Evergreen ground cover plants will add texture, foliage and flowers to the tricky areas of the backyard
Plants that cover the ground are an important part of any garden border or planting arrangement in the backyard. Ground cover plants usually grow low to the ground and have a tight, creeping, or spreading habit. They can help make boring areas of ground in the backyard more interesting.
Many of the best ground cover plants stay green all year, which is helpful in places that are hard to reach, like under big trees or in narrow strips of ground next to walkways or porches. In my gardening experience, ground cover plants are very important, not only for how they look but also to keep the soil healthy and stable and stop weeds from spreading.
Here are some evergreen ground cover plants that I have grown in my own gardens in London or that gardening experts have told me are good choices.
Ground covers are low-growing plants that spread out to form a dense mat, filling in empty spaces while requiring minimal care. Evergreen ground covers have the added benefit of providing year-round greenery and interest. From phlox to junipers, here are 15 evergreen ground cover plants perfect for sprucing up your yard.
Benefits of Evergreen Ground Covers
Evergreen ground covers offer many advantages:
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Provide color when everything else is dreary and brown in winter,
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Help suppress weeds and prevent soil erosion on slopes and bare patches.
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Save work by eliminating the need to mow certain areas.
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Offer habitat and food sources for pollinators and wildlife.
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Add aesthetic appeal with minimal upkeep once established.
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Solve landscaping problems in hard-to-maintain spots.
With the right evergreen ground cover, you can transform an awkward corner, difficult slope, or plain foundation into a beautifully green and lush space.
Choosing the Best Evergreen Ground Cover
When selecting an evergreen ground cover, consider the following:
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Hardiness Zone – Choose a plant suited for your zone to ensure winter survival.
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Sunlight Needs – Most require full sun, but some work well in shade.
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Mature Size – Pick a ground cover that won’t outgrow its space.
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Growth Rate – Fast-growing options establish quicker.
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Invasiveness – Make sure the plant won’t spread out of control.
Matching the ground cover to your site’s specific conditions will lead to success.
Top Evergreen Ground Cover Options
Here are 15 excellent evergreen ground covers to consider for your landscape:
1. Creeping Phlox
Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) is a native ground cover that blooms in spring with stunning flowers in shades of pink, purple, blue and white. It thrives in full sun with well-drained soil.
2. Japanese Pachysandra
Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) handles full to partial shade and features glossy green foliage. It spreads readily, however, so keep an eye on growth.
3. Hosta
Hostas like shade and come in a wide variety of sizes and leaf colors like blue, green and gold. Just beware they are irresistible to deer and slugs!
4. Dead Nettle
Sometimes called lamium, dead nettle (Lamium maculatum) adds silvery speckled foliage and flowers in white, pink or purple. It grows well in partial sun with drier soil.
5. Creeping Juniper
An evergreen ground cover perfect for erosion control on sunny, dry slopes. Creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) has blue-green needles and a spreading habit.
6. Creeping Thyme
For walkways and stepping stones, fragrant creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) works nicely. It tolerates light foot traffic and needs full sun and good drainage.
7. Snow-in-Summer
Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum) is a low-growing perennial that produces masses of small, white blooms in late spring. It thrives in full sun with well-drained soil.
8. Candytuft
The evergreen foliage and profusion of spring flowers on candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) make it a go-to choice for gardens. Provide full sun and dry soil.
9. Wintercreeper Euonymus
An adaptable broadleaf evergreen shrub that spreads as a ground cover. Wintercreeper euonymus has pretty variegated leaves but is prone to deer grazing.
10. Creeping Jenny
Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) grows quickly with bright green leaves in moist soil and full sun to part shade. Gold and variegated varieties add extra interest.
11. Blue Fescue Grass
A clump-forming ornamental grass with blue-gray foliage that works well in full sun and drier soils. Blue fescue (Festuca glauca) has a fine texture and stays under 1 foot tall.
12. Irish Moss
Irish moss (Sagina subulata) forms a lush, moss-like carpet of tiny emerald green leaves. It tolerates some foot traffic and needs full sun and evenly moist soil.
13. Periwinkle
Periwinkle (Vinca minor) thrives in shade and is known for its glossy leaves and violet-blue blooms. It can be overly aggressive, however, so plant with care.
14. Sedum
Succulent sedums like Angelina stonecrop (Sedum rupestre) perform well in poor, dry soil and full sun. Just beware of frost heave in colder climates.
