My Best-Performing Groundcovers for Lawn Replacement, and More

Back in 2007 I started experimenting with other groundcovers –  to replace a tiny front lawn and also a 1,000-sf back lawn on a slope. I ditched my lawns for two very selfish reasons – because lawn mowing was a hassle I didn’t enjoy, especially on the hillside, and experimenting with alternatives would be super-fun to blog about!

Above you see my 10,000-sf lawn replacement on a slope, with fast-spreading Sedum sarmentosum that grows like a weed around here, and seeds of Dutch white clover. I loved it! But by the second year, the clover had used its greater height to smother and kill the poor sedum, the clover attracted deer from near and far, and in the winter it was dormant and really bad at slowing down stormwater.

Above, the small oval former lawn that I planted with Stepables, and reported my findings here – none of those plants made it into this list of best-performers.

(I’ve written about 22 articles about lawn replacements and better lawn care, which I’m collecting here in one spot, with updates.)

So for the lawn-reduction-curious, I’ve listed here my best-performing groundcovers because at least here in the East where we have plenty of rain (still),  bare ground must be covered or it’ll be quickly covered by weeds, mostly ones you don’t want.  So success in lawn reduction and even more so in whole-lawn replacement depends on finding great plants for your particular site.

My particular site is in the  DC area, hardiness zone 7B. After a whole lotta experimentation over these 17 years, I’ve had lots of failure but hey, it’s research!  Here’s what’s worked, with some caveats and admitted failures.

In Sunny Spots

My all-time favorite for spots with a few hours of sun and no foot traffic is the 3-4″ Sedum takesimense. All my garden visitors love the look, it performs perfectly, fills in enough to prevent weeds, and because it’s a succulent, I don’t have to water it, ever.  It’s even mostly evergreen, at least covering the ground all year – a quality I think real groundcovers should all have.

Despite all that, I’ve never seen it sold in a store or a catalogue and I can’t figure that out. I’m lucky that Green Roof Plants owner Ed Snodgrass gave me a flat of it years ago, and since then it’s been successful for me in three gardens.
Above, more of the Sedum, this time combined with squares of dwarf mondo grass (far too slow-growing for me to recommend it) and some creeping Jenny in the cracks.

Sunny or Shady Spots

Speaking of Creeping Jenny,  it thrives in shade and will survive in sun if watered during hot/dry periods (otherwise it’ll die in spots). Plus, its chartreuse leaves brighten any spot in the garden.

But there are two important but challenging spots in my garden where creeping Jenny is doing a better job than any other plant I’ve tried. First, in between flag stones on a slope, as in the photo above.  Is there any other plant short enough for walkways AND capable of being stepped on occasionally without harm? I tried just mulching between the flagstones but strong rains would send it all downhill. It’s even evergreen – in a less than perfect way but still, it covers the ground all year.

The other challenging spot I’m using creeping Jenny is for pathways among the shrubs and perennials in my borders. It’s soooo short and shallow-rooted, it  interferes with none of the nearby plants, and I can walk on it.  I cover other bare spots in my borders with wood chips.

I’m also a fan of Dwarf Comfrey (Symphytum grandiflorum)  for any amount of sun or shade. NC State says “It is best grown in a location providing full sun to part shade” but in my garden it’s fine with no direct sun at all. And in afternoon sun it needs some supplemental watering to get through hot/dry periods.

Interestingly, I learned that it’s popular in edible forest gardens and here’s why: “Called an accumulator, this plant gathers and stores nutrients from the soil that are in a more bioavailable form. It can then be used as a fertilizer when added to a compost pile.” And it’s evergreen, covering the ground all year long.

And here’s one more item from NC State, about its wildlife value: “It is pollinated by bumblebees, honey bees, and mason bees.” Well, the pollinator-counters in my garden would call that a huge understatement because it’s the single-most pollinator-covered plant I’ve ever seen in a spring garden, and its blooms last weeks and weeks, during which I spend hours sitting near them just so I can enjoy the buzz.

On the down side, and I finally found one, it’s one of those groundcovers that spreads accommodatingly…until you notice it’s crowding out some plants you’d like to keep alive. So having learned my lesson, I’m growing less of it and only where I can keep an eye on the stuff.  Unlike periwinkle, which also proved to be too thuggish in borders, this one I’ll keep enough of to enjoy in spring.

For Shade

Another aggressive spreader is a regional woodland native here in Maryland – Packera aurea (one of several common names is golden groundsel). I love its evergreen leaves, its golden 3-foot-tall blooms in spring (as long as it’s not near azaleas, which bloom at the same time and to my eyes, clash), and its habit of spreading aggressively. That vigorous growth means it covers quickly and because its roots are shallow, it’s easy-peasy to remove when it’s spread too far. 

Lately I’ve been hand-watering it places that get direct sun because it’s struggling in the extreme heat and drought we’re experiencing. No biggie.

For Difficult Spots

I don’t know anyone who professes a love for Liriope, especially the creeping kind (L. picata), but it’s hard to beat its performance –  filling in fast, super-drought-tolerant, no need to cut yearly (as some people do, anyway), fully evergreen, and great at both preventing weeds and sopping up stormwater.  In the front yard above it replaces most of the lawn.  With its thick root masses, Liriope can be divided and moved around at will.  I don’t know of any plant faster at stabilizing hillsides.

Back when I was a DC Master Gardener I remember that the UDC’s study of plants for tree boxes resulted in Liriope being declared the best performer. Talk about a difficult spot!

Finally, here’s some ‘Ice Dance’ Carex, which is often mistaken for variegated Liriope.  Like Liriope, it’ll tolerate being divided and planted any time, it’s evergreen, stays short, and is virtually trouble-free.  Just one caveat – as drought-tolerant as it is, I’ve seen it die after long droughts where it’s growing in sunny spots.

Okay, one more caveat. Like Liriope, I’ve learned to keep Carex away from more delicate perennials.  Here, used to edge an island bed, and away from direct sun, it only needs me to remove invasions into the nearby lawn about one a year.  Like Liriope, when it’s grown by itself in a hell strip or urban tree box, it’s even less work.

Replacing Lawn with Garden

Well, that’s my groundcover roundup, but it takes more than a few groundcovers to replace a lawn altogether, in which case shrubs, perennials, paths, and seating can be used to turn a lawn into a garden.  It’s incredibly rewarding!

Of course, it’s much easier to do this with a small yard, like the ones at the townhouse I moved into 12 years ago. In front and back, I replaced lawn with flagstone patios, small trees, shrubs, perennials, pots and vines growing on wires.  Above is the front garden, where I LOVE to sit and even more so lately since I added two bird baths!

And here in the back, no lawn, just borders, a patio (off-camera) and a pathway.

Results may vary -what are yours?

If you’ve experimented with groundcovers for lawn replacement or any other situation, what were your results?