Evergreen Ground Covers for Zone 8

Fruit-Bearing Ground Covers

• Many versatile evergreen junipers (Juniperus spp.) withstand winter temperatures colder than what they are exposed to in Zone 8. Shore juniper (Juniperus conferta) "Blue Pacific" is hardy to Zone 6's 10 degrees below zero. Standing just 6 inches to 1 foot tall, but spreading as much as 6 feet, "Blue Pacific" has distinctively aromatic, blue-green needles. Its black, fleshy seed cones take on a silvery cast as they mature.

  Creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens), at 9 to 12 inches high, has hollylike compound leaves with up to seven leaflets; their bluish-green color deepens to purple in winter. This mahonia's yellow spring flowers give way to small, edible-but-sour blue-purple berries in late summer. Creeping mahonia survives to Zone 5 and minus 20 F.

Broadleaved Ground Covers

• Woody, broad-leaved evergreen germander (Teucrium aroanium) grows 3 inches high, with trailing stems that root. Individual germander plants spread 4 to 8 inches. Hardy to Zone 7 and 0 degrees, this mint family ground cover has small silver-green leaves. Its pale purple flowers open in showy, stem-lining clusters from late spring to early summer.

  Creeping saxifrage (Saxifraga stolonifera) pairs 8-inch-high mounds of deep-green, silver-threaded leaves with upright, 18-inch stems of airy, white summer flower clusters. Pinkish-red undersides add to the charm of its leaves. This evergreen ground cover spreads rapidly up to 2 feet. Rated as cold-tolerant to Zone 6, creeping saxifrage needs a sheltered site and winter mulch cover in the colder parts of its range.

Variegated Ground Covers

• Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis) "Variegata" illuminates shady garden spots with a 6- to 12-inch carpet of glossy, creamy-margined gray-to-deep-green leaves. Spikes of delicate, eye-catching white flowers rise 1 or 2 inches above the perennial's uppermost leaves in early spring.

  Wintercreeper (Euonymous fortunei) "Variegatus" forms irregular 2- to 4-foot-wide mounds. Its white-bordered, glossy, elliptical green leaves rise up to 1 foot above the ground. This evergreen ground cover may spread aggressively.

  Japanese spurge and wintercreeper are hardy to Zone 5.

Long-Flowering Ground Covers

• Zig-zag-edged petals that appear to have been trimmed with pinking shears account for maiden pink's (Dianthus deltoides) name. Surviving winters in Zone 3, where temperatures plunge to minus 40 F, evergreen maiden pink typically stands 6 inches to 1 foot high. Abundant red, white or pink flowers crown its branching stems for several weeks in late spring and summer. Its short, needle-thin green foliage remains evergreen in all but the coldest parts of its range. The "Zing Salmon" maiden pink cultivar has brilliant salmon-red flowers.

  Aromatic thyme (Thymus praecox), evergreen in the mild Zone 8 winters, has a toughness belying its delicate appearance. This drought-tolerant perennial stands no more than 6 inches high and wide. Its downy blue-green leaves are smaller than a newborn's fingernails. Bees flock to its dainty, summer-long lavender or white blooms.