Flowering Ground Cover Plants

The best flowering ground covers for most US yards are creeping phlox, creeping thyme, ice plant and sedum for sun, and ajuga, lamium, sweet woodruff and foamflower for shade. All are perennials that stay under about a foot tall, spread to knit together within two or three seasons, and cover the ground with color in spring or summer instead of bare mulch or struggling grass. Match the plant to your light, soil moisture and USDA zone, plant at the right spacing, and weed carefully until it fills in. Below is a quick chooser, then the standout species for sun, shade and purple flowers, followed by planting steps.

Part of our Flowers & Perennials guide →

In this guide

1. Quick Chooser
2. Flowering Ground Covers for Sun
3. Flowering Ground Covers for Shade
4. Purple Flowering Ground Covers
5. Best Picks by Problem Spot
6. How to Plant Flowering Ground Covers
7. Care and Maintenance
8. Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Chooser

Plant	Light	Approx. zones	Height	Bloom	Flower color
Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata)	Full sun	3 to 9	4 to 6 in	Mid to late spring	Purple, pink, white, blue
Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum, T. praecox)	Full sun	4 to 9	2 to 4 in	Early summer	Pink, purple, white
Hardy ice plant (Delosperma)	Full sun	5 or 6 to 10	2 to 4 in	Late spring to fall	Magenta, purple, yellow, orange
Creeping sedum (e.g., S. spurium)	Sun to light shade	3 to 9	3 to 6 in	Summer	Pink, red, yellow, white
Snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum)	Full sun	3 to 7	6 to 12 in	Late spring	White
‘Georgia Blue’ speedwell (Veronica peduncularis)	Sun to part shade	5 to 8	4 to 6 in	Spring	Blue-violet
Hardy geranium ‘Rozanne’	Sun to part shade	5 to 8	18 to 20 in	Late spring to frost	Violet-blue
Ajuga (Ajuga reptans)	Part to full shade	3 to 9	3 to 6 in (spikes taller)	Spring	Blue-purple
Lamium (Lamium maculatum)	Part to full shade	3 to 8	6 to 9 in	Spring to summer	Pink, purple, white
Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum)	Part to full shade	4 to 8	6 to 12 in	Spring	White
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)	Part to full shade	3 to 9	6 to 12 in	Spring	White, pale pink
Barrenwort (Epimedium)	Part to full shade, dry ok	5 to 8	8 to 12 in	Early spring	Yellow, pink, white, red

Zones and sizes are typical ranges and vary with cultivar and climate. For non-flowering options like pachysandra, ivy alternatives and walkable lawn substitutes, see our broader guide to ground cover plants.

Flowering Ground Covers for Sun

Creeping phlox

Creeping phlox, also called moss phlox, forms a needle-leaved evergreen mat that disappears under sheets of flowers for two to three weeks in spring. It is one of the best choices for slopes, rock walls and bed edges in full sun with good drainage. Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart. Shear lightly after flowering to keep mats dense. Our guide on creeping phlox covers varieties and care.

Creeping thyme

Creeping thyme is the flowering ground cover most tolerant of light foot traffic, which makes it the go-to between stepping stones and along paths. It covers itself in tiny pink, purple or white flowers in early summer, and bees love it. It needs sun and lean, sharply drained soil; rich, wet soil makes it rot. Space 8 to 12 inches apart. See how to grow creeping thyme for planting tips.

Hardy ice plant

Delosperma is a succulent ground cover with glittering, daisy-like flowers that can bloom from late spring into fall. It thrives on heat, sun and poor soil, and is a strong pick for the Southwest, Mountain West and hot south-facing slopes. Winter wet is its main enemy, so give it fast drainage. Space 12 to 18 inches apart.

Sedum (stonecrop)

Low creeping sedums such as two-row stonecrop (S. spurium) and ‘Angelina’ handle drought, heat and thin soil, and bloom in summer. Many have colorful foliage year-round. They root easily from pieces, which makes covering a large area inexpensive.

Snow-in-summer

Silver-gray woolly foliage topped with white flowers in late spring. It prefers cooler-summer climates and dry soil; in hot, humid regions it tends to melt out in midsummer. It can spread aggressively in ideal conditions, so keep it away from delicate neighbors.

