Native groundcover plants
Bare mulch is a yearly expense that feeds nothing. These natives spread to cover ground on their own — a living mulch that shades out weed seed, holds soil, and shelters the ground-nesting insects that most gardens have nowhere for. Spreading is the point, so plant them where the spread is welcome and give them a hard edge if it isn't.
Bedfellow lists 163 of these.
The 30 most-observed are listed here — see all 163 in search.
- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
- Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
- Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
- Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
- Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)
- Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)
- Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)
- Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)
- Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)
- Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)
- Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
- Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron)
- Purple Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
- Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
- Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
- Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora)
- Beavertail Prickly Pear (Opuntia basilaris)
- Starflower (Trientalis borealis)
- Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum)
- Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
- Carolina Snailseed (Cocculus carolinus)
- Lizard's Tail (Saururus cernuus)
- Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata)
- Creeping Oregon Grape (Mahonia repens)
- Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)
- White Trout Lily (Erythronium albidum)
- Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
- Seaside Heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum)
- Groundnut (Apios americana)
- Woodland Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)