Flowering ground covers: 35 hardy, low-maintenance species

Bare soil is often seen between perennials and shrubs. As if a few puzzle pieces were still missing in the garden to complete the colorful green picture. Low or even creeping plants, so-called ground covers, are perfect for these gaps. Flowering, perennial and at the same time hardy specimens can give us years of pleasure after planting. The following varieties inspire us.

Flowering ground covers from A to D

1. Blaukissen – Aubrieta

Nutrient-poor but sunny soils are preferably covered by the creeping, evergreen blue cushions. It is particularly the hybrid varieties that promise a wealth of flowers and flower variations. They are easy to care for, just need plenty of water on hot days and pruning in the fall.

  • Growth height: from 5 max. 15 cm
  • flowers: small cup-shaped flowers; blue-violet, pink or red
  • Flowering time: April and May

2. Blutroter Storchschnabel – Gernaium sanguineum

This flowering groundcover is very popular with hobby gardeners. It is easy to care for and hardy, thrives in sunny and partially shaded locations. The soil may be stony and calcareous and for the sake of the flowers also contain plenty of nutrients.

  • ox-height: dependent on variety; between 15 and 45 cm
  • Flowers: bowl-shaped, about 4 cm in size; white to dark red
  • Flowering period: May to September

3. Ground Cover Roses – Pink

The queen of roses has many varieties ready that inspire as flowering ground cover. These are low-growing, partly creeping species, all of which are naturally hardy. Another plus point is the variety of flowers typical of the rose family. Some varieties also enchant with their fragrance.

  • growth height: 20 to 60 cm; some varieties also higher
  • Flowers: various colors, single or double
  • Flowering time: beginning of June until the first frost

4. Buschwindröschen – Anemone nemorosa

This enchantingly flowering forest plant also thrives at home in humus-rich, loose, even slightly acidic soil. Prefers a little shade under large copses, trees or hedges. Wood anemone can be described as a temporary ground cover. Nourished by ample light, it rises from the ground in spring, blooms, and emerges again as soon as the neighbors are green.

  • Growth height: 10 to 15 cm
  • Flowers: white or pink single flowers
  • Flowering time: March to April

5. Duftveilchen – Viola odorata

In gardens designed to be close to nature, the blooming sweet violet spreads one of the first scents of the year. Bees and butterflies also appreciate this. With its foothills, it conquers the presented area in no time – and that’s a good thing. The more flowers cluster together, the more enchanting the effect.

  • Growth height: 5 to 15 cm
  • flowers: mostly violet, but also pink and white
  • Flowering time: March and April
Tip: The sweet violet is not only a treat for our noses, but also for our taste buds. The purple flowers also provide decorative splashes of color in the salad.

Flowering ground covers from E to G

6. Elf Flower – Epimedium

It is usually the shady parts of the garden that challenge us. With the elf flower , however, there is a ground cover that can take on a lack of light. The plant is anything but boring. In addition to delicate flowers, it delivers impressive, heart-shaped leaves, some with bronze-colored parts. There are deciduous and evergreen types of the elf flower.

  • Growth height: up to 50 cm
  • Blossoms: different color variants; also bicolor
  • Flowering time: Spring, before or with leaves

7. Filziges Hornkraut – Cerastium tomentosum

This plant is evergreen all year round and flowers for a few weeks. The herb inspires with its small, grey-green and felty leaves. It is also excellent as a ground cover for tulip plants, providing a subtle underscore for the bright colors of the tulips.

  • Growth height: 10 to 15 cm
  • Flowers: small star-shaped flowers, simple, funnel-shaped, white
  • Flowering period: May to June

8. Fingerstrauch – Potentilla tridentata

The cinquefoil is very easy to care for. After growth, it does not need to be watered or fertilized. It develops into a richly branched bush whose density does not allow a view to penetrate down to the ground.

  • Growth height: 50 to 150 cm depending on the variety
  • Flowers: cup-shaped flowers, white, yellow, orange, pink, red; 1-3 cm tall
  • Flowering period: June to October

9. Lady’s Mantle – Alchemilla erythropoda

The right type of lady’s coat can be found for every place. From shady to sunny, from lean to nutrient-rich, everything is accepted and rewarded with beautiful flowers. The shapely leaves are not only an eye-catcher, but also delicious when young and tender as a salad accompaniment. The healing ingredients of the plant have long been known in herbal medicine.

  • Growth height: depending on the variety, 10 – 60 cm
  • Flowers: small single flowers, subtle green-yellow
  • Flowering period: June to July

10. Soapwort – Saponaria officinalis

Common Soapwort is hardy, even if it loves sun and light during the growing season. Its flowers exude the typical scent of the carnation family. With its urge to spread, it sets out to conquer open spaces. Sometimes you have to slow it down.