15. Creeping Wire Vine
A native ground cover for shade that spreads via rhizomes to form a dense mat. Creeping wire vine (Muehlenbeckia axillaris) has wiry stems and small round leaves.
With the amazing variety of evergreen ground covers available, you can surely find the perfect solution to brighten up your landscape year-round while keeping maintenance to a minimum. Turn those problem spots into eye-catching focal points with the magic of evergreens.
Asiatic Jasmine
Star-shaped white blooms of the Asiatic jasmine are a welcome sight in spring( credit: Getty s/Masahiro Makino)
Asiatic jasmine, or Trachelospermum asiaticum, is a vigorous yet versatile plant that makes an ideal evergreen ground cover. Asiatic jasmine is related to the well-known star jasmine climber. It will only grow to a height of 1 to 2 feet and will quickly fill in any empty spots in the backyard.
Asiatic jasmine can tolerate a wide variety of growing conditions, says Alex Kantor, owner of Perfect Plants Nursery. Growing well in full-sun positions or partially shaded spots, this quick-growing plant requires very little maintenance.
You can grow Asiatic jasmine as a groundcover, but be aware that it has a vine-like, creeping habit that can cover a lot of ground if left alone, just like periwinkle. People who want to cover large borders can use this, but gardeners who want something low-maintenance might like monkey grass or pachysandra better.
Alex has worked in horticulture for more than 20 years. He grew up on a farm and has lived there all his life. Alex is an expert on landscape trees, shrubs, and indoor plants. He is passionate about growing and helping others learn the trade.
Evergreen needles help to provide structure when used as a ground cover( credit: Getty s/pcturner71)
For a shaded backyard, the spreading yew is the ground cover to pick. Cephalotaxus harringtonia Prostrata is an evergreen shrub that grows slowly and does best in the shade, says Alex Kantor, owner of Perfect Plants Nursery.
This low-growing plant will look nice all year because its dark green needles look a lot like traditional yews, Alex says. This species is also good for gardeners who want to get birds to come to their yard because it produces red berries that animals can eat in the fall.
As the seasons change toward the end of the year, I love seeing birds snacking on yew berries. If you plant spreading yew in your yard, birds will come to eat it.
As it grows best in US hardiness zones 6 to 9, the spreading yew has a dense but upright habit. This makes it perfect for gardeners who want an easy-care plant that will stay small and neat. Also, the spreading yew can handle drought and doesn’t attract deer, which makes it perfect for the edges of larger backyards.
Masses of yellow daisy blooms emerge in spring and summer( credit: Getty s/bgwalker)
Carolyn Walker, plant expert and owner of Carolyns Shade Garden Nursery, hails Packera aurea as the best native semi-evergreen groundcover. Undoubtedly the best evergreen groundcover is golden groundsel, Packera aurea, Carolyn says.
Carolyn says that it grows in wet, dry, sunny, or shady places and in good or bad soil. The leaves are mostly evergreen, which makes a green carpet that keeps weeds down. It is also surprisingly hardy, growing throughout much of the US from zone 3.
This is one of the best native plants for pollinators because it has fragrant yellow flowers on long stems in the spring and summer.
This native plant supports insects, bees, and 20 species of butterflies with its nectar, Carolyn says. For gardeners who want to make a wildlife garden, this plant is a must-have because it is a host plant for 17 species of butterflies and moths.
Carolyn is a plant expert and owner of Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, a retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Carolyn grows and gardens in zone 6b/7a and is a shady plant expert.
Best evergreen ground cover plants
Many fast-growing ground cover plants are evergreen and are quick to establish and spread in the garden borders. Ground cover plants will quickly fill in gaps in the backyard, making it easier for gardeners to plant more and giving wildlife a place to live and food to eat.
While the following plants are suitable for certain locations, some can be invasive in particular regions. When deciding what plants to grow, gardeners should always check with their local government to learn about invasive species.
Pachysandra terminalis with serrated foliage forming a green carpet( credit: Alamy)
One of the best plants for under trees is Pachysandra terminalis, otherwise known as Japanese spurge. This is one of the best examples of evergreen ground cover plants, providing year-round greenery in the backyard. I’ve put pachysandra in way too many gardens to remember, and it has always grown back and filled in those awkward spots.
Pachysandra can take 1 to 2 years to establish, eventually forming a green carpet with attractive, serrated foliage. Only 10 to 12 inches tall, pachysandra has a tight, dense growth habit that keeps weeds from growing.
