Ok, don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to vilify groundcovers. I’m just here to round out the story a bit in a way that my brain always craves. I seldom hear the whole truth about them. Most of the time, I just hear all the positive attributes; for example, they mimic natural ecosystems, suppress weeds, eliminate the need for mulch, yada, yada, yada. I am not here to contest that. I just need to blow off some steam because when I’m managing the groundcovers in beds with other precious plants, I often silently scream, “Why did no one tell me this,” and “It’d be quicker if I just rip all this out.” Joking aside, as a neurodivergent person, I have low distress tolerance, and managing my expectations is a crucial coping mechanism for me in all parts of my life, including gardening. So, I want to manage your expectations about groundcovers in a way that I wish mine had been before I got started with them.
1. They call them ground-COVERS for a reason! They spread more aggressively than other plants. You can’t plant them, walk away, and expect them to play nice with everyone else. Some are intent on garden domination. I do have to act as the referee and keep them from trampling over or choking out my delicate plants. Sometimes, this becomes more work than you expected. So choose wisely. Do your homework. I prefer groundcovers with shallow root systems that are easy to tear out when needed. I also prefer ones with big or otherwise distinct leaves that are easily distinguished from weeds or easy to pick through or push aside when weeding.
2. They may actually make weeding more difficult/time-consuming. All my groundcovers have weeds growing amongst them. Weeding my groundcovers is far more time-consuming and tedious than weeding in between my larger clumping plants. Weeding between large plants is easier because you can see them more clearly because they are not camouflaged by other leaves, and you have the space to remove them by the handful, with an implement, or by applying pesticides. Pulling blades of grass from the needle-like leaves of creeping phlox is enough to make me lose my remaining eyesight and sanity!
Internationally recognized form of torture: removing grass from creeping phlox
3. The word GROUNDCOVER was created as an anagram from the term VOLEHAVEN. So, that’s not actually true, but it makes sense if you ask me. In our garden, I have found that voles use groundcovers as if they were hamster tubes, forming a protective superhighway from the predators for vast caravans of voles to travel from one tasty plant to another. I have many predators here, including foxes, raptors, and bobcats. I see them hunting here on a daily basis. However, it seems they prefer to torment me by leaving half-eaten carcasses of my beloved songbirds and other cute critters rather than eating the abundant yet well-protected voles. Perhaps they think I am trying to protect them since I have planted so many grasses and groundcovers for them to inhabit. Anyway, in my garden, I swear I have seen the voles and other rodents holding paws, skipping carelessly through my groundcovers on their way to girdle my trees and devour entire root balls.
In the spring, the brown oak leaves in this patch of Persicaria affinis’ Superba’ trace the vole superhighway.
You may be wondering if there are any groundcovers I like. Sure, but it’s hard to give a list because plants behave so differently in different conditions. In my garden, I prefer any spreading Epimedium, Stachys byzantina’ Helen Von Stein,’ and Ajuga reptans’ Black Scallop,’ to name a few. I have tried other plants like geraniums, sedums, phloxes, and creeping jenny and find many require too much maintenance for my needs.
One of my favorites is a groundcover that does more than just cover ground-it’s a star in its own right. Epimedium x versicolor ‘Sulphureum’
So, a word to the wise: Don’t stop buying groundcovers; just manage your expectations better than I do. And if you have hidden rage issues like me, maybe pick up a blood pressure monitor along with your groundcover purchase.
