30 Best Ground Cover Plants for a Protected Lawn

This fragrant plant is a classic garden filler for good reason! There are many types of this pretty perennial, all of which require full sun to thrive. Lavender most commonly opens purple blooms in the summer, but also comes in pink and white colors.

Zones: 5 to 11

Care requirements: Full sun; well-draining soil

Also known as "pinks" for their edges that look as if they were trimmed with pinking shears, these sweet perennials are part of the carnation family! They emit a vanilla-like, clove-like scent and grow slowly in dense mats. There are lots of varieties of this gorgeous ground cover plant, which range anywhere from six inches to two feet tall.

Zones: 3 to 8

Care requirements: Full sun; well-draining soil

If you're looking for low-maintenance ground covers, succulents like hens and chicks (Sempervivum spp.) are a great option. These drought-tolerant plants make the perfect addition to rock gardens as well as hot, sunny patches of your garden.

Zones: 3 to 9

Care requirements: Full sun; well-draining soil

Commonly found in cottage-style gardens, this charming perennial collects dewdrops and raindrops on its foliage that sparkle in the morning light. The tiny chartreuse blooms emerge anytime from late spring to early summer and add stunning ground coverage when planted in large clusters.

Zones: 4 to 7

Care requirements: Full to part sun; well-draining soil

This shade-loving fern is known for its silvery fronds with maroon accents! The feathery plants are slow to grow, but once they do, they're sure to add a mystical effect to your garden.

Zones: 3 to 8

Care requirements: Full shade; well-draining soil

Creeping thyme hugs the ground and doesn’t mind hot, sunny areas with poor soil (in fact, it needs full sun). It forms a dense mat that spreads quickly. It also has pretty pink, white or purple flowers in late spring and early summer that pollinators love. Plus, it’s edible!

Zones: 4 to 9

Care requirements: Part to full sun; well-draining soil

This low-growing vining plant grows quickly, and it has white, pink or purple flowers in spring. It comes in both solid-colored and variegated foliage. It’s adaptable to most conditions and takes full sun to mostly shade.

Zones: 4 to 9

Care requirements: Part sun to full shade; to full sun; moist, well-draining soil

There are many different varieties of stonecrop but creeping types make a beautiful ground cover. This succulent is heat and drought tolerant once established, and most types also have tiny blooms in early summer.

Zones: 3 to 9

Care requirements: Part to full sun; well-draining soil

Cranesbill has attractive foliage with a minty-spicy scent that rabbits and deer don’t like. It also boasts pretty, delicate flowers in mid to late spring; some types bloom sporadically all growing season. It adapts to either full sun or mostly shade.

Zones: 4 to 8

Care requirements: Part to full sun; well-draining soil

Autumn ferns have beautiful striping that light up shady areas of your garden. They spread quickly, and deer and rabbits tend to leave them alone. Just be sure to plant them in an area with full shade.

Zones: 4 to 9

Care requirements: Part sun to full shade; well-draining soil

Bugleweed forms a low-growing mat of green or burgundy foliage with pink or purple spikes of flowers in early summer. It's easy to grow since it adapts to most conditions including full sun to full shade.

Zones: 3 to 9

Care requirements: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-draining soil

Pachysandra has glossy green foliage and tiny white flowers. It will spread nicely, even under mature trees. When planting, keep in mind that it needs part sun to shade.

Zones: 4 to 9

Care requirements: Part sun to full shade; moist, well-draining soil

A mat of thick green foliage is topped by delicate orchid-like white or purple flowers in late spring. It’s a lovely ground cover, which also can handle some foot traffic.

Zones: 5 to 8

Care requirements: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-draining soil

Lily of the valley has glossy green foliage with tiny white or pinkish flowers that dangle like bells from graceful stems. It is an extremely fast-grower, and it’s also aggressive, so plant it where it in a shady area where can be contained (or it will take over your garden), such as up against a sidewalk.

Zones: 3 to 9

Care requirements: Part sun to full shade; moist, well-draining soil

Tiny green leaves and soft blue blooms make this a pretty alternative to lawns. It handles foot traffic and is easy to care for in full to part sun. Plus, rabbits and deer will leave it alone.

Zones: 6 to 8

Care requirements: Full sun to part shade; moist, well-draining soil

Heuchera, also called coral bells, comes in every color of the rainbow from lime green to dark burgundy. The frilled foliage is attractive on its own, but it also sends up delicate spikes of dainty flowers, which hummingbirds love, in mid summer. Heuchera can take full shade to full sun, but its best color comes with some sun.

Zones: 4 to 9

Care requirements: Part sun to full shade; moist, well-draining soil

Sedge is super-hardy with long, strappy leaves that make it attractive when massed in clumps. It needs part sun to full shade.

Zones: 5 to 9

Care requirements: Part sun to full shade; moist, well-draining soil

This low-growing evergreen shrub is super cold-hardy, down to USDA Hardiness zone 2. It has a lush green color in spring and summer that darkens to an attractive bronze-y sheen in winter. It needs part to full sun.

Zones: 2 to 7

Care requirements: Full sun; moist, well-draining soil

Clumps of grassy foliage that’s four to six inches tall makes this a fun, textural ground cover that requires almost zero care. It tolerates both sun and shade.

Zones: 2 to 7

Care requirements: Full sun to full shade; well-draining soil

This low-growing evergreen is another great choice if you want year-round color. It doesn’t mind poor soils and part to full sun, and many types have a handsome blue-ish color, too.

Zones: 3 to 9

Care requirements: Full sun; well-draining soil