Best Ground Covers for Beginners
18 ground cover varieties well-suited for beginner gardeners. Forgiving varieties that produce even if you make mistakes.
Ajuga
Known as bugleweed, this fast-spreading perennial creates stunning foliage carpets in bronze, purple, or variegated patterns topped with spikes of blue flowers in late spring. This European native thrives in shade and quickly fills in bare spots with its colorful rosettes of leaves. The dramatic flower spikes attract bees and butterflies, making it both beautiful and beneficial for pollinators.
Barrenwort
An elegant woodland ground cover prized for its heart-shaped leaves that emerge bronze, turn green in summer, and develop beautiful fall colors. Delicate sprays of yellow and red flowers dance above the foliage in spring, creating an enchanting display in shade gardens. Extremely long-lived and deer resistant.
Bugleweed
A fast-spreading evergreen ground cover that forms dense mats of glossy leaves topped with stunning spikes of blue-purple flowers in spring. Perfect for suppressing weeds in shady areas while providing reliable year-round coverage with seasonal color bursts. Extremely hardy and low-maintenance once established.
Creeping Juniper
A hardy, low-maintenance evergreen ground cover that forms dense, spreading mats perfect for slopes and difficult areas. This native North American plant offers year-round color with needle-like foliage that ranges from blue-green to purplish in winter. Extremely drought tolerant once established, making it ideal for xeriscaping and low-water gardens.
Creeping Phlox
A spectacular spring bloomer that transforms landscapes into carpets of vibrant color. This hardy perennial forms dense mats of needle-like evergreen foliage topped with masses of five-petaled flowers in pink, purple, white, or red. Perfect for rock gardens, slopes, and anywhere you need reliable, low-maintenance color that returns year after year.
Creeping Thyme
Creeping Thyme is a low-growing ground cover herb that forms dense, spreading mats ideal for rock gardens, pathways, and borders. This heirloom variety matures in 90-95 days and reaches just 6-12 inches tall with delicate, fine-textured foliage. Unlike culinary thyme varieties, it offers a milder, more subtle thyme flavor, making it better suited for ornamental use and gentle seasoning. Hardy and drought-tolerant, it thrives in full sun with well-drained, sandy or rocky soils, even tolerating poor soil conditions. Its prostrate growth habit and ease of care make it an excellent low-maintenance ground cover for gardeners of all skill levels.
Heuchera (Coral Bells)
Coral bells bring year-round color to the garden with stunning foliage in shades of purple, silver, lime, and coral. These compact perennials produce delicate flower spikes that dance above colorful leaves, creating perfect ground cover for borders and containers. Modern hybrids offer incredible leaf colors that rival any flower for garden impact.
Hosta
The ultimate shade garden workhorse, hostas provide lush foliage in countless colors, sizes, and patterns. From tiny miniatures to massive specimen plants, these perennials create stunning ground cover while producing fragrant spikes of white or purple flowers. Their incredible variety and reliability make them indispensable for transforming difficult shady areas into garden showcases.
Irish Moss
Not actually a moss but a charming perennial that forms dense, carpet-like mats of tiny bright green foliage. Perfect for filling gaps between stepping stones or creating a soft, cushioned groundcover in small spaces. In late spring, it's dotted with tiny white star-shaped flowers that add delicate beauty to this tough little plant.
Lamb's Ear
A distinctive perennial ground cover beloved for its incredibly soft, silvery-white fuzzy leaves that children and adults can't resist touching. Dense spikes of small purple flowers rise above the foliage in summer, but many gardeners prefer to remove them to keep the focus on the stunning textural foliage. This drought-tolerant beauty creates beautiful contrast against green plants and glows in moonlight gardens.
Mondo Grass
This elegant, low-growing evergreen creates perfect edging and ground cover with its fine, dark green grass-like foliage. Mondo grass forms dense, weed-suppressing mats that require virtually no maintenance once established, making it ideal for busy gardeners. Its neat, uniform appearance and ability to thrive in shade make it a designer favorite for contemporary landscapes.
Moss Phlox
A spectacular spring-flowering ground cover that transforms slopes and rock gardens into sheets of vibrant color. This hardy perennial forms dense mats of needle-like evergreen foliage topped with masses of five-petaled flowers in shades of pink, purple, white, or blue. Extremely drought tolerant and deer resistant, making it perfect for low-maintenance landscapes.
Pachysandra
The gold standard for shade ground cover, beloved by gardeners for its glossy evergreen leaves and ability to thrive where grass won't grow. This Japanese native forms dense, weed-suppressing mats under trees and in deep shade areas. Once established, it requires virtually no maintenance while providing year-round green coverage with delicate white flower spikes in spring.
Spotted Deadnettle
An outstanding variegated ground cover with silver-splashed leaves and cheerful pink, purple, or white flowers that bloom from spring through fall. Thrives in challenging shady spots while providing bright foliage contrast and extended flowering period. Non-invasive and easy to control.
Sweet Woodruff
A charming woodland perennial that forms dense mats of star-shaped whorled leaves topped with delicate white flowers in late spring. When dried, the leaves release a sweet vanilla-hay fragrance that has been treasured for centuries in potpourri and traditional May wine. This well-behaved spreader is perfect for naturalizing in shade gardens and won't overwhelm neighboring plants like some ground covers.
Vinca Minor
Also known as periwinkle, this European native is prized for its glossy dark green leaves and charming blue flowers that appear from spring through fall. This vigorous spreader quickly covers difficult slopes and shaded areas where other plants struggle. The trailing stems root as they grow, creating an impenetrable carpet that effectively suppresses weeds while adding elegant color to the landscape.
Wild Strawberry
A native groundcover that offers the best of both worlds - attractive foliage, delicate white flowers, and tiny flavorful berries that wildlife and humans alike enjoy. This hardy perennial spreads by runners to form dense mats that suppress weeds while providing food for birds, butterflies, and gardeners. The leaves turn beautiful bronze-red in fall, extending the seasonal interest.
Wintercreeper Euonymus
A versatile evergreen ground cover prized for its glossy, colorful foliage and ability to thrive in challenging conditions. Available in numerous cultivars with variegated green and white or green and yellow leaves that add brightness to shaded areas. This adaptable plant can also climb walls or trees when given support, making it incredibly useful in landscape design.
Why These Ground Covers Work for Beginners
New to gardening? These varieties are the most forgiving — tolerant of irregular watering, less prone to pests and disease, and quick to produce visible results. Start here to build confidence before attempting more advanced crops.