Covering Ground: Unexpected Ideas for Landscaping with Colorful Low-Maintenance Ground Covers

by Barbara W. Ellis

Overview

Ground covers are a pretty and practical way to bring diversity, elegance, and durability to open sweeps of lawn. Give your landscape a vibrant new palette that is both sustainable and low-maintenance through plantings of herbs, shrubs, mosses, and more. Barbara W. Ellis provides a variety of full-color lawn designs and professional planting advice to get you started. You’ll be amazed as your ordinary lawn transforms into a striking display of color and texture. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580176651
Publisher:	Storey Books
Publication date:	07/30/2007
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	210,537
Product dimensions:	9.25(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Barbara W. Ellis is a freelance writer, editor, and lifelong gardener. She is the author of many gardening books, including The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book, Deckscaping, Shady Retreats, and Covering Ground. She holds a B.S. in horticulture from the Ohio State University, Columbus, and a B.A. from Kenyon College. She has worked as managing editor at Rodale Press and as publications director for the American Horticultural Society and is affiliated with the Hardy Plant Society Mid-Atlantic Group, the Garden Writers Association, and the Perennial Plant Association. She lives and gardens in Maryland, where she and her husband live in a renovated “green” home with an assortment of rescued dogs, cats, and parrots. Her garden, which is managed organically and designed to be wildlife-friendly, features a wide range of ornamentals, herbs, and edibles for both sun and shade.

Table of Contents

Getting Creative with Ground Covers

Part One: Rolling Out the Carpet
Why Ground Covers?
Making the Most of Ground Covers
Addressing Problem Spots
Knowing Your Site
Plant Selection
Creating Combinations
Going Wild
Aggressive & Invasive Ground Covers
Covering Ground with Hardscape

Part Two: Perfect Plants for Every Site
Active Spreaders for Sun & Shade
Sun Lovers for a Patterned Garden
Ground Huggers for Paths & Stepping Stones
Small-Scale Spreaders
Perennials for Bold Cover in Sun
Ground Covers for a Sunny Slope
Vines for Covering Ground
Shrubby Ground Covers for Sun & Shade
Selections for Shade
Flowering Ground Covers for Shade
Native Plants for a Woodland Floor
Ground Covers for Wet Soil
Ground Covers for Acid Soil

Part Three: Planting, Growing & Propagating
Site Preparation Basics
Buying & Installing Ground Covers
Planting on Slopes
Planting over Time
Caring for New Plants
Renovating Ground Covers
Growing Your Own

USDA Hardiness Zone Map
Photography & Garden Design Credits
Resources
Index

Editorial Reviews

Barbara W. Ellis transforms yards into flowering pieces of art…offering low-maintenance schemes, plant combinations, and in-depth advice on nurturing verdant landscapes.”

Home Magazine

“Covering Ground will inspire with its wonderful possibilities for creating eye-catching color and texture in unexpected places. Ellis has the answers to the toughest garden situations…”

East Coast Gardener

“If you’re making the decision to get rid of some water-thirsty lawn, here’s help. Here are plenty of alternatives, as simple or as show as you want, for sun or shade, around pavers, along edges, fragrant or not, fast- or slow-growing, high- or low-maintenance.”

St. Petersburg Times

“There's life beyond lawn grass, and even beyond English ivy and pachysandra. You'll find lots of good ideas in Covering Ground.”

Chicago Tribune

“Barbara Ellis … elevates utilitarian ground cover plants to garden stars.”

McClatchy News Service

From the Publisher