Thanks to guest writer Eric Johnstone for this interesting articles on how to make the most of ground cover plants.

Ground cover landscaping plants have a variety of uses in the landscape garden. Not only do they look wonderful but they also help to suppress weeds thus reducing the overall workload of the landscape gardener (or increasing the amount of time he/she can spend on other gardening projects, whichever way you choose to view it). Nearly every garden has a problem area which would benefit from ground cover and there a numerous varieties of landscaping plants to choose from that are highly suitable for the task of ground cover.

Most ground cover landscaping plants will grow well in a sunny or partially shady area of the garden so they are highly suited for growing under small shrubs and trees. Nearly all ground cover plants will spread and naturalize to form a dense blanket. The only thing that you should really study when choosing which to use is the maximum height to which the landscaping plant will grow. This is because garden sizes vary so much that something that looks great in a large garden will not be at all suitable for a smaller garden or back yard (ie larger gardens can handle much taller varieties than small ones).

One of the most effective landscaping plants for use under deciduous shrubs is Ajuga Reptans Burgundy Glow (Variagated Bugle). This useful evergreen grows to only two inches high and, when planted at twelve inches apart, it will quickly form a dense mat which transforms in spring when it produces spiked, erect whorls of blue flowers. Another advantage to this landscaping plant is that it is readily available and is relatively cheap.

Not only landscaping plants are used for ground cover, as there are a number of highly suitable shrubs which spread naturally to create wonderful floating blankets of color. There is a small selection of Cotoneaster which grow very close to the ground. The evergreen Cotoneaster Dammeri Major only grows to a height of two to three inches and can spread as much as seven feet, whereas Cotoneaster Coral Beauty (evergreen) and Cotoneaster Horizontalis robustus (semi-evergreen) +will grow to around eighteen inches high. Most are tolerant of moderate shade and some can even tolerate dense shade (so another ground cover plant suitable for under trees). A further advantage to using Cotoneaster is the fact that it produces a profusion of red berries towards the end of the summer when the garden is usually beginning to lose color.

There is an absolutely massive range of landscaping plants available today and a great many, such as Cotoneaster mentioned above, you may not have considered using as for ground cover. Some climbers, such as Ivy, can also be used for ground cover and Lonicera Pileata is an incredibly tough evergreen shrub which grows in spreading fashion with long branches covered in tiny mid-green leaves which produce small creamy-white flowers in spring followed by interesting translucent pale violet berries that are popular with birds. If you find yourself unable to decide which landscaping plants are most suitable for your garden why not take a photograph with you when you visit your local nursery or garden center as most of the staff will be pleased to offer you help and advice and will appreciate an idea of what your garden looks like (and it’s size).

Eric Johnstone has been a landscape gardener for about 15 years and writes for a small number of landscape gardening sites in his spare time.

Ground cover landscaping plants can be used to cover a garden in accordance with the light and exposure a landscape needs. Ground cover also helps to sculpture garden maintenance. A shield of pest control products is also used to fight against the pest attacks. Ground covering landscape is horticulture which is very effective. The information about landscaping and various other techniques of gardening can be collected from the gardens information guide. Ground cover landscaping is done on both gardening and commercial horticulture. The landscapes can further be made attractive and playful by adding swing set and sandboxes for entertainment of children.