1090]

Steph, I’ve been loving all of the videos you’ve been making! This one especially was perfect timing! I love geraniums because they’re shade and juglone tolerant under my mature black walnut trees! ❤

[@MsCurliegirlie]

I have a slope under large trees that I have been filling in w ground cover because it’s sloped and shady so grass doesn’t grow well there at all. After 6 years it’s finally pretty filled in and it’s beautiful! I have vinca, ajuga, creeping Ginny, and some nettle. It’s all beautiful 🥰

[@theabrooks2616]

This video is right on time. I am deciding on ground covers are great.

[@user-et8wz4dh7w]

Ajuga is a favorite of mine. Easy to grow and thrive in my hot, humid climate. The purple dragon is beautiful. I like annual if possible.

[@enatp6448]

I love helebore and you've got a beautiful variety of plants. Thank you ❤

[@janeclancey8044]

Thanks for showing the ground covers you have in your garden! All look beautiful! My choice would be the lambs ear variety you have in your garden.

[@missmrice91]

I love the lamium your friend gave you it looks really cool with a stripe

[@carenallen5841]

I agree with your assessment on more plants,,,and flower coverages

[@angelakading8497]

I love my Water Perry Speedwell for sun. And Tidal Blue Veronica as well

[@HookedandRooted]

Thank you so much for sharing Angela!

[@megb683]

I just bought the juniper I can’t wait to plant it. I have so many favorites too. I really like creeping Jenny and the lambs ear

[@daisygurl3601]

Loved this vid! Such beautiful plants which also serve a practical purpose. I have ajuga and urge it to spread as it is so unusual and great for the front border. I also enjoy creeping Jenny for similar reasons and its chartreuse color. Great job, Steph! Your garden is looking beautiful. Continued blessings…

[@mariensanchez2475]

Beautiful and good video

[@4evachristmas]

Thank you for your video, am definitely gonna try some of these.

[@miriantalbot6772]

Always looking forward to your videos ...my favorite is the sedumm

[@sherrypitt9889]

Hi, Love them all! Thank you for sharing.

[@HookedandRooted]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@soniewhitten4844]

great video, i love them all also. i need to get some more lambs ear. also nice not having to mulch as much. thanks for sharing. hope you have a great day!

[@msmaddox2918]

I love ajuga too Steph! I have some in my garden and they are filling in nicely. I won't have to mulch as much this year! 😁

[@peggyawald2749]

Your garden is amazing, I loved the video on perennials for beginners Thank You

[@Toya-Doing-Stuff]

Great information!!!

[@HookedandRooted]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching 🌱

[@debraisola9037]

I have Hellebore Sedum Lambs ear Never heard them called ground cover but makes sense 🙂🌿 thank you for sharing!!

[@anneclabaugh]

Great video, Steph! I love groundcovers! They check all the boxes, easy, beautiful and weed free! I have most of the ones you showed as well as The Blue Spruce sedum. That and the Angelina sedum are my favorites! I have the flowering Lamb's Ear but now I need to find the Helen Von Stein! Yours is beautiful! 💚

[@emmalavenham]

Absolutely agree lambs ear is great for groundcover and texture

[@susanbartone1347]

I live in zone 7B. Great video. So when I moved into my house in 2003, I did have front/side/back lawns. But drought conditions and hardwood trees caused the grass to die and not bounce back. I tried all sorts of things and reseeded each year. No luck. So I gave up. Luckily I have a small property so I decided to just plant perennials. It has taken a while and a pretty penny but my property is coming along. I love Hellebores/sedum/ajuga and anything evergreen. Makes the maintenance a bit lower. I did plant vinca and asiatic jasmine and while they can look nice, they are so invasive that it is a good news/bad news situation...covers a lot of ground (and quickly) but looks a bit too ragged/viney for me. I am going to try Lambs Ears. Like it.

[@HookedandRooted]

Hi Susan, I understand what you mean. Vinca can be tough. I had a friend with some and it got a bit wild. I hope you like lambs ear. Thanks for watching.

[@monicalappin3940]

Beautiful gardens! I have barrenwort, which I love & sweet woodruff, lamiun 'white nancy', white anemone 'snowdrop'. Many varieties of geranium, so easy.

[@tinawilder5721]

I have that same sedum and it's really pretty

[@DonnaF.]

A ton of great information in 10 minutes!!! Love it! Liked and subscribed. ❤

[@HookedandRooted]

So glad you found my channel and thanks for subscribing!

[@kristymarsh960]

I have the purple dragon and it spreads like crazy in our area. 6b western Colorado I have to trim it throughout the season so it doesn’t choke out my other plants . I actually dig up a ton this winter and only kept a little since it spreads so well. And it growing and spreading like crazy.

[@patjackson3506]

Lamium is my favorite!