Once established, gardeners do not need to water pachysandra, which can tolerate warm, dry weather and free-draining soils. This looks like a good choice for lining paths because, unlike periwinkle and other evergreen ground cover plants, pachysandra stays compact but upright, keeping paths and edges green but tidy.
The liriopi muscari plant has grass-like leaves and spikes of lilac flowers, making it a beautiful ground cover (credit: Penboy/Getty s).
Liriope, which is also known as “monkey grass,” is usually thought of as a herb, but it can also be grown as an evergreen ground cover. Monkey grass is a great choice for people who want an evergreen plant with beautiful seasonal flowers. Its leaves look like grass, and its flower spikes are lilac-colored.
Monkey grass is a hardy ground cover that is ideal for gardeners who are looking for a low maintenance option, says Mike Murphy, garden expert and owner at You Had Me At Gardening.
This evergreen plant does well in most places, from US hardiness zone 4 to US hardiness zone 10, Mike says. In addition to being useful, monkey grass is thought to be one of the best ground cover plants for dry areas because it grows well with little care.
I have grown monkey grass in my yard, and it certainly seems to thrive on neglect. I would keep an eye on how much you water this evergreen mat-forming plant for the first year after planting. After that, you can leave it alone. Some areas and states in North America consider monkey grass to be an invasive plant, so it’s always best to check with your local government if you’re not sure.
Whats more, there are many different varieties of monkey grass. The most popular, Liriope muscari, has an attractive dark green leaf. However, for an unusual monkey grass option, variegated or silver-foliage options are available from Nature Hills. Liriope Big Blue.
Liriope muscari Big Blue is one of the finest evergreen groundcover plants. This is a tough little edging plant that features beautiful blue flower spikes from midsummer until fall. The grass-like foliage is lush but also low-maintenance, ideal for just about any planting situation.
Mike grew up gardening with his parents and grandparents. He enjoys his backyard orchard of dwarf fruit trees, raspberry and blackberry patches, and raised garden boxes. In addition to his perennials, Mike enjoys sprouting new fruit and vegetable seeds every spring.
Lilac, star-like periwinkle flowers, blooming for much of spring and summer( credit: Alamy)
Vinca minor or vinca major periwinkles have a creeping habit and do best in dry shade under trees or shrubs. Periwinkle is a good choice for gardeners who are looking for plants that do well on steep slopes and are thinking of sloping garden ideas.
As a professional gardener, I’ve planted periwinkle in a lot of gardens. This tough evergreen is great for holding soil together, which is helpful for people whose backyards have slopes or banks.
Periwinkle has evergreen leaves that can be solid green or have spots on them. In the spring and summer, it has tiny star-shaped flowers that can be white or lilac.
This evergreen tree does best in US hardiness zones 4 through 9. It can be used to cover a lot of ground in the backyard. I should say that this ground cover can get a little out of hand if it isn’t kept up regularly, and it is considered invasive in some states and regions. Because it grows like a vine, periwinkle can sometimes grow through and over other plants in the borders. If you are looking for low-maintenance ground cover, this might not be the best choice.
NO MORE BARE SPOTS! Top 15 BEST Evergreen Ground Cover Plants You NEED in Your Garden Now!
FAQ
What groundcover stays green in winter?
What is the best low maintenance ground cover?
What type of plant stays green all year long?
What is an evergreen ground cover plant?
An evergreen ground cover plant is beneficial to your garden in many ways. Evergreen foliage provides year-round visual interest. Ground covers offer ways to lower yard maintenance, such as suppressing weeds, fighting erosion, and helping you avoid dangerous mowing on sloped areas where they grow.
Are evergreen groundcovers a good choice?
If you’d like to provide year-round cover for a particular garden area, turn to evergreen groundcover varieties for the job. These beautiful, hard-working plants have so much to offer.
What are the best evergreen ground cover plants?
Let’s start our selection of evergreen ground cover plant with a real beauty: bearberry, or bear grapes. The low, creeping plant has beautiful fleshy and glossy rounded green leaves, quite hard and stiff to the touch. They form a lovely texture on the ground, and their “holly looking” presence is quite decorative indeed.
What are the best flowering ground cover plants for shade?
Flowering evergreen plants for ground cover help to create colorful floral carpets in sunny or shaded gardens. For stunning ground-hugging full sun plants, choose creeping phlox, flowering creeping thyme, or trailing periwinkles. Some of the best flowering ground cover evergreen plants for shade are lilyturf and bugleweed. Related articles: