GENUS | SPECIES | VARIETY | COMMON NAME | Comments |
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Ceanothus | griseus | 'Yankee Point' | To 3-4' tall, spreading widely. Easily kept lower by pruning. Attractive large, shiny leaves. Medium blue flowers in April. | |
Cerastium | tomentosum | Snow in Summer | Fuzzy silver leaves on a 3" mat. Takes full sun, or light shade; dry soil or regular watering. Pure white flowers in cover the plant in March - April. The plant looks a little shaggy after bloom, so mow or shear it lightly. May die out here and there, but fills back in. | |
Cistus | skanbergi | Low, mounding rockrose with small pink flowers | ||
Cotoneaster | horizontalis | Rock cotoneaster | Very tight habit with small leaves. Branches take a formal, herringbone pattern. Effective trained flat against a wall. Nice fall color before brief deciduous period. LIttle Gem is a miniature form. Very cute. | |
Epilobium | species | California fuchsia | Several species and varieties, ranging from 6 to 2 +. Bright orange-red flowers in late summer through fall attract hummingbirds. Tolerate drought or infrequent watering. Will grow in very light shade or full sun. Cut back when they look rough in the winter. | |
Erigeron | karvinskianus | Santa Barbara daisy | Very tough ground cover with small green leaves and pale pink daisy flowers. Blooms nearly all the time. Spreads steadily for several feet, rooting here and there. Profusion has slightly larger flowers. | |
Euonymus | fortunei | 'Emerald Gaiety' | Wintercreeper | One of the best. White portions turn pretty pink color in winter. |
Lantana | sellowiana | Trailing Lantana | Lavender flowers; there is also a white form. Grows to a foot tall, with each plant spreading 6 - 10 . Very tolerant of heat and drought. Cut back in spring to remove frost damage. Also sold as L. montevidensis. |
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Osteospermum | fruticosum | African daisy | Purple and white daisy flowers. Fast, dense, smothers weeds. Big and vigorous; not for small yards! Note: there are new shrubby hybrids that spread moderately and are nice in perennial borders. |
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Rosa | X | many varieties available | There are many ground cover roses: spreading or sprawling plants which don t require blooming, resist disease, and produce clusters of flowers over a long season. The Drift and Flower Carpet series has been marketed extensively, now available in pink, red, white, pale pink, and yellow. |
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Rosmarinus | officinalis | 'Prostrata' | Rosemary | Pale blue (lavender) flowers all winter. This is the only variety commonly available in flats. |
Sollya | heterophylla (fusiformis) | Australian bluebell creeper | Small, with dense, tiny, shiny leaves. Can be used as a ground cover. Grows slowly to about 6 tall when supported; 1 - 2 as a ground cover. Nodding blue flowers in summer; Alba has white flowers. Boddy s Choice is a very slow-growing type grown as a shrub or ground cover. Quite shade tolerant, will grow under Eucalyptus trees. Twines. | |
Trachelospermum | asiaticum | Asian jasmine | Nearly always grown as a ground cover. Hardly ever flowers; grown for shiny leaves and exceptional durability. Shade tolerant. | |
Zauschneria | species | California fuchsia | See Epilobium. |