6/10
Hardy Plumbago
True blue flowers are rare, especially late in the season. But with hardy plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides), you’ll enjoy a carpet of cerulean blue blooms every year from late summer to frost.
This quickly spreading ground cover forms a tight, six- to 10-inch tall mass of shiny green foliage that blushes bright red and bronze beginning in early fall. The kaleidoscope of red, blue and green all at once lights up the shade like ground level fireworks.
This species of plumbago is cold hardy to USDA Zone 5, but will survive winter better if you cover it with a light mulch, or if there’s snow cover. It’s also heat tolerant through USDA Zone 9. It grows best in morning sun and afternoon shade.
Don’t worry if it doesn’t reappear first thing in spring. This ground cover is a late riser, making it ideal for covering up the spent foliage of spring flowering bulbs.
7/10
Himalayan Maidenhair Fern
This elegant fern looks as dainty as a pearl necklace, but is tough enough to survive winter growing in the Himalayan Mountains, where it is native. Here in North American home gardens, it serves as a six- to 10-inch tall, slowly spreading ground cover for part shade to full shade.
Try growing it as a green carpet laid at the feet of your big leaf hydrangeas or Lenten roses. It’s fascinating to watch in the spring as its semi-evergreen foliage emerges bronze, then brightens to fresh green and covers up the previous year’s growth.
Hardy and deer resistant in USDA Zones 4 through 8, this colonizing fern prefers humus-rich, moist but well-drained soils. It detests hot, humid weather, but thrives where temperatures drop at night. Once it settles in to its new home, this fern will speed up its spread and transplant easily if you find new shady places for it in your landscape.
8/10
Lamium
The little silver leaves of lamium are like bits of glitter strewn about the garden floor, reflecting any dappled sunlight that finds them. Look for varieties like ‘Ghost’ that are heavily silvered and really brighten up lightly to densely shaded spaces.
Because the leaves are scented when crushed, deer and rabbits may take one bite and then move on to something more palatable. Bright pink, purple or white flowers are a bonus that draws in bumblebees from mid-spring to early summer.
This ground cover forms a low-growing carpet that spreads quickly as its stems root when they touch the ground. It can cover large areas if you let it, so take care to find a place where its spreading tendency will be welcomed. Lamium will grow under tree canopies and fill in around taller perennials, tolerating some dryness from the roots of other plants, but it grows better with irrigation.
Hardy in USDA Zones 3 through 8, it will be deciduous in all but the mildest climates.
