Best Evergreen Groundcovers

[curly_kate]

So now that the holidays are over, what else is there to do but plan my garden this year? I've got my work cut out for me because I have a brand new house to landscape in addition to the usual veggie garden. I'm trying to break it down into manageable chunks, so instead of asking, tell me all the things I should plant, I'm going to ask, which groundcovers do you like? We have a retaining wall, and I'd like to plant something along the top edge to make it prettier, since you can see it at the front of the house.

Ideally, it would be evergreen, and ideally fast-growing. So far cotoneaster and wintercreeper are looking promising. What do you all think?

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Periwinkles! They're evergreen, shade-tolerant, fairly quick growing, and make pretty flowers.

 

[curly_kate]

Hmm, didn't think of that one! My mom has it growing in her garden - maybe I could even get some from her. Can it handle full sun, do you know?

 

[thistlebloom]

Check out sedums Kate. There's a plethora of them and some that will spill down nicely over a retaining wall, lots of different colors and textures, they bloom, are sun tolerant, drought resistant and pretty much a no brainer on the maintenance.

 

[catjac1975]

Old fashioned sedum will spread like crazy,keep the weeds down, and bloom yellow for a couple weeks. If you want to plant something in it's midst, you yank out a handful and toss it where you want it to grow and plant the new item.

Creeping phlox spreads nicely and gives you a month of bloom in violets, pink, and white. It is also hard to kill.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

OK, for sunny spots Periwinkles would probably not be the best choice. I'll also vote for sedum. Mother-of-Thyme may also be a good choice, although I do not think that it is evergreen.

 

[curly_kate]

I've grown sedum before. It is pretty hard to kill.

 

[journey11]

I have some purple wintercreeper and we like it a lot. It's green in the growing season and tinged reddish purple after a good frost. It did take a year or two to get established, but after that, there was more than enough.

If you can manage the perimeter with the mower or weedeater, Vinca Major makes a very lovely and thick ground cover. It's very nice to have on hand to cut a few sprigs to stick in flower arrangements or plant into a hanging basket for a trailer. I don't recommend planting it directly next to a flowerbed though. It can travel pretty quickly!