Dry soils in the sun are among the extreme locations where specialized species find a chance of survival. In order to successfully green such areas with ground cover, the plants should be carefully selected.
Table of Contents
white flowers
Ground covers with white flowers are rarities that create a romantic atmosphere. The species come from different plant families and primarily attract smaller insects as pollinators. Since the paper-colored tones of the following groundcovers stand for neutrality, combinations with species whose petals are intensively dark-colored are possible.
Brown-leaved Prickly Nut (Acaena microphylla)
- Flower color: whitish spherical flowers
- Size: Remains small at five to ten centimetres
- Flowering period: between June and July
- Tolerance to the sun: good, partially shaded areas are gladly accepted
- pH value: neutral to slightly acidic
- Maintenance effort: low
- Special feature: robust plant, which sprout again in spring even after above-ground damage
- attractive varieties: ‘Copper Carpet’
Garden avens (Dryas x suendermannii)
- Trivial names: sinner silver avens
- Flower color: white ray flowers with yellow center
- Size: grows between five and 15 centimeters tall
- Flowering period: from June to July
- Tolerance to the sun: tolerates sunny conditions without restrictions if the soil is fresh
- pH-Wert: neutral
- Maintenance effort: low in the optimal location
- Special feature: develops feather-like fruits after the flowering period
Creeping Gypsophila (Gypsophila repens)
- Common names: dwarf gypsophila, carpet gypsophila
- Flower color: white, occasionally with a reddish tint
- Size: reaches heights of ten to 25 centimeters
- Flowering period: between May and September
- Sun tolerance: heat-loving plant that prefers the sun
- pH-Wert: neutral
- Care Effort: Frugal species that requires little attention
- Special feature: Plant from the alpine zone, which germinates successfully in the lowlands on rocky outcrops
- attractive varieties: ‘Rosenveil’
Strand-Silberkraut (Lobularia maritima)
- Trivial names: seacress, scented stone or alyssum
- Flower color: pure white
- Size: grows between ten and eight inches tall
- Flowering time: from May to October
- Sun tolerance: heat-loving plant that grows well in full sun
- pH value: belongs to the lime-loving perennials
- Care requirements: frugal with little care requirements
- Special feature: exudes a pleasant scent reminiscent of honey
- attractive varieties: ‘Snow Crystals’, ‘Oriental Nights’, ‘Wonderland’
Yellow flowers
Shades of yellow are symbolic of summer because they bring a good mood to the garden. Not many ground covers, unfazed by full sun, shine with these colors. The following species are ideal for creating monochromatic or multicolored carpets of plants. They feel particularly comfortable when the soil is dry.
Braunes Fiederpolster (Cotula squalida)
- Common names: Lye flower
- Flower color: inconspicuous flower heads with yellowish-greenish nuances
- Size: reaches a growth height of between three and five centimetres
- Flowering period: begins in July and lasts until August
- Sun tolerance: good, also thrives in semi-shade
- pH-Wert: neutral
- Maintenance effort: very low if the soil is fresh to dry and well drained
- Special feature: strikingly feathered foliage with a green-brown colour
- attractive varieties: ‘Minima’, ‘Platt’s Black’
Sharp Wall Pepper (Sedum acre)
- Trivial names: Hot sedum
- Flower color: yellow
- Size: up to 15 centimeters
- Flowering period: between June and August
- Sun compatibility: excellent, one of the absolute sun worshipers
- pH-Wert: neutral
- Maintenance effort: very low all year round
- Special feature: develops thick fleshy leaves
- attractive varieties: ‘Aureum’
Violet blue flowers
The Lamiaceae family includes a variety of purple flowering herbs that are used in cooking for their essential oils. Species with a classic star-shaped flower shape belong to other families. The following species thrive in full sun in poor locations when the soil is dry and poor in nutrients. Because of their high growth rate, they are suitable as ground cover in natural gardens or on bee pastures.
