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erosion control

Groundcovers Part II: Pollinator-Friendly Choices

November 16, 2018

If bees could speak, they would strongly suggest that instead of mulching our landscapes, we should plant flowering groundcovers. Expanses of mulch, to most of North Carolina’s 400 native bees, are food deserts offering little or no housing. Bees rely entirely on flowers for food and raising young, and most flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce seed. No flowers, no bees!

Green and gold groundcover (Chrysogonum virginianum)
Green and gold

Groundcovers for pollinators
A wealth of options let you choose height, color, and bloom time to suit most any site—and no need to choose just one! 

Perennials.

  • Green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum)—Almost nothing beats our native green and gold for beauty and ease of growing. Bright green with abundant yellow flowers, it thrives in most well-drained soils in part-shade to part-sun, though it tolerates deeper shade and full sun.
  • Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) produces a beautiful bee-friendly carpet that suppresses most weeds yet allows access to the many ground-nesting pollinators. Both green and gold and bugleweed bloom in mid- to late- May, spread readily but are easy to contain. They benefit from dividing or thinning every year or two, yielding more plants for your garden or to pass along.
  • Pachysandras—Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) is a common groundcover for part to deep shade, especially under trees; but the native pachysandra, also called Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens), is a taller, slower-spreading, interesting alternative that blooms in very early spring when so many pollinators are in need of nectar and pollen.
  • Phloxes—Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) and moss phlox (Phlox subulata), both of which are native plants, are useful for sunny slopes.
Bugleweed_Ajuga reptans_Diane Almond_EMGV
Ajuga or bugleweed
Pachysandra terminalis_Anna_CC BY 2.0_Flickr
Japanese pachysandra
Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens)_Jim the Photographer_CC BY 2.0_Flickr
Allegheny spurge
Creeping phlox over a rock wall_fitzmb_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0_Flickr
Creeping phlox

Herbs. Many herbs are wonderful flowering groundcovers for sunny, dry sites.

  • Thymes—Lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) produces fewer flowers but quickly makes a thick mat that stops all weeds. Creeping or red thyme (Thymus praecox ‘Coccineus’) is shorter, semi-evergreen, and tolerates a bit of foot traffic. From a distance when in bloom, its cloud of reddish lavender flowers gives an effect similar to that of the phloxes.
  • Prostrate forms of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) are fine groundcovers, though not always winter hardy and must have well-drained soil.
  • Mints (Mentha)—Although not as easy to control or contain as other groundcovers, mints are a favorite source of nectar and pollen for many bees and certainly do a great job of covering bare soil and suppressing unwanted weeds. Some people choose (or try) to control mints’ aggressive tendencies by planting them in a deep pot or other container, then putting the container into the ground.
'Elfin' Thyme groundcover_jacki-dee_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0_Flickr
‘Elfin’ Thyme
Rosmarinus officinalis 'Prostratus'_Leonora Enking_CC BY-SA 2.0_Flickr
Prostrate rosemary
Mint_Lotus Johnson_CC BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
Mint flower blossom

Shrubs. Several suckering shrubs provide excellent groundcover, particularly on slopes.

  • Cotoneaster’s tiny white spring flowers feed bees and the resulting red berries feed birds through the winter. Several species, including willowleaf (Cotoneaster salicifolius), keep their rich deep green color through the winter. The rockspray species (Cotoneaster horizontalis) is an excellent option for places needing a much shorter plant.
  • Winter-blooming heathers (Erica) are another excellent groundcover, tough and drought tolerant once established, they need loose, amended, well-drained soil. ‘Springwood White’ and ‘Springwood Pink,’ are widely available; but you can find many other colors and heights. These plants bring a special dynamic to the winter garden—there’s nothing quite like watching honeybees gather nectar on a mild January day to warm a gardener’s heart!
  • Creeping evergreens (such as (Juniperus ) do not offer floral resources but provide excellent erosion control on slopes and allow access to underground nesting pollinators. Honeybees will also harvest resins from many conifers to use as caulk and an immune system ingredient.
Cotoneaster horizontalis_Leonora Enking_CC BY-SA 2.0_Flickr
Rockspray cotoneaster
Bee on Heather_Erica darleyensis 'Kramer's Rote'
Heather ‘Kramer’s Rote’
Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode'_F. D. Richards_CC BY-SA 2.0_Flickr
Creeping juniper ‘Mother Lode’

Article written by Diane Almond, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

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Categories Landscape Design Tags ajuga, Alleghany spurge, erosion control, green and gold, groundcovers, heather, mint, pachysandra, Phlox, pollinators, thyme

Groundcovers Part I: Beauty and Function for the Garden

November 9, 2018

“Bare soil never remains bare for long. It will always sprout weeds,
so why not cover the ground with plants of your own choice?”
Rosemary Verey, Making of a Garden

Variety of groundcovers, interplanted with shrubs and trees, manage erosion on steep slope.
Groundcovers on steep slope

Most gardens offer us sensory treats: a profusion of flowering perennials and annuals; the rustle and movement of wind in the trees; splashing water features; whimsical or formal statuary; pathways and benches—all vying for attention. Some are divas in the garden, insisting on attention.  Groundcovers are garden understudies, bringing unity and a sense of order to the landscape in an understated way. They can provide a carpet of color linking ornamental plants, or create different moods as plant choices shift throughout the garden.

