The Advantages of Planting Garden Ground Cover
An Informative Guide for a Gardener Curious About Ground Cover
Jun 26, 2009
Ground cover is characterized by its ability to spread quickly and maintain a short stature. There are numerous flowering and non-flowering varieties characterized as evergreen or deciduous. Ground cover plants are generally an excellent addition to any garden and can even be utilized to cover a large area. The advantages of planting ground cover are made clear by the following list:
- As ground cover plants establish themselves their roots grab on to the soil underground, preventing erosion in the garden. Erosion slowly removes the topsoil of one’s garden which is usually the most valuable to a garden because it contains the most nutrients.
- Planting ground cover utilizes the water that bare soil looses through evaporation; saving fresh water. The loss of fresh water is as much of a cost concern as it is an environmental crisis. Saturating one’s garden with ground cover will ensure that water is being productively used instead of lost through evaporation.
- Flowering ground cover produces beautiful blossoms in a range of stunning colors and shapes. These flowers accent pre-existing plants while producing pleasant fragrances for observers. Many of these fragrances are pleasant to people but disgusting to dear and other mammals. These odors repel the large pests that are notorious for ruining gardens by consuming precious flower blossoms.
- Numerous species of ground cover spread throughout an area of the garden quickly. This minimizes a gardener’s plant-cost while simultaneously rewarding its care-taker with rapid results. In addition, the plants ability to spread rapidly means that one could potentially populate an entire yard with ground cover species.
- Since there are countless species of ground cover, one may choose species’ which are adapted to every part of the garden. There is a species of ground cover suitable for poor soil, shaded areas, slopes and places of low precipitation.
Despite ground covers abundant advantages, there are a few disadvantages that one must consider. For example: insects, animals, and pests such as spiders, snakes, and slugs utilize thick groundcover as habitat. Although they do not explicitly attract these creatures, ground cover provides excellent habitat for them.
In addition, as ground cover becomes established in one’s garden it requires prudent care. Ground cover is known for its ability to smother weeds; however, before it is established it is susceptible to being out competed by them. Furthermore, if planted and ignored for several weeks, it can be confusing to tell the difference between one’s desirable ground cover and the weeds surrounding it.
Read this article if you're interested about how to grow any plant from seed.
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