By midsummer, homeowners can grow weary of weekly lawn mowing and watering. If you're one of them, perhaps it's time to evaluate your landscape.
While lawns serve important aesthetic and practical purposes, including areas for play and entertainment, they are high-maintenance. Large expanses of turf can slow down, absorb and clean run-off water, but turf grass can be impractical in some landscape areas.
Where maintenance and care are challenges, ground cover can be an attractive solution. For instance, a ground cover may be a better choice for narrow strips between sidewalks or structures and steep slopes where mowing and irrigation are not practical. Ground covers often work better in especially hot or dry areas and densely shaded areas beneath trees and shrubs.
Ground cover plants, as the name suggests, are plants that cover the ground. They usually require less maintenance and water than manicured lawns. When massed, they reduce soil erosion and serve as a transition between turf and beds containing shrubs or flowers. They offer variety in texture and color while softening large hardscape areas such as driveways and patios.
For shade and sun
A wide array of plants are used as ground covers, including ivy and low-growing shrubs.
For sunny and shaded areas in the Brazos Valley, Asiatic jasmine, 6 to 10 inches tall with glossy teardrop-shaped leaves, and liriope, 1 to 2 feet tall and available in varieties with all-green and green-and-cream variegated foliage, are two of the best evergreen ground cover selections.
They multiply quickly and require little care. Just give them a "spruce up" in early spring by shearing them back and fertilizing.
Sun-only options
For sunny areas, try a prostrate juniper or rosemary, each typically 1 to 2 feet tall. Both are drought tolerant once established, and prostrate rosemary looks especially attractive spilling out of raised beds as it grows.
Massed plantings of some perennial flowers, such as day lilies or society garlic (both about 12 to 18 inches tall and with grasslike foliage), make effective turf replacement in full sun, too. Once established, they cover the ground and add color with attractive flowers.
Shade-only options
Plant selections best suited for shade include cast iron plant, ferns, ajuga, English ivy and mondo grass.
The common name of Aspidistra elatior -- cast iron plant -- is a hint at its durability. An evergreen classic in Southern gardens, it does require periodic removal of browned or wind-damaged leaves. It has broad, spear-shaped leaves and an upright growth habit that tops out about 2 to 3 feet tall.
Of the ferns, Cyrtomium falcatum, or holly fern, is a favorite because it is evergreen and hardy. This coarse-textured fern has glossy, deep-green foliage and grows about 18 inches tall.
In my garden, Ajuga reptans, or bugleweed, has been successful, and I enjoy its short, spiky indigo-blue flowers in spring. "Bronze Beauty" is a large-leafed variety, with beautiful bronzy, brown leaves, and "Chocolate Chip" ajuga is a dwarf, narrow-leafed variety. Ajuga is a ground hugger that reaches only about 6 inches tall.
Almost everyone is familiar with the leathery dark-green leaves of English ivy, another low-growing option that can ramble for many feet. It's an excellent option for erosion control.
Mondo grass, Ophiopogon japonicus, a tufted, grasslike plant, is ideal to place between steppingstones because it stands up well to foot traffic. It is also useful on sloped sites, making an excellent lawn that peaks around 6 inches tall and never needs mowing.
Some planting tips
Find out the growth habit of the ground cover you are considering, as some are aggressive and can quickly leap out of bounds. Vinca, for instance, is a vigorous vine that can easily get out of hand when used as a ground cover. Use it in confined areas near sidewalks and driveways.
The key to establishing ground cover is good soil conditions. Most ground covers spread by offshoots or runners and are more apt to fill in quickly where the soil has good aeration and drainage.
To jump-start your ground covers, eliminate weeds and amend soil, especially heavy clay, with organic matter such as a high-quality compost.
* Charla Anthony is the horticulture program assistant at Texas AgriLife Extension, Brazos County, 2619 Texas 21, Bryan, Texas 77803. Her e-mail address is charla. anthony@theeagle.com.
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