Flowering Ground Covers for Shade

Ajuga (bugleweed)

Ajuga spreads by runners into a dense mat of glossy foliage, often bronze, burgundy or variegated, with blue-purple flower spikes in spring. It is excellent under trees and on shady slopes but can creep into lawns; edge it with a barrier. Space 6 to 12 inches apart. Ensure good airflow, since crown rot can hit in hot, humid, wet conditions.

Lamium (spotted dead nettle)

Silver-marked leaves brighten dark corners, and pink, purple or white flowers appear over a long season. Varieties such as ‘White Nancy’ and ‘Purple Dragon’ are reliable. Lamium tolerates dry shade better than many plants once established. Shear it back by half in midsummer if it gets leggy.

Sweet woodruff

Whorls of bright green leaves and starry white flowers in spring, with a sweet hay scent when dried. It spreads quickly in moist, rich shade and can be vigorous, so plant it where you want a lot of it.

Foamflower and epimedium

Foamflower, a native of eastern North American woodlands, sends up frothy white or pale pink spikes in spring over attractive lobed leaves; running types cover ground well in moist shade. Epimedium is slower to spread but tough: it handles dry shade under trees, one of the hardest spots in a garden, and flowers in early spring.

Purple Flowering Ground Covers

Purple is the most requested ground cover color, and several options above deliver it. In sun, choose purple creeping phlox cultivars, ‘Purple Carpet’ or other purple-flowered creeping thymes, and magenta-purple ice plants such as Delosperma cooperi. For a longer show, ‘Rozanne’ hardy geranium blooms violet-blue from late spring to frost and spreads into a wide mound, though at 18 inches or so it is taller than a true carpet. In part shade, ‘Georgia Blue’ speedwell gives intense blue-violet spring flowers, and ajuga’s purple spikes light up deep shade. Lamium ‘Purple Dragon’ adds purple flowers over silver leaves.

A note on vinca (periwinkle): Vinca minor has lovely blue-purple flowers and grows in shade, but it is considered invasive in parts of the eastern and midwestern US. Check your state’s invasive plant list before planting, and choose ajuga or a native alternative where it is listed.

Best Picks by Problem Spot

• Hot, dry slope: creeping phlox, hardy ice plant and creeping sedum. Plant through jute netting and mulch with gravel.
• Between stepping stones: creeping thyme, which tolerates light foot traffic and releases scent when brushed.
• Dry shade under trees: epimedium and lamium. Water well the first year while they compete with tree roots.
• Moist, rich shade: foamflower, sweet woodruff and ajuga.
• Strip along a driveway or sidewalk: sedum and creeping phlox, which handle reflected heat and some road salt better than lush shade plants.
• Replacing mulch in a shrub bed: lamium in shade, ‘Rozanne’ geranium or creeping phlox in sun, planted in the gaps between shrubs.
• Pollinator-friendly lawn edge: creeping thyme and creeping phlox, both heavily visited by bees in bloom.

How to Plant Flowering Ground Covers

1. Clear the area completely. Remove turf and perennial weeds, roots included. This is the most important step; weeds that come up through a young ground cover are hard to remove.
2. Loosen and amend. Loosen the top 6 to 8 inches. Add compost for shade plants; keep soil lean and gritty for thyme, ice plant and sedum.
3. Space plants in a staggered grid. Use 8 to 12 inches for fast, dense coverage with small plugs, 12 to 18 inches for larger plants. Closer spacing fills faster.
4. Plant at the same depth they grew in the pot and water thoroughly.
5. Mulch between plants with a thin layer, 1 to 2 inches, of fine shredded mulch or, for drought lovers, gravel. Keep mulch off crowns.
6. Water regularly the first season, then taper off for drought-tolerant species.

Spring and early fall are the best planting times in most regions. On slopes, plant through biodegradable jute netting to hold soil until roots take over.

Care and Maintenance

• Weed diligently for the first two seasons. After the canopy closes, weeds drop sharply.
• Shear after bloom for phlox, thyme, snow-in-summer and lamium to keep plants compact and encourage new growth.
• Divide or replant bare patches every few years; centers of some mats thin out over time.
• Feed lightly, if at all. Most ground covers prefer lean soil. A spring topdressing of compost suits shade plants.
• Contain spreaders. Edge beds with metal or stone where vigorous types like ajuga or sweet woodruff meet lawn.

Want something taller and more structural? Low, spreading shrub roses do the same job on sunny banks with bigger flowers; see our guide to ground cover roses. For more perennials to pair with your ground covers, explore the flowers and perennials guide.