The right ground cover smothers weeds, cools the soil and looks good — with far less work. Here are the best options.
Created by jflgardens.co.uk
Bare soil always invites weeds. Dense, spreading ground cover plants crowd them out, lock moisture in and knit an attractive carpet across borders — making your garden genuinely easier to look after for years at a time.
Look for plants that knit together densely and can outpace weeds — creeping hardy geraniums, foamflower, wild strawberry, creeping phlox and hardy cyclamen all form attractive carpets that leave little room for anything else.
Shade lovers like hostas, ferns and laminum suit dark, damp corners, while sun lovers such as thyme, sedum and cotoneaster hug warm, dry banks. Matching the plant to the site means it grows strongly and needs almost no care.
Ground cover works fastest when planted reasonably close together, then kept weed-free and mulched while it establishes. In the first season or two, keep the planting area free of weeds — once the carpet fills in, maintenance drops to almost nothing.
Good ground cover pays back many times over: it suppresses weeds, keeps the soil cool and moist, reduces evaporation and can even help stabilise slopes. Choose a mix of foliage and flowering types and the border looks after itself.
From planting & borders to a full planting-style overhaul, the JFL Gardens team works across Surrey and London.
