Winter Garden Groundcovers - Low Growing Evergre
Selecting the right plants for your winter garden is a critical part of its success. The last thing you’d wanna do is buy a bunch of beautiful flowers only to find out that about all they’ll do in winter is look dead. Instead, its important to plan out and prepare your winter garden in advance. Groundcovers can be a great way to give your winter garden character and a strong look of healthiness, no matter what the weather is like outside. Low growing evergreens are a popular choice for effective winter garden ground cover and today we’re going to learn more about them.
Why Ground Growing Evergreens?
Ferns, perennials, and small shrubs have one thing in common: evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage. They have many uses with their beauty and endurance in cold winters. However, because they are low to the ground, they may be hidden by thicker snows, their beauty disguised until thawed. These plants are best used as ground covers, in permanent outdoor planters, mixed beds or borders, and along the edges of paths and walkways. Ground growing evergreens are also a good way to take up space, or accent a larger plant in your garden. It is a good idea to alternate with ground growers and taller plants because of their tendency to be hidden in thick snowy winters.
Let’s take a look at some great ground cover choices for your winter garden and, really, a good looking garden year-round.
Low-Growing Evergreens for Your Garden
Ajuga/Bugle Weed – Ajuga Reptans
Semi-evergreen foliage, this perennial has glossy leaves and very showy flower like spikes that grow in the late spring. There are many variations of the Bugle Weed, their differences in leaf color, leaf size, leaf textures, habit, and flower caller, but all types prefer moist, well drained soil with part shade.
Bog Rosemary – Andromeda Polifolia
Evergreen foliage, this shrub has slender leaves, grey-green in color during the summer, they turn a purple in winter and clusters of small white or pale pink flowers bloom in the spring. The plant requires moist, cool acidic soil amended with plenty of peat moss. In dry spells, it’s best to water Bog Rosemary once a week to prevent dehydration.
Bearberry/Kinnikinnick – Arctostaphylo Uva-Ursi
Evergreen foliage, this plant is an excellent ground cover, its woody stems and small round, leathery leaves, bright green in color during summer and turning maroon or bronze in the winter months. It has red berries in autumn and small pinkish flowers during the spring time. Bearberry needs well drained soil and does well on slopes or raised planters; full or part sun is necessary.
European Wild Ginger – Asarum Europaeum
Wild Ginger is an evergreen perennial with glossy heart-shaped leaves. It will grow to be 4-6 inches tall and spreads slowly forming a mat 1 to 3 feet wide. Part or full shade, the plant needs rich, moist well drained soil.
Heartleaf Bergenia – Bergenia Cordifolia
This variation of Bergenia is an evergreen perennial with clumps of large, thick, cabbage-like leaves that will turn from green to crimson red from warm to cold weather. In early spring, you will see clusters of pink or white flowers. With sun or part shade and average or moist soil, this perennial will grow up to 1 foot tall with a spread of approximately 2 feet wide.
Heather – Calluna Vulgaris
With evergreen foliage, this small shrub has wiry stems and very tiny leaves. Heather is another with many variations differing in growth habit, they can spread along the ground as a mat or grow in an upright position; foliage color, light or dark green, gold, grey, in the summer, and in the winter reach colors of green, gold, red, grey, purplish or bronze; flower time, usually July to November; and flower color, lilac white, pink, and lavender. Growing one is like growing each of the variations, very similar, and a collection of heathers provides a beautiful scene in your garden. Every type needs full sun and well-drained acid soil. Heathers do best where the soil has been amended with plenty of gravel, or peat moss and sand. The best time to prune is in early spring, cutting back last year’s growth by about one third.
Pinks – Dianthus
Pinks, an evergreen perennial, have grassy textured, blue-grey or blue-green foliage. There are many variations of Pinks as well, having single or double flowers in a variety of pink, white, and rose shades, typically having the smell of spice. Foliage is usually 2 to 6 inches in height, with flower stalks of about 4-12 inches tall. Pinks need full sun and well drained soil. A very hardy perennial, they can last through pretty cold winters.
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