[@reenamancuso1255]

I’m also a fan of Sweet Woodruff.

[@PleasantPrickles]

I love to use ground covers in place of mulch, I have many varieties all around my garden. I’m happy to know about some of these options, especially the blooming ones. I have actually been restoring a long bed beside my driveway that was mulched for two decades, and it was actually more like dust than soil. Now that I’m thickly planting the space and not using shredded mulch, the soil is really shaping up. My favorite shade ground cover is pachysandra, some say it’s invasive, but if I can easily pull it and it doesn’t climb, I don’t categorize it as such. Great video, thanks! 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱😀

[@deshgouri]

I have a variegated purple flowering ajuga that I love! They're so easy and add early spring interest.

[@HookedandRooted]

I agree! 🌱

[@daisygass6962]

I have been thinking of adding ground cover so I have less mulch to spread. I'm loving the lamuim and thinking it might be a good choice but loving the others you showed.

[@carenallen5841]

Enjoyed this video,,,very informative..been working 3 yrs on a home I bought that had nothing in the yard ..back and front....its really coming together..as like you..I love to put color..plants..shrubs..and conifers.....

[@teresataylor8267]

I have a ground cover, Creeping Jenny, and I don't like it...but I do like your Sedum and the colors give great interest. Thank you for highlighting the ground covers.❤ ❤❤ ❤❤❤❤

[@sannaericditsler4034]

Yes I have a couple of ground covers I have chocolate chip ajuga and sedum Angelina. I want to get more and cut down on the mulch. I heard ground covers work as good as mulch and I want to try that. Thanks for the video.

[@peoniesanddahliaz]

Great choices for ground cover. I have all of them in my zone 6a Michigan garden and I can vouch for each one of them. They are so fantastic and great performers.

[@HookedandRooted]

Thank you so much!! So glad you enjoy them in your garden as well 🌱

[@enatp6448]

So much going on in your garden. I too love Sedum and it's so easy to pull out if it gets in places you don't want it and the bees love the yellow blooms. Great choice on the Juniper for the sloped area of your property. Always curious where folks are on the continent. I'm on the west coast in Canada and I'm guessing your on the East Coast US? Your Maples are lovely.

[@missdeeva2266]

I have burgundy glow, blue spruce sedum, Angelina sedum. Thanks for the additional ground covers. I do have Hellebores too and Phlox

[@susanschellberg4509]

I have many of the ground covers you mentioned and would have a hard time picking a favorite. I have the chocolate chip, a variegated and an ajuga call toucan with chartreuse foliage. Just planted an orchid frost lamium and golden feathers solomons seal. Also have a hardy geranium with chocolate foliage and violet flowers. My blue rug juniper has spread down a hillside and is perfect for that site. I never thought of hellebores as ground cover but you are right. I can never seem to get enough of them. I love to plant them in containers for the winter and then put them in the landscape in spring.

[@user-rt8rx1pq9f]

I enjoyed watching your video and the information shared about ground covers which cuts down on mulching. I have planted creeping phlox as a ground cover and thinking about trying thyme. The previous owners here had sedum in their garden that is colorful as well. Interesting certain types of ajuga are not invasive, I am doing over the gardens here so appreciate all your suggestions and especially like your lambs ears, dead nettle, and European ginger. Have a great day & thanks again for the info!

[@deeleo2495]

Great video! "Red Nancy" Lamium was recommended for me to partner with a Viking Pink on Chocolate Begonia in a container on my front porch. It, too, has the silverly foliage and is just beautiful without any flowers! I absolutely love it and am thinking about dividing it and transplanting some in the ground. However, I hear so many people say it's invasive when in the ground. I'm in Georgia and wonder if it depends on the zone you where you are located. I am looking into other ground covers as well. We spend way too much money on mulch every year!

[@littlemissy8356]

I used to have lamb's ear. I really liked the plant except for the flowering, and the invasiveness. Nice to know there is a variety that doesn't do that. I might get. one again.

[@mandyt8178]

Thank you for another great video. I have the Chameleon plant for ground cover. Also known as Rainbow plant.

[@maryannegiangregorio2162]

Chameleon plant is extremely invasive! Be careful. I lived to regret planting it!

[@GardenMoxie]

Great suggestions for ground covers Steph. I prefer ground covers to mulch. I love hellebores too.

[@HookedandRooted]

I agree Sue! I plan to incorporate more and more as time goes on.

[@emmalavenham]

We are also trying to up our groundcover game.. but largely leaning on natives because of their adaptability AND availability as starts or plugs to cover wider areas…. The tiarella Elizabeth Oliver is relatively easy to establish in shady areas and in sunnier spots, barren strawberry….

[@s.barlow7062]

I have a lot of periwinkle growing in a clump outside my back door. I was thinking about dividing some and moving it to my woodland area.