Ground Cover That Grows Year Round

Full Sun

• Evergreen ground cover plants that tolerate full sun retain their color where other plants are bleached by sunlight. Caucasian stonecrop Dragon's Blood (Sedum spurium "Schorbuser Blut") has attractive, purple-margined green leaves that turn red in fall and are retained in warm climates. Growing 3 to 6 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide, it also bears tiny pink or red flowers from summer through fall. Dragon's Blood is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9. Germander (Teucrium aroanium) has silvery-green evergreen leaves and bears 3/4-inch light purple flowers. Hardy in USDA zones 7 through 10, germander grows 3 inches tall and 3 to 9 inches wide.

Shade

• Shade-tolerant ground cover plants provide cool green year round in shady spots in gardens. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) forms a carpet of glossy dark green topped with white waxy flowers in summer. In fall, it forms red berries and its leaves develop shades of purple. Growing well in USDA zones 3 through 8, this evergreen shrub grows 3 to 6 inches tall and 6 to 12 inches wide. Japanese pachysandra "Green Carpet"(Pachysandra terminalis "Green Carpet") is an evergreen suitable for USDA zones 5 through 9. Bearing tiny white spring flowers on spikes above shiny dark green leaves, it grows 6 to 9 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide.

Dry

• Plants need water to stay green, but some drought-tolerant ground cover plants need little to maintain their color year round. Lesser periwinkle "Honeydew" (Vinca minor "Honeydew") is named after its attractive yellow-green foliage. Growing 3 to 6 inches tall and 6 to 18 inches wide, this sprawling evergreen perennial bears lavender-blue spring flowers that reappear intermittently throughout the year. Hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, it is an aggressive grower and considered an invasive species in some areas of the U.S. Common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) has attractive red stems covered in tiny evergreen leaves and bears pink spring flowers followed by red berries. Common bearberry is suitable for USDA zones 2 through 6 and grows 1 to 3 feet wide and up to 6 inches high.

Wet

• Evergreen ground cover plants for wet sites disguise boggy, marshy areas of your garden year round. Japanese grass sedge (Carex morrowii) leaves are a constant rich deep green, and plants grow 12 to 18 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide. Hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9, this grass-like plant thrives in constantly wet soil. Scarletta fetterbush (Leucothoe fontanesiana "Zeblid") provides seasonal interest with red-purple spring foliage that appears among its shiny deep green leaves in spring, followed by reddish-bronze foliage covering the plant in fall. Growing 18 to 24 inches tall and 3 to 4 feet wide, this evergreen shrub grows well in USDA zones 5 through 8.