Soil huggers
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS WE CAN DO FOR OUR SOIL IS TO KEEP IT COVERED, PREFERABLY WITH PLANTS.
Low lying plants that cover the ground are worth their weight in gold. Less energy demanding than lawns and kinder to the environment than hard surfaces, weed blocking groundcover plants are also very beautiful to look at.
Some stay green with minimal watering, cooling us down on hot days and removing dust particles from the air. Used as living mulch below taller plants, to soften path edges, or to breathe life into dull corners, nature’s creeping carpets bring seasonal interest with their flowers and changing foliage tones. Many are fragrant too.
At the same time, groundcover plants insulate the soil from temperature extremes, prevent erosion, provide a habitat for wildlife and generally take care of the soil, that most precious natural resource in our back yards. And only living breathing ground carpets can remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Some groundcovers tolerate a fair amount of foot traffic, which makes them useful lawn substitutes for smaller areas. Most are very effective weed barriers. However, it’s important to eradicate persistent perennial weeds (such as oxalis and invasive grasses) before planting. These can grow from small remains and will push their way through.
4 Tiarellas are tough woodland plants loved for their pretty maple-like leaves with distinctive dark veining. In spring and summer they produce clouds of soft, foamy flowers. Tiarellas love to grow in humus rich soil under the shade of trees, expanding sideways via lateral growths to form an easy care but non-invasive groundcover.
5 Turf lily (Liriope muscari) makes a great path border or mass planting around trees, where it will cope with dry soil as well as shade. Clumps are divided and transplanted in winter or spring. Blue or white flower spikes rise from the strappy dark green leaves in autumn.
6 Ajuga forms a thick mat of lush foliage all year round. In spring, there are upright clusters of blue flowers. A range of very attractive leaf forms includes ‘Black Scallop’ pictured here. Ajuga will grow in sun or shade and prefers moist soil.
7 Handsome, hardy Heucheras are loved for their colourful ever present foliage and make excellent groundcovers for semi-shade. Available in an astonishing range of leaf colours, they also produce dainty flower spikes in spring.
8 A colourful groundcover option for full sun, gazanias (African daisies) are ideal coastal or container plants. Also useful as cover for a hot dry bank, they offer brilliant shades of yellow, orange, red and pink, flowering for many months over spring, summer and autumn. Frost tender.
9 Ideal for sandy coastal gardens, Fuchsia procumbens is a delightful native creeper. The tiny yellow flowers have prominent red stamens with blue pollen. Red berries follow. This one grows in sun or light shade but needs protection from frost.
10 Pōhuehue (Muehlenbeckia axillaris) is great for carpeting large areas around trees and shrubs. This tough sprawling shrub has fine dark green foliage and spreads to about two metres. Best in sun.
11 New Zealand’s small leafed coprosma groundcovers are extremely tough and reliable shrubs, tolerant of hot dry and coastal locations. These great weed suppressors are ideal for covering dry slopes and are quick to establish after planting. Sand dune coprosma (Coprosma acerosa) makes a springy weed–suppressing blanket. Coprosma Hawera lies very flat to the ground. The Coprosma kirkii cultivars have a low mounding habit with shiny leaves.
12 Moss plant (Scleranthus), loved for its bright green colour and smooth texture, thrives in a sunny well drained location. Brown patches may form in wet or dry weather but these are easily cut out and ‘patched with rooted divisions from the side of the plant.
13 Leptinella is a quick growing New Zealand native with small fern-like leaves. It is lovely as a lawn substitute in light traffic areas. However, it is not one for drought prone gardens, needing moist free draining soil. A range of varieties includes bright green Leptinella dioica or for a touch of dark contrast, Leptinella ‘Platts Black’.
14 Panakenake (Lobelia angulata) is a New Zealand native with dainty white flowers on a dense mat of tiny green leaves. Grow this popular groundcover in moist soil with sun or light shade. It needs a frost–free climate.
15 New Zealand native Acaena inermis ‘Purpurea’ makes a colourful contrast all year round with its rich purple red foliage.
16 Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis) is a shade loving and drought tolerant groundcover with dark green shiny leaves that form a dense weedsuppressing carpet. Related to English box, it is slow growing but very tough once established. Best in cooler climates.
17 Creeping Juniper (Juniperus procumbens) is a ground hugging conifer. Slow growing but very tough, long lasting and easy to care for.
18 Mercury Bay creeper (Dichondra repens) is a bright green lawn alternative that copes well with moderate foot traffic and when gown in full sun, doesn’t need mowing. Tiny, kidney shaped leaves form a lush spreading carpet. It can be grown from seed or by transplanting ‘plugs’. Weed removal before planting is essential and some hand weeding is usually needed to prevent grassy weeds taking over.
19 Attention seeking Spanish Shawl (Heterocentron elegans) stands out with its smothering of intense cyclamen–pink flowers on a dense matting plant. Leaves turn reddish in winter.
20 Tiny leafed blue star creeper (Isotoma fluviatilis) forms a tight carpet lavishly sprinkled with blue starry flowers from spring till autumn. Lovely with stepping stones, it’s easy to grow in moist soil in sun or light dappled shade.