  • Growth height: 10 to 60 cm
  • flowers: small and numerous; white or pink
  • Flowering time: depending on variety; from early summer to late summer

11. Golderdbeere – Waldsteinia ternata

If you want a carpet of flowers in half-shady and shady places, you should reach for the golden strawberry. The berries are decorative and non-toxic, but not suitable for consumption. In autumn the leaves change color to dark red.

  • Growth height: 10 to 15 cm
  • flowers: simple; yellow
  • Flowering time: April to June

12. Grasnelken – Armory

The thrift is easy to care for because it can take care of itself with its deep roots. It grows bushy and stays green even in the cold season. Without flowers, however, it offers a rather modest sight. Since it is wind resistant, it can also thrive well on the sea coast.

  • Growth height: up to about 20 cm
  • flowers: capitate; pink or white
  • Flowering period: May to September

13. Grönlandmargerite – Arctic Arcanthemum

The Greenland daisy is one of the chrysanthemums that, thanks to its short stature, make an ideal flowering ground cover plant. It attracts numerous insects with its scent.

  • Growth height: 15 to 40 cm
  • flowers: ray flowers; creamy white or pink; yellow center
  • Flowering time: September to November

Flowering ground covers H to O

14. Hauswurz – Sempervivum

The numerous houseleek varieties are ideal for small areas or rock gardens. The fleshy leaves need plenty of sun to keep their typical rosette shape and to bloom. In addition, they are hardy and almost “unbreakable”. More than 3000 varieties ask that the decision falls on them.

  • growth height: 5 to 15 cm; with flowers higher
  • flowers: on long peduncles; red, yellow, cream or white
  • Flowering period: late May to late August

15. Autumn Catchfly – Silene schafta

This ground cover likes well drained soil. It tolerates sun, but blooms more profusely in semi-shade. Autumn catchfly is easy to care for and therefore also suitable for gardening beginners.

  • Growth height: approx. 15 cm
  • Flowers: simple, dark pink, about 2 cm in size
  • Flowering period: August to October

16. Small Periwinkle – Vinca minor

This flowering ground cover is also known as small-leaved periwinkle . With its small leaves, it quickly covers both sunny and shady locations.

  • Growth height: 10 to 15 cm
  • Flowers: white, pink, violet or blue
  • Flowering time: April to May; second flowering in September

17. Lip mouths – Mazus reptans

If the cleft lip feels comfortable in its location, it hardly needs any attention, apart from admiration, of course. It is also considered hardy and can also be planted in areas that occasionally get a few feet.

  • Growth height: up to about 10 cm
  • Blossoms: reminiscent of butterflies; violet
  • Flowering period: May to July

18. Prone speedwell – Veronica prostrata

This flowering plant comes from the Mediterranean region and is busy weaving its blue carpets here too. For this it needs a permeable, nutrient-rich soil. Despite a sunny location, it does not have to be watered all the time.

  • Growth height: 10 to 15 cm
  • Flowers: simple, paniculate flower: blue
  • Flowering period: May to June

Flowering ground covers from P to R

19. Pfennigkraut – Lysimachia nummularia

This plant is particularly interesting for moist soils such as pond edges. Round leaves and flowers line up on long shoots. Avoid blazing sun, otherwise this herb is easy to care for and hardy.

  • Growth height: 5 to 10 cm
  • flowers: small and golden yellow
  • Flowering period: May to July

20. Cushion Bellflower – Campanula portenschlagiana

This flowering groundcover is also known as Dalmatian bellflower. Easy to care for and frugal, it produces flowers year after year like on an assembly line.

  • Growth height: 8 to 15 cm
  • Flowers: small bell-shaped flowers; violet or white
  • Flowering period: June to August

21. Polsterphlox – Phlox subulata

This climbing plant is easy to care for and versatile. For example as a ground cover for tall stems. Its needle-shaped leaves stay green even in winter. In summer, however, you can hardly see them for the sheer blossoms. The more sun the plant gets, the more blooms you can expect.

  • Growth height: 5 to 15 cm
  • flowers: numerous, star-shaped; white to violet, also multicolored
  • Flowering time: April to July

22. Porcelain Flower – Saxifraga x urbium

This ground cover is not fragile like porcelain, but extremely robust. The tongue-shaped leaves, which are arranged in rosettes, are an eye-catcher. The plant is hardy and prefers partial shade.

  • Growth height: 10 to 30 cm
  • Flowers: panicles of pink flowers
  • Flowering period: May to July

23. Reichblühendes Fettblatt – Sedum floriferum

At the time of flowering, the evergreen leaves can hardly be made out, so many flowers block the view. The leaves are also worth a look. An adaptable plant that quickly covers the ground.

