Ground Cover Shrubs for a Retaining Wall

Broad Leaf Evergreens

• Plant low-growing broad leaf evergreens to create a lush landscape that stays green all year. Try creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens), which grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 8. This 8- to 12-inch-tall shrub has showy yellow flowers in spring and purple foliage all winter. In cold regions, plant the 6- to 12-inch-tall spreading shrub common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi "Big Bear") which grows in USDA zones 2 through 7. Creeping saxifrage (Saxifraga stolonifera), which grows in USDA zones 6 through 9, grows 8 inches tall and will spread 24 inches wide with a creeping growth habit.

Needled Evergreens

• Needled evergreen shrubs create a ground cover with subtle color variations year-round. Plant creeping varieties that will grow and drape over the edge of the retaining wall to soften its lines. The creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) cultivar "Blue Chip," which grows in USDA zones 3 through 9, spreads 8 to 10 feet while growing less than 1 foot tall and has gray-blue needles. If you want evergreen without a lot of height, plant the creeping juniper cultivar "Pancake," which grows in USDA zones 3 through 9. This low-growing needled evergreen grows just 3 inches tall and will spread 2 feet wide. "Repens" Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris "Repens"), which grows in USDA zones 3 through 7, grows 8 to 12 inches tall with long, soft-looking needles. Before you plant Scotch pine, be aware it can be invasive in some areas.

Heaths and Heathers

• Use the subtle color palette of heath (Erica cinerea) and Scotch heather (Calluna vulgaris) to enhance a retaining wall. These evergreen flowering shrubs tolerate drought and require only minimal care. For summer flowers, plant the heath cultivar "C.D. Eason Bell," which grows in USDA zones 5 through 8, a 9-inch-tall, 2-foot-wide heath with magenta flowers. For winter interest, plant the winter heath "Springwood Pink" which grows in USDA zones 5 through 7, a 6- to 12-inch heath that blooms in between January and March. Scotch heather cultivars to try include the 15-inch-tall "Corbett Red" and the white flowering "Melanie" both of which grow in USDA zones 5 through 7. Note that some heathers can be invasive.

Edible Herbs

• Edible herbs with a shrubby growth habit make a retaining wall an interesting element in the landscape, and part of an edible garden. Plant creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum), which grows in USDA zones 4 through 9 and lemon thyme (Thymus x citriodorus "Aureus"), which grows in USDA zones 6 through 9. The trailing rosemary shrub called prostrate rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis "Prostratus") grows in USDA zones 5 through 9 with a trailing, spreading growth pattern that will trail over a retaining wall or grow along the ground.