If you’re looking for a low-maintenance, beautiful way to fill in your garden’s bare spots, ground cover plants are the perfect solution. Even better are perennial ground covers that return every year, saving you the trouble of replanting while keeping your landscape lush and vibrant. From cascading blooms to textured foliage, these hardy plants offer color, charm, and weed suppression all season long. Here are 10 unique ground cover plants that come back year after year to enhance your garden naturally.
1. Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’)
Creeping Jenny is a charming, fast-spreading ground cover known for its trailing stems of rounded, golden-yellow leaves. Perfect for brightening shady or partially sunny areas, this perennial creates a stunning carpet that turns a rich bronze in fall. Its yellow flowers in early summer are a cheerful bonus. Creeping Jenny thrives around stepping stones, hanging baskets, or cascading over retaining walls. It prefers moist, well-drained soil and will return reliably each spring, making it a garden favorite for low-maintenance beauty.
2. Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)
Bugleweed is a tough and versatile ground cover that forms dense mats of glossy, often purplish leaves. In spring, it sends up short spikes of deep blue, violet, or purple flowers that attract bees and butterflies. This hardy perennial tolerates a range of light conditions from full sun to deep shade and works wonderfully beneath trees where grass won’t grow. Its rich foliage color provides visual interest year-round, and it naturally suppresses weeds while returning stronger each year.
3. Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
Sweet Woodruff is an elegant ground cover that flourishes in shaded, woodland gardens. Its delicate whorls of star-shaped, deep green leaves and fragrant, tiny white flowers bloom in late spring. Not only is it visually charming, but its dried leaves release a sweet, hay-like scent often used in potpourri. This perennial prefers moist, rich soil and will happily carpet areas beneath trees or along shaded borders. It spreads gently and returns reliably every year with little to no fuss.
4. Sedum (Sedum spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood’)
Known for its rich, reddish-purple foliage, ‘Dragon’s Blood’ Sedum is a hardy ground cover that thrives in poor soil and full sun. It forms dense mats of succulent leaves that turn a fiery crimson in fall. Clusters of bright pink to red star-shaped flowers bloom in summer, attracting pollinators to your garden. It’s drought-tolerant and thrives on neglect, making it perfect for rock gardens, slopes, or dry areas. This sedum returns every year, adding a bold splash of color and texture.
5. Lilyturf (Liriope muscari)
Lilyturf, often mistaken for an ornamental grass, is a perennial ground cover with arching, grass-like foliage and spikes of violet-purple flowers in late summer. Its dark green leaves remain attractive throughout the seasons, and its clumping nature makes it a popular choice for borders, pathways, and shaded areas. Tough and drought-tolerant once established, Lilyturf suppresses weeds effectively and requires minimal upkeep. It comes back each year, offering both beauty and functionality in even the most challenging garden spots.
6. Corsican Mint (Mentha requienii)
Corsican Mint is a tiny, aromatic ground cover with petite, rounded green leaves that release a refreshing peppermint scent when stepped on. In summer, it produces small, lavender-pink flowers, adding subtle charm to garden paths and patios. Preferring partial shade and moist, well-drained soil, this perennial mint is perfect for filling cracks between stepping stones or softening borders. It returns yearly and spreads gently, making it a delightful and fragrant alternative to grass in intimate garden spaces.
7. Woolly Thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus)
For a drought-tolerant, textured ground cover, Woolly Thyme is a wonderful pick. Its tiny, fuzzy, gray-green leaves create a soft, dense carpet that’s both deer-resistant and tough underfoot. In summer, it’s adorned with clusters of pink to lavender flowers that attract bees and butterflies. This hardy perennial thrives in sunny, well-drained spots, including rock gardens and between pavers. Returning each year, Woolly Thyme adds fragrance, charm, and resilience to small garden areas or sun-drenched slopes.
8. Pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis)
A classic choice for shaded spots, Pachysandra forms lush, evergreen carpets of glossy green leaves. In early spring, it produces tiny white flowers that add a delicate touch before the foliage fills out fully. This hardy, shade-loving perennial spreads steadily through underground runners, making it perfect for under trees or on shaded banks. Pachysandra requires minimal care once established, returning year after year while suppressing weeds and creating a serene, uniform ground cover in difficult-to-plant areas.
9. Deadnettle (Lamium maculatum ‘Purple Dragon’)
With its striking silver-mottled foliage and bright purple flowers, ‘Purple Dragon’ Deadnettle is a standout ground cover for shaded gardens. Blooming from spring through summer, it’s perfect for brightening dark corners while providing nectar for pollinators. Its trailing stems quickly form dense mats, and its foliage remains attractive even after the flowers fade. This hardy perennial prefers moist, well-drained soil and partial to full shade. Deadnettle returns reliably each year, adding color, texture, and resilience to any woodland-inspired garden.
10. Mazus (Mazus reptans)
Mazus is a delicate, yet tough, creeping ground cover that thrives in damp, shady to sunny spots. It forms a dense, low-growing mat of tiny green leaves and produces lovely, tubular lavender-blue flowers with yellow and white markings in late spring to early summer. Perfect for between stepping stones, around ponds, or in shaded borders, this perennial spreads gently and returns year after year. Mazus is easy to care for, fast-growing, and adds a charming softness to garden floors.