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Creating a Wild Backyard - Ground Covers

Ground covers are exactly what their name implies - plants that spread to form a carpet over the ground. Ground covers are gaining in popularity as an alternative over traditional lawn grasses - and for good reason. Traditional lawn grasses need lots of mowing, watering, fertilizing, and weeding to be kept healthy and attractive. Most ground covering plants, on the other hand, need almost no maintenance once they have taken over your yard.

The Disadvantages of a Grassy Lawn
If you had a choice, would you be spending your weekends mowing? Probably not. The time spent mowing is often only a small part of the investment you have to put into an attractive lawn. Water, fertilizer, herbicides, and cutting and edging can take a significant toll on our time and your wallet. The environment also suffers from our grassy lawns. All the excess chemicals used on lawns (and there is excess!) washes off after every rain, into streams and storm drains and eventually into the Chesapeake Bay. Herbicides kill stream vegetation needed by fish and other aquatic life. Fertilizers encourage algae to grow, causing eventual oxygen depletion in the water when the enormous growth of algae begins to die. Without oxygen in the water, life in the streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay itself is threatened.

Lawns themselves are no picnic for wildlife. You can count on one hand the number of animals (other than insects and vertebrates) which use lawns. These would most often be starlings, cowbirds, robins, squirrels, moles, and sometimes rabbits. These animals are not, however, dependent upon lawns, and the vast diversity of wildlife found in Maryland is totally excluded from lawn habitats because they don’t provide food, shelter, or water.

The Alternatives
There are several kinds of plants which can be just as attractive as a lawn and which can grow successfully in Maryland. Described below are perennials available at most plant nurseries. They can be used in various parts of your yard, depending on soil and light conditions. Eventually, you may even want groundcovers as a replacement for a grass lawn.

Juniper (Juniper horizontalis)
Called "carpet juniper", this evergreen plant provides a thick ground cover all year long. This juniper is usually blue in the summer, but may turn blue green n the spring and almost purple in the winter. However, there are many varieties of carpet junipers to choose from. Junipers are most useful in full sun, especially where dryness is a problem. Small cuttings require spacing of about one foot; larger mature plants require spacing of about two or four feet. Total coverage for small cuttings is about two to three years.

Vinca (Vinca sp.)
Vincas have several common names because they are so widespread. Common names for Vinca include periwinkle for its lavender blue flowers and creeping myrtle for its waxy leaves. Vincas do well in both sun and shade. It is a shorter plant than Pachysandra and has a thicker mat. It is a good plant for stabilizing banks and for use in other difficult places because it is not particular about soils or water. Individual plants can be purchased from a nursery or separated from an established bed. Space the plants about eight inches apart. Complete coverage takes one to two years.

Other Ground Covers
There are many plants with spreading capabilities, which are not often thought of as ground covers. Many of these have direct benefit to wildlife. These plants include flowers, vines, and shrubs. A list is provided below. To choose which plants will do best in your particular situation, you will need to consult with your nurseryman and, perhaps, with a few gardening books.

How to Plant Ground Covers
Rototill and work in topsoil to about six inches in depth, then mulch. Mulch should be one to two inches deep. Quicker cover of plants requires the minimum spacing recommended for each type of ground cover. For larger areas where cost of plants can be a factor, spacing plants further apart will generate slower coverage but will easier on your budget. Check with your nurseryman or garden center about the best type of ground cover for your needs and situation.

Ground Cover Suggestions

Shrubs
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Black Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum)
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
Creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens)
Leucothoe (Leucothoe axillaris)
Mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitus-idaea minus)
Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)

Perennials
May apple (Podopyllum peltatum)
Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana)
Phlox (Phlox spp.)
Plaintain lily (hosta spp.)
Rock cress (Arabis spp.)
Sedum (Sedum spp.)
Self-heal (prunella vulgaris)
Spearmint (mentha spicata)
Speedwell (veronica spp.)
Strawberries (Fragaria spp.)
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Verbena (Verbena spp.) Usually annual; can be perennial in good conditions
Violets (Viola spp.)
Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
Wild geranium (Geranium maniculata)
Yarrow (Achillea spp.)

Vines
American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) - perennial
Scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) - annaul
Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) - perennial
Wine-leaf cinquefoil (Potentilla tridentata) - perennial

For Additional Information, Contact:
 
 Wild Acres Program
 Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service
 Attn:  Marilyn Mause
 Gwynnbrook WMA
 3740 Gwynnbrook Ave
 Owings Mills MD 21117
 410-356-0941
 E-Mail: customerservice@dnr.state.md.us