Mulch is great—but living groundcovers can do the job even better. In today’s video, we’re exploring 10 beautiful, low-maintenance groundcovers that naturally replace mulch while adding color, texture, and year-round interest to your garden beds.
These plants suppress weeds, cool the soil, reduce watering needs, and create a more vibrant, cohesive look than traditional bark mulch. From sun-loving options to shade performers, each groundcover on this list spreads neatly, fills in gaps quickly, and brings a polished, professional finish to any landscape.
Whether you want softness around stepping stones, continuous color at the front of borders, or a lush carpet that ties your planting beds together, these groundcovers are reliable, hardy, and perfect for gardeners who want beauty with less work. They’re ideal for small gardens, walkway edges, foundation beds, and drought-tolerant landscapes.
If you’re ready to upgrade from mulch to living, low-effort coverage that looks good in every season, these 10 groundcovers will transform your garden with minimal upkeep. 🌿✨
Tell me in the comments which one you’re excited to try!
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47 Comments
Thank you, SUPER!!👌👍
I hv added candytuft, creeping plox, lambs ear in my garden. I dont see weed growth in the areas where these plants live as well.
Every spring I rip out most of my creeping Jenny so it won't take over. It still needs to be threatened because it bounces back so fast. Don't let it get into your grass.
Be careful as some of the ground covers mentioned are considered invasive in some areas like the Corsican Mint is invasive in Ontario Canada.
This was very helpful.❤
I have a few of these groundcovers and still get weeds growing through them. Sweet woodruff, creeping thyme, wholly thyme and stonecrop are the ones I have. Yes they form a dense mat but that mat makes it difficult to pull out the weeds at the root. I had to rip out all my thyme because the weeds became denser than the groundcover. Notice that below the video there are links to the plants they recommend. The video is an ad for these products. I'm not saying that they aren't worth planting. Just do your research before filling your garden and being disappointed when the claims aren't what you expect.
With all the information you provide, it is surprising that you do not mention the hardiness zones for these plants.
Latium, creeping Jenny? Argg, they are a nightmare. Spreading until it is everywhere. Do your research. Ajuga is another one. Run!
They’re all very pretty but would never last a summer in southern Arizona unfortunately
TIME not thyme
I have a huge patch of Blue Bpruce Sedum which is a dark grey green version of Angelina. I fine it very shade tolerant.
This whole assinine video is made by a bot, which won't even tell you what state or zone this plants grow best in.
I use beach strawberry, no fruits but beautiful white flowers in spring. It can get a bit overgrown after a few years but is easy to thin out. It has saved me thousands of dollars and much less work than replenishing mulch.
Please don't suggest invasive species!
Whether they are invasive depends on where you live, and where you place them.
FYI, depending upon where you live, many of these plants (like Creeping Jenny,Ajuga, Lamium…) are *highly invasive*.
Always check that a ground cover is not invasive to where YOU live.
Ground covers are, by nature, very aggressive growers and can spread much farther than intended.
In my local nature reserve, we are fighting creeping Jenny, ajuga, Lamium, and Siberian Squill.
You can literally follow the thickets and paths growing back to the original yards they escaped from 😢
What about snakes hiding underneath.
I have in 2024 i had a custom built Farmhouse style Covered Chicken coop built . Its on top of a hill. I planted Creeping Jenny on the the hill. I planted 100 plugs. Its going to be beautiful.
I also have A Jugo its planted in a 14×280 ft Hydrangea bed coming up our driveway. Im not sure how many plugs was planted but its a lot. I have area's in my landscaping i prefer mulch & area's where ground cover works better. Please note Pollinators love ground covers.
FYI you are a complete troll and co-op of the lies in sources of the wiping out of the tartarian era reset and the plants are still All for our food and The food of the universe's other inhabitants
Deer LOVE creeping Jenny🦌🦌🦌
The mispronouncing the plant names drives me nuts
I have a few shady spots where traditional mulch always looks patchy. Learning about Lamium Beacon Silver and Sweet Woodruff was a game-changer! I love how the shimmering silver leaves can brighten dark corners while providing a consistent, elegant woodland feel. Thank you for these beautiful alternatives!
Creeping Jenny is invasive.
Beautiful ground cover, but 90% of homes can’t get their yards to look like this
I tried 3 different ground covers including creeping thyme which I loved as a plant but none of them survived after I stopped watering them every day even though they had gotten well established. They did not do well with full sun and hot weather and I was not going to water my pathways every day. Waste of money in southern Oregon anyway.
These plants look lovely but the big advantage of mulch is it doesn’t need water. I like the thyme but to get it to cover that much area would take a lot of water. Seeing those hydrangeas in the background I think this is in a cooler climate.
Top-tier content! 'Stop mulching and start planting' is officially my new garden motto. These options are way more aesthetic and low-maintenance in the long run. Thanks for the inspiration!
The best ground cover I’ve ever used was Beacon Silver, specifically the pink variety. The yellow didn’t spread very far and the purplish one was slow. The pink one filled in fast and didn’t allow any weeds. If it went were I didn’t want it, it was very easy to pull.
Some of these plants can take over your yard! Beware and research first!
Perfect video for exactly what I’m looking for🥰🥰🥰
Do some research before planting any of these. Some of them are listed as invasive in some states and can easily escape into natural areas. They are beautiful, but just be mindful.
Every one of these plants are considered invasive in 7b except for one.
Sorry if this question was answered earlier… What is the formula for how much ground cover plants to purchase per square footage of area to plant them? I live in Zone 8, PNW. Love all of the options you mentioned here, but which one would you suggest for our zone. Thank you!
Angelina is more sensitive than most other sedums. My were eaten by chickens – other sedums came back, angelina didn't.
Creeping jenny is not much help here. It will creep under the weeds and survive, but so will the weeds.
Masus reptans is perfect – for wet spaces.
Loved this! Subscribed.
The concept of using living, ground covering plants, instead of mulch is a sound one, because as they do hold moisture in the ground, and they help prevent weeds from growing. However, none of these plants are native to the U.S. and they are taking up space in the garden which could be planted with equally beautiful, and far more beneficial native plants. Note, as the comment below says, this video is actually an ad to sell these plants. But many are considered invasive in the Mid-Atlantic, meaning they out compete native alternatives, and they are highly aggressive invading lawns, especially, Creeping Jenny, Ajuga, and anything in the mint family.
Already have some creeping thyme and had lamium in our old woodsy back yard (spreads well and looks beautiful- stands up to dogs) but I would