Used often as a groundcover or an edging plant, liriope is popular for good reason. It stays green year-round in many climates, produces pretty blue or white flowers, and is about as tough a plant as you’ll hope to meet. Its dense tufts of almost-evergreen, broadly grassy leaves are often striped. Stiff stems bear tight […]
While these plants don’t have the most interesting or showy blooms, they easily make up for it with their stunning, jewel-tone foliage. Alternanthera make a wonderful accent in any garden setting and can even work well as showy houseplants. Also called Joseph’s coat, plant them in full sun for the best and brightest foliage colors.
Neither a calla nor a lily, the calla lily—which grows 24 to 36 inches tall—is part of the Jack-in-the-pulpit family. Its trumpet-shape flowers and arrowhead-shape leaves rise directly from rhizomes—no stems needed. This plant helps stretch out the color show in your backyard. When early summer perennials begin to fade, these plants stand ready to
The vinca vine is an evergreen vine with a slender trailing stem, that usually does not exceed a height of 8 to 30 inches. However, it is a fast growing plant that can spread quite rapidly over the ground in a short period of time. This is the reason why it is enlisted as an
Osteospermums, similar to snapdragons and pansies, are most often grown as cool-season annuals that pack a fragrant punch. Some varieties are hardy to Zones 10-11, but it’s best to grow them in mild climates. In many instances, the plants will take a break from blooming during the hot summer until cool nights resume in fall. Ideally,
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Thanks to their pretty blooms and easy culture, ruellias have made their way into lots of flower beds. Though most common in Texas, they’re quickly making inroads into the rest of the South, especially among gardeners who want lots of bloom with little fuss. The flowers resemble small, thin-textured petunias. These plants resist damage by
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Ajuga has a deep colored foliage that makes a beautiful groundcover. The foliage is generally crinkled and very glossy as well. However, if you think this is just a foliage plant, you would get quite the surprise as spring eases into summer. Then, ajuga is covered in little spikes of bright blue, purple, pink or
Digitalis plants are a classic of the cottage garden. Flowers range in colors from creamy yellow, pink, rose to maroon. The tall flower spikes with charming tubular flowers of Foxglove add both height and vertical accent to your garden without staking. Perennial Digitalis blooms attract hummingbirds and bees and an added bonus, the deer do
Carex is a grass-like plant that sways in the wind and pairs nicely with coarse-texture plants like hostas. This tough and versatile plant acts as a groundcover, filling in around other perennials and eliminating the need for mulch. Carex also provides shelter and food for small animals and pollinators.
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Setcreasea is a native of central-southern Mexico and makes an easy-to-grow colorful groundcover in each of its several forms. The colorful plants creep along the ground on lax stems and produce small but attractive light lavender, butterfly-attracting flowers. This weeping tendency can be put to good use in the garden if you let your setcreasea