Ground cover plants Australia
There are many options when choosing groundcovers to use in Australian gardens. Groundcover plants are generally more durable and can transform any patch of dirt into something beautiful and fragrant. Groundcovers can be placed between stepping stones to prevent weeds from growing or integrated into your garden’s bed. Although they may seem small, they can greatly impact your landscape design.
Groundcovers offer many practical benefits, in addition to their beauty. Groundcovers can suppress weeds, stop bare soil from drying out, or even stop garden beds from sliding down!
There are many options available, so whether your garden style is wild and unstructured or well-managed and planned, you will find the right plant. Many groundcovers are drought-tolerant and can tolerate shade. Groundcovers, particularly hardy plants, require little to no care and are generally very easy to grow.
These seven flowering varieties are great for fast growth, shade, and sun:
LAMB’S EARS
Lamb’s Ears produce soft, silver-grey foliage that is beautiful and easy to maintain. These perennials form a dense, tight mat that can be used to edge your garden beds. They can grow in almost any area, even in areas with drought-like conditions. Although they prefer full sun, the perennials will thrive in part shade as long as it isn’t too dry. It is best to divide them and replant them at each end of the season. This will help them spread across the ground.
NATIVE VIOLET
Native violet is the best groundcover for the shady and often damp area at the side of your house. This is a great choice to soften around a path made of stepping stones. It also adds beautiful white flowers throughout the year to the dense, round foliage. It spreads quickly so it shouldn’t be used where it could compete with other plants. It can grow to 10 cm tall in shade, but it is much more graceful in sunny and drier areas. It can grow in all climates.
STAR JASMINE
Star jasmine This climber is loved for its abundance of white, fragrant flowers that bloom in late spring and early summer. It is a beautiful groundcover that is equally hardy. It can be used in shade or sun to cover large areas of land under tall trees or on sloped banks. It will form a dense covering about 30cm tall. If you prefer something smaller and more compact, consider Asiatic star Jasmine (Trachelospermum Asiaticum), particularly the cultivar “Flat Mat”. After flowering is finished, you can scrub it.
BELLFLOWER
This dense groundcover is as beautiful as it is useful. It boasts a multitude of star-shaped lavender-blue flowers that bloom from mid-spring through summer. Although the leaves are soft and heart-shaped, they can grow up to 15cm in height but can spread endlessly. Sometimes it self-seeds in cracks or steps so that it can tolerate occasional dryness. It can also be used to fill in between perennials or shrubs, and it is beautiful spilling over rocks. It can grow in both cool and warm climates, provided it is protected from the sun.
BLUE BUGLE
This shade-loving beauty produces flat rosettes of shiny, glossy leaves that are the source of tall spikes of blue flower in spring and summer. The leaves are typically glossy, deep green. However, ‘Atropurpurea’ is a shade-loving beauty with purplish tones. ‘Burgundy Glow’ has mottled cream, pale, and crimson leaves. ‘Catlin’s Giant’, on the other hand, has larger, more red-tinted leaves. Ajuga can be grown in cool or warm climates, depending on whether it gets more sun. It will not thrive in the tropics. It can be used to bind soil or under deciduous trees. Once established, it forms a dense mat.