What are groundcovers?
Groundcovers are perennial plants intended to cover an area for many years. Groundcovers can be evergreen or deciduous, blooming or not, woody or herbaceous. Generally, groundcovers are short plants, growing 18 inches or less. Turf grass is a common groundcover, but lawns are costly, requiring fertilizer, lime, water, and time-consuming maintenance. They are unsuitable for steep slopes and shady areas. There are many attractive alternatives!

Consider how much more interesting fragrant groundcovers such as Sarcococca spp. (sweet box) and Gallium odoratum (sweet woodruff) would be than turf grass! Or how much more practical edible groundcovers such as culinary thyme, oregano, and strawberries would be than inedible lawn!

Groundcover functions
Groundcovers provide many useful services in the garden—similar to mulch, but without the need for frequent replacement! Among these are:

  • Controlling weeds
  • Filtering rainwater—reducing runoff and preventing erosion
  • Reducing heat, glare, noise, and dust

What do groundcovers need?
It’s always smart to assess your growing conditions before planting—remember the gardener’s mantra: “Right plant. Right place.”

Some groundcovers love full sun—Phlox subulata (creeping phlox) and low growing juniper (Juniperus spp.), among others. Other groundcovers prefer shade—Chrysogonum virginianum (green and gold) and Tiarella (foam flower). Moss will thrive in the dense shade that defeats other plants.

How to use groundcovers
Groundcovers have so many excellent properties that it’s amazing they are often an afterthought in garden design. They are a useful, lovely answer to the question of what to plant on a steep slope.

Visualize a garden with an underlaying grand sweep of a green groundcover. Then picture the same garden with bare earth or mulch. The garden with groundcover will seem fuller and more complete as compared with the starkness of the garden without. Groundcovers are indeed a quiet delight in the garden.

Article written by Sally Wheeler, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

Stay tuned
Over the next several weeks, our blogs will highlight a variety of groundcovers—those that attract pollinators, very low-growers, sun-lovers, and those that thrive in shade. There’s a groundcover to fit any landscape.

More information
From the Ground Up: Groundcovers to Know and Use
University of Illinois Extension

Selecting Landscape Plants: Groundcovers
by Alex X. Niemiera, Associate Professor Horticulture, Virginia Tech
Virginia Cooperative Extension
NOTE:  BEWARE of INVASIVES and very aggressive plants listed in this article, such as English ivy, nandina, and periwinkle.

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Categories Landscape Design Tags erosion control, groundcovers

Rain Gardens—Part IV: Regular Maintenance Keeps Them Clean and Healthy

February 12, 2018

Keep your rain garden clean and healthy with regular maintenance, just as you do all other areas of your landscape. Plan on including these maintenance tasks:

Regular watering. Water new plants about twice a week until they are established, about a year. After that, your garden needs about 1 inch of water a week, and especially during periods of drought.

Annual mulching. Mulch is an important component of your rain garden. It protects the plants, keeps the soil moist, reduces weed growth, and improves the infiltration of rainwater into the garden. Maintain a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch—adding new mulch in fall or spring. Make sure mulch doesn’t collect in the basin, however, as this reduces ponding and the functioning of the garden. About every three years you may need to remove and replace old mulch.

Removing accumulated sediment. Rake back mulch and remove silt, debris, and eroded soil that washes into your rain garden—otherwise it can decrease infiltration and kill your plants. Clean away any sediment that has accumulated at the inflow point. Regularly remove fallen leaves, twigs, and dead vegetation. When mowing, avoid discharging grass clippings into the rain garden.

Pruning and weeding. Follow good pruning and deadheading practices for all shrubs and perennials to maintain a neat, well-managed appearance. Weed new gardens frequently to keep weeds from competing with plant growth—avoid using herbicides. An established rain garden needs less frequent weeding.

Skip fertilizing. Fertilizers are typically unnecessary. Your garden construction, soil amendment, mulch, and selection of native plants provide a solid foundation for a healthy rain garden.

Replanting. Over time, you may need to replant areas of the garden as sun, shade, and moisture levels change. If a plant isn’t doing well in one area, don’t hesitate to move it to a different location where it might have a better chance of thriving. Divide perennials when they overgrow their allotted space.

rain garden_Oregon State University_CC BY-SA 2.0_Flickr
Stormwater is directed to this attractive rain garden.
Rain garden berm planted with winterberry holly, itea, switchgrass, and crape myrtle.
Integrated plantings anchor this rain garden berm.
Rain garden_Courtesy of EPA_NCSU Extension: "Shallow depression that captures and treats stormwater naturally."
Rain garden adds beauty to this residential landscape.

For addition information, see previous blogs in this series, Rain Gardens—Parts I, II, and III, for resources on building and planting.

Article written by Beth Leonard, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

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Categories Rain Gardens Tags erosion control, landscape drainage, perk test, rainwater, stormwater management, stormwater runoff

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