Green and Gold
Chrysogonum virginianum
Green and gold is one of the few native groundcovers that genuinely flowers all season, opening five-petaled golden stars in April and continuing on and off until frost, heaviest in spring. It knits slowly into a low evergreen mat by short runners that root as they go, dense enough to suppress weeds once closed but never fast enough to become a problem itself. The foliage is a soft hairy green that holds through winter in the South and looks rough by late winter further north, recovering quickly. It wants dappled shade and moisture; full sun burns it and dry shade stalls it. Small bees and butterflies work the flowers steadily, unusual for a groundcover, and it suits the front of a woodland path where it can be seen close up.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 0.5–1 ft
- Spacing
- 0.75–1.5 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- April, May, June, July, August, September, October
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies, songbirds
- Landscape uses
- border, naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, DC, FL, GA, KY, MD, MS, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV