It's time to be taking cover in the garden
As the name suggests, ground cover plants are plants that have a low, spreading growth habit.
They would generally grow no more than 450mm or 18ins high and would have a minimum spread of 600mm or 2ins.
Ground cover plants are often used to cover areas that would otherwise be difficult to maintain, such as slopes, verges and open spaces where grass cannot be grown.
The benefits of ground cover plants are numerous. The cover of plants can help to keep down weeds. The plant acts as an insulator to the soil, cooling it in summer and warming it in winter. The plants act as living mulch, helping to retain moisture in the soil and building up humus levels as the leaves decompose. On slopes the plant roots help to prevent soil erosion and there are the obvious benefits of attractiveness and increased wildlife activity.
On the minus side, perennial weeds are difficult to eradicate if they become established in ground cover planting. Some species can become over-vigorous and the ground cover plants will compete with other plants for food and water in times of shortage.
One of the most popular ground cover plants are the varieties of cotoneaster. The variety 'damerii' is particularly low growing and hugs the ground, whereas the variety coral beauty will form arching branches about 2ins high and is particularly good on slopes.
When the Peterborough bypass was built there was a national shortage of cotoneaster due to the number used on the embankments around the sliproads. Some other varieties are hypericum calycinum, pachysandra terminalis, vinca minor and major varieties, bergenia, thyme and chamomile, lamium, rubus tricolour, aubretia and ivy.
As long as you remove any perennial weeds, choose your variety carefully and preferably plant through a weed suppressant membrane.
These should be easy to establish, easy to look after and give a cost-effective solution to a problem area.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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