To Mulch or not to Mulch, that is the question... or Why not Groundcovers?

Instead of creating great barren swaths of mulch with tiny islands of plants, let's think about this first. In nature, plants grow with companions. Unless you are in a desert, plants are not naturally spread out with large sterile areas between them. Diversity and complexity in a landscape creates not only visual interest, but balance and habitat. Birds and wildlife will find cover. Predatory insects such as Praying Mantises and Assassin Bugs will find safe haven and, along with the birds you are now encouraging, keep herbivorous insects in check (while they feast on them to raise their young!). Amphibians such as toads and salamanders will find your garden and make themselves at home.

A more biologically balanced way to 'mulch' your gardens is to plant low-growing ground cover plants to fill in between your other plants; some groups have taken to calling this "Green Mulch" and it creates a much more natural environment. We have many beautiful herbaceous perennial groundcovers, short native grasses, and graceful sedges that can create a lovely, and living, mulch for your garden. They will also conserve moisture by shading the ground, and discourage weed seeds from sprouting by taking their place. Your garden will look great and the Birds, Butterflies, Salamanders and Turtles will thank you!

You can use many native plants for groundcovers - even Beardtongues (Penstemon), which have ground hugging evergreen basal leaves from which their glorious flowering spikes appear. In this list, however, we have focused mostly on shorter, more traditional groundcover plants that spend all or most of the year filling in the very important shortest layer of plant communities.

Herbaceous Perennials:

Grass-like Perennials:

Ferns:

Vines & Creepers:

All artwork on the Toadshade Wildflower Farm web site, including drawings and photographs is original © 1996-2020 Randi Eckel. To obtain permission to reproduce this artwork, contact Randi.