According to the National Gardening Association, 35% of U.S. households now grow food at home or in a community garden, up from 17% just a decade ago.1
As more people embrace gardening, attention is turning to often-neglected shady areas. Even in low-light corners, lush greenery and vibrant blooms can thrive.
If you’re looking to transform those dim spots in your yard, you’re in luck. Here are 15 shade-loving ground covers that will breathe new life into your garden:
1. Bugleweed: A Colorful Carpet for Shady Spots
Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) forms a dense, weed-resistant mat with scalloped leaves in a variety of colors, from maroon to sage green. In late spring, pretty violet-blue flower spikes add an extra pop of color to this versatile ground cover.
2. Hostas: Personality-Packed Shade Lovers
Hostas (Hosta spp.) come in a wide range of sizes, from miniature 6-inch varieties to larger, more dramatic cultivars. Mix and match different heights, foliage colors, and leaf textures for a stunning, shade-loving display.
3. Lily of the Valley: Fragrant & Vigorous
With its glossy, emerald green leaves and intensely fragrant late-spring flowers, Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) is a charming ground cover that will quickly fill in shady areas. Just be sure to give it plenty of room to spread!
4. Ferns: Elegant & Graceful
From the delicate Japanese Painted Fern (Anthyrium niponicum)) to the chest-high Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), ferns add a touch of elegance to shade gardens and woodlands. Plant large areas with a single species for a low-maintenance, deer-resistant ground cover.
5. Japanese Spurge: Evergreen & Tidy
Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis) is a dependable evergreen ground cover with neat rosettes of emerald green leaves. It spreads via rhizomes to form a dense carpet that looks its best when grown in shade.
6. Periwinkle: A Creeping Classic
Periwinkle (Vinca minor) is a classic creeping ground cover with small, shiny leaves on wiry stems that root as they spread. Some varieties feature variegated foliage or flowers in shades of white, blue, or lavender.
7. Dead Nettle: Decorative & Deer-Resistant
Dead Nettle (Lamium maculatum) is a low-growing ground cover with attractive, often variegated foliage and pink, white, or blue flower clusters in early summer. It’s deer-resistant and can be shorn after flowering to maintain a compact habit.
8. Sweet Woodruff: Fragrant & Free-Spreading
Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) features lacey whorls of bright green leaves and fragrant, star-shaped white flowers in late spring. Once established in moist, rich soil and partial to full shade, it spreads freely, creating a delightful, fragrant ground cover.
9. Wild Ginger: A Native Charmer
Canadian Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) is a native ground cover with pretty, heart-shaped leaves that thrive in woodland settings. While its flowers are not showy, the foliage creates an attractive, low-maintenance carpet in shady areas.
10. Bunchberry: Starry Flowers & Bright Berries
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) is a beautiful native ground cover with star-shaped white flowers and clusters of bright red berries. Although more expensive than some alternatives, its unique appearance makes it a standout choice for shade gardens.
11. Carex ‘Evergold’: Striking Variegation
Carex ‘Evergold’ is an ornamental sedge admired for its green and gold-striped leaves, which add color contrast to shady landscapes. This low-maintenance, versatile sedge thrives in various conditions.
12. Mondo Grass: A Grass-Like Alternative
Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonicus) is a grass-like plant that is marginally hardy down to zone 7. It may work well in protected city gardens and offers a tidy, green alternative to traditional lawn grasses in shady areas.
13.Liriope: Tidy & Versatile
Liriope (Liriope muscari), also known as Lilyturf, is a versatile, grass-like perennial that thrives in shade. Its tidy clumps of dark green foliage and spikes of small blue or white flowers make it an attractive, low-maintenance choice for ground cover.
14. Vancouveria: Understated Elegance
Vancouveria (Vancouveria spp.) is a well-behaved, classy evergreen ground cover native to the West Coast. Its masses of pale green leaflets create an elegant, 16-inch-high cover, topped with tiny white flowers in early summer.
15. Yellow Archangel: Fast-Growing & Colorful
Yellow Archangel (Lamium galeobdolon ‘Hermann’s Pride’) is one of the fastest-growing ground covers, forming a dense, 8- to 12-inch-high mat of silver-speckled leaves. In early spring, the plant is covered in cheerful yellow flowers.
Source:
1. This Old House
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Nancy has been a plant person from an early age. That interest blossomed into a bachelor’s in biology from Elmira College and a master’s degree in horticulture and communications from the University of Kentucky. Nancy worked in plant taxonomy at the University of Florida and the L. H. Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University, and wrote and edited gardening books at Rodale Press in Emmaus, PA. Her interests are plant identification, gardening, hiking, and reading.