plants for ground cover

[reducingfootprint]

Hi! First time in the gardening threads! We've been in the garden for a full rotation of seasons now and aside from peonies, nothing grows aside from weeds!
There is a lot of ground that is covered in stones and bark and looking for some plants for ground coverage for these areas, any ideas?
Already have some lavender and honeysuckle but there is a lot more ground and we would like it to be as diverse as possible. Thanks!

Persicaria do well in these conditions. There are several varieties and worker bees, hover flies etc. love them. Erigeron is a pretty daisy like plant which self seeds. Also varieties of Campanula would look good.

I've planted saxifrage and phlox subulata for ground cover in my back gadren beds, interspersed with cranesbill geraniums, pinks and lavender. (I've planted taller things too, it's not all low-lying stuff.)

In the front, I've put some white saxifrage and I'm going to plant nasturtium seeds, and just let them trail where they like as they grow.

Bergenia and heuchera are also popular around here, and heuchera particularly has some varieties with lovely bronze leaves.

And then there's the old rockery favourite, aubretia, which is amazingly easy to grow if you have the right sort of soil for it. (I really ought to get some lol).

Mexican fleabane, with dainty, daisy like flowers, will grow in tiny cracks between paving slabs or in walls, and is pretty but I think it seeds like a maniac so not really for me.

Lobelia and aubretia are always pretty plus they are great for bees and ladybirds.

@LakieLady @Beebumble2 @Pandoraslastchance Thank-you all! The garden is south facing so gets plenty of light. Do you all plant by seed or buy seedlings/grown plants?

Periwinkle is a good ground cover, but go for a vinca minor rather than vinca major or you'll be pulling it out and cursing me next year!

I’d start with plants, you’ll then get an idea of spacing and where you want them to grow. Later if there are gaps then sowing little pockets of seed would be lovely.

I'm also a fan of periwinkle. A lot of people find it takes over, but if it shows any expansionist tendencies, I just tug it out.

I have a very pretty variegated one that has lovely lavender-blue flowers approx 2cm across. My late parents gave me a tiny bit in a pot when I moved here 28 years ago, and it still appears happy, despite being totally neglected.

[quote reducingfootprint]**@LakieLady* @Beebumble2 @Pandoraslastchance* Thank-you all! The garden is south facing so gets plenty of light. Do you all plant by seed or buy seedlings/grown plants?[/quote]
I'm doing exactly what @Beebumble2 said!

@LakieLady @Beebumble2 @BlueChampagne Thanks!
Was sad to leave my previous garden as we got it to a really nice place but this is an even bigger project so its so exciting!

Nothing like a project to get a gardener excited!

Lamium is also nice ground cover.

I'd add ajuga to the list - we have it in a border and it is evergreen with dark purply leaves and has spikes of blue flowers in summer.

Do any of these suggestions help with weed control? In particular ground elder ?

The things I have found best for weed suppression are stachys (also called lambs ears, it has silver grey downy leaves that look like lambs ears) and snow in summer (can't remember it's Latin name) which has silver grey small leaves and lots of small white flowers.
Also good: aubretia, ajuga, saxifrage, creeping thymes, vinca, phlox and nepeta.
Basically if you look in the garden centre for plants that say they are vigorous, ground cover, spreading that sort of thing.
Some are easy to grow from seed, others from cuttings. Don't be afraid to ask other gardeners for a little piece of a likely plant. The RHS website is really good and will tell you how to propagate your plants.

Cerastium in snow in summer.

I've spent days digging out ground elder from the shady neglected part of my garden and am attempting to use vinca minor as ground cover in the hope that it grows faster than the ground elder I've missed.

I've also put in some hosta and astibles that I had elsewhere to try beat the weed.

I’ve planted Cranesbill geraniums on the patch where ground elder grows, they swamp the ground elder out. Sweet Hardy is particularly good.

Thank you! That's really helpful. The bed is currently full of forget me nots about to bloom and I can see the odd small signs of ground elder again. I'd like to come.up with a solution I can keep on top of with working full-time and I hate weeding.

I have put in saxifrage and spires “magic carpet” and am planning to add the Rozanne geranium and some creeping phlox.

Hoping this will come the bare spaces while my other plants get bigger!

Just been helping my brother with his garden, there’s a semi shaded bank at the back where ivy and ground elder have been running riot. I have pulled up as much as I could, and planted hellebores and cranesbill geraniums, and some wood anemones. I could also have added Alchemilla Mollis but bro said it is boring ( which I don’t agree with!). All these plants also have the advantage of being low maintenance and not very attractive to slugs.

Astrantia is okay with shade and apparently slugs actively dislike it.

Oh yes astrantia is good too.

@IstandwithJackieWeaver

I'd add ajuga to the list - we have it in a border and it is evergreen with dark purply leaves and has spikes of blue flowers in summer.

Thanks for reminding me about ajuga. I've added it to my list of things to buy. It's very pretty.

I like polemonium, too.

Currently tackling my ground elder which stops when it meets the hardy geranium! I'm going to take a few more cuttings of that and stick it in once the last of the bastard ground elder is up. Good luck!