  • Growth height: 10 to 20 cm
  • Flowers: yellow star-shaped flowers, 2 cm in diameter
  • Flowering period: July to August

24. Römische Rasenkamille – Chamaemelum nobile v. ligulosa

Roman lawn chamomile grows very densely and can thus transform open spaces into a fragrant lawn. It is sturdy and can be kept short with a lawn mower if necessary.

  • Growth height: 10 to 25 cm
  • Flowers: like chamomile flowers; white with a yellow center
  • Flowering period: June to August

25. Rosa Nachtkerze – Oenothera speciosa

The pink evening primrose stays low and is therefore ideal as a flowering ground cover. It can be damaged in harsh winters, but usually recovers well.

  • Growth height: 10 to 50 cm
  • flowers: funnel-shaped, soft pink
  • Flowering period: June to September

26. Red Carpet Berry – Gaultheria procumbens

The evergreen plant is also called low ashberry and red partridge berry. She weaves the loveliest floral blanket in a semi-shady to shady location. In addition to flowers, it also has decorative berries to offer.

  • Growth height: 10 to 20 cm
  • Flowers: Bell-shaped single flowers, white or pink
  • Flowering period: July to September

Flowering ground covers from S to Z

27. Sand-Thymian – Thymus serpyllum

This herb prefers sandy soil. It grows creeping and spreads more and more extensively. Its aromatic scent and healthy ingredients are also welcome in the kitchen.

  • Growth height: 5 to 10 cm
  • flowers: small, purple-pink
  • Flowering period: June to August

28. Sternmoos – Sagina subulata

Soft and step-resistant, these are the distinctive properties of star moss, which is actually not moss at all. The ground cover from the carnation family is therefore suitable as a flowering lawn substitute.

  • Growth height: 3 to 5 cm
  • Flowers: small, white bowl-shaped flowers
  • Flowering period: June to September
Tip: If you need more star moss plants, you don’t necessarily have to rush to the garden center. Star moss can be easily propagated by division. A frost-free day in spring is ideal for this.

29. Taubnessel – Lamium

Some varieties are perennial and hardy and therefore suitable as permanent ground cover. Its leaves are reminiscent of nettles, but don’t worry, they don’t burn. On the other hand, some species have a beautifully colorful pattern.

  • Growth height: depending on the variety, around 50 cm
  • Flowers: funnel-shaped lipped flowers
  • Flowering period: April to September

30. Carpet Aster – Aster pansus

A ground cover that blooms in the fall, adding color to increasingly dreary gardens. This aster is very hardy and doesn’t need any protection to get through the new year unscathed.

  • Growth height: 15 to 30 cm
  • Flowers: white with a yellow center
  • Flowering period: September and October

31. Carpet Dogwood – Cornus

Because of its origin, it is also known as the Canadian dogwood. It is a ground cover species from the dogwood family. In autumn the foliage takes on a reddish tint. Red ornamental berries develop from flowers.

  • Growth height: up to 20 cm
  • Flowers: white petals around green heads
  • Flowering period: May to June

32. Gypsophila – Gypsophila repens

Gypsophila used to be a must in every bouquet. The innumerable mini flowers sit on stalks with equally innumerable branches and thus give the impression of an airy “cloud of flowers”.

  • Growth height: approx. 25 cm
  • flowers: small; white, light pink or dark pink
  • Flowering period: June to September

33. Vergissmeinnicht – Omphalodes verna

The perennial, herbaceous plant quickly conquers large areas, which it transforms into a light blue sea in spring. After that, the plant is not particularly eye-catching. If a few weeks of bloom are enough for you, forget-me-not can be cultivated in a sunny or partially shaded place.

  • Growth height: 20 to 40 cm
  • flowers: small and light blue
  • Flowering time: April to May

34. Waldmeister – Galium odoratum

This plant not only feels at home in forests, it also thrives in shady areas of the garden. Once planted, it will continue to spread all by itself. The plant is hardy, perennial and easy to care for. One recipe or another can benefit from its aroma.

  • Growth height: 20 to 30 cm
  • Flowers: white corymbs
  • Flowering time: April and May

35. Wollziest – Stachys byzantina

Each leaf is covered with dense, fluffy hairs, which is why Wollziest is popularly called donkey’s or rabbit’s ear. Sunny locations without waterlogging are ideal for this silver-green appearance.

  • Growth height: 15 to 60 cm
  • flowers: candle-like and red
  • Flowering period: June to August

Kira Bellingham

I'm a homes writer and editor with more than 20 years' experience in publishing. I have worked across many titles, including Ideal Home and, of course, Homes & Gardens. My day job is as Chief Group Sub Editor across the homes and interiors titles in the group. This has given me broad experience in interiors advice on just about every subject. I'm obsessed with interiors and delighted to be part of the Homes & Gardens team.

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