Blauer Bubikopf (Isotoma fluviatilis)
- Trivia: Gaudich
- Flower color: light to dark blue
- Size: small perennial with a maximum height of five centimetres
- Flowering period: all summer from May to October
- Sun Tolerance: Likes full sun or partial shade
- pH value: ideally in the neutral range, sensitive to lime
- Care requirements: easy to care for, provided the floor is not too dry
- Special feature: vigorous perennial that occasionally bears fleshy berries
- attractive varieties: ‘Blue Heaven’, ‘County Park’, ‘Alba’
Byzantinischer Wollziest (Stachys byzantina)
- Trivial names: donkey or rabbit ear
- Flower color: violet
- Size: between 60 and 80 centimeters
- Flowering period: June to July
- Sun tolerance: excellent, tolerates longer periods of drought
- pH: neutral or slightly acidic
- Care effort: low, only needs fertilizer in case of deficiency symptoms
- Special feature: woolly hairy leaves that feel fluffy
- attraktive Sorten: ‚Silver Carpet‘, ‚Big Ears‘, ‚Cotton Ball‘
Early flowering thyme (Thymus praecox)
- Flower color: violet with pink nuances
- Size: up to ten centimeters
- Flowering time: depending on the variety between May and August
- Tolerance to the sun: very high, brief exposure to shade is not a problem
- pH-Wert: neutral
- Maintenance effort: low
- Special feature: fragrant lawn substitute with high tread resistance
- attractive varieties: ‘Red Carpet’, ‘Minor’, ‘Purple Carpet’
Hanging cushion bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana)
- Flower color: bluish to violet
- Size: staying rather small at 10 to 15 centimeters
- Flowering time: Long-lasting bloomer, showing its splendor from June to September
- Tolerance to the sun: extremely good, although partially shaded locations are not a problem
- pH value: neutral to chalky
- Maintenance effort: is dependent on regular watering for healthy growth
- Special feature: aesthetic flowering plant that attracts bumblebees and wild bees
- attractive varieties: ‘Blauranke’, ‘Blue Gown’, ‘Rosea’
Hybrid Cat Mint (Nepeta × faassenii)
- Common names: Blue catnip
- Flower color: violet with bluish tones
- Size: usually between 25 and 50, rarely up to 75 centimetres
- Flowering period: begins in June and lasts until September
- Sun tolerance: good
- pH value: wide tolerance range
- Care required: low on humus-rich and dry to fresh soil
- Special feature: fast-growing, forms loose carpets
- attraktive Sorten: ‚Six Hills‘, ‚Walker’s Low‘
Creeping horny scar (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides)
- Common names: Chinese leadwort
- Flower color: intense gentian blue bright
- Size: grows 15 to 30 centimeters high
- Flowering time: belongs to the late bloomers, which sets accents between August and October
- Sun tolerance: intensive autumn colors in the sun, also thrives in semi-shade
- pH value: slightly calcareous to neutral
- Care requirements: As an easy-care and rewarding perennial, it requires little attention
- Special feature: late budding perennial that develops quickly
Polster-Phlox (Phlox subulata)
- Common names: carpet phlox
- Flower color: originally violet, cultivated forms white, pink or blue
- Size: about ten to fifteen centimeters
- Flowering time: between April and May
- Sun tolerance: very good, needs protection from the sun in exposed areas in winter
- pH value: slightly acidic to moderately calcareous
- Care required: low, grateful for pruning after flowering
- Special feature: ground cover, which also acts as an eye-catcher on wall crowns or in stone structures
- Attractive varieties: ‘Dwarf Carpet’, ‘Atropurpurea’
Red Ice Plant (Delosperma cooperi)
- Common names: perennial ice plant
- Flower color: violet to purple
- Size: between ten and fifteen centimeters high
- Flowering period: from June to August
- Sun tolerance: very good, ground cover blooms best in direct sunlight
- pH-Wert: neutral
- Care requirements: needs a little more attention and should overwinter frost-free
- Distinctive feature: papery flowers that open at midday
- attractive varieties: ‘Luzia’
Sand-Thymian (Thymus serpyllum)
- Trivialnamen: Quendel, Feldkümmel
- Flower color: pink to purple
- Size: about five to ten centimeters
- Flowering period: from June to August
- Sun tolerance: unrestricted with high heat tolerance
- pH value: neutral to acidic
- Care requirements: requires little attention
- Special feature: fragrant bee pasture with aromatic leaves for seasoning
- attractive varieties: ‘Coccineus’
