Cover Those Bare And Shady Spots

In the shade, beneath our basswood tree is a piece of barren ground. Hoping grass would grow, there we’ve seeded it and reseeded it but to no avail. We’ve determined that there is not enough light getting through for grass and we’ve decided to investigate a group of plants known as ground covers.

We have a garden for native woodland plants elsewhere in our yard. In that piece of real estate we have a nice variety of shade lovers, but the plant there that best fits the description of ground cover is the wild ginger.

Wild ginger is a low growing plant that spreads through underground rhizomes. Year after year, our planting gets more widespread. What I love most about ginger is that from early spring to winter the heart-shaped leaves remain beautifully green. I’ve recently learned that once wild ginger becomes establishes it retards the growth of garlic mustard, one of those nasty invasive species we’d be better off without.

Rebecca Milaeger of Milaegers Garden Center also provided a couple suggestions, one of her favorite choices being a flower from the Epimedium family. Epimedium grows best in well-drained soils where, in spring, you will enjoy beautiful and interesting flowers amidst handsome foliage. Though it will grow thick enough to inhibit weed growth, it will not expand to areas you don’t want it.

For a faster spreading ground cover, Rebecca recommended Gallium, also called sweet woodruff. A perennial growing 6 to 12 inches tall, it is named for the sweet fragrance of its beautifully symmetrical foliage. Requiring minimal maintenance and watering, tiny white flowers appear in spring. Sweet woodruff looks beautiful when planted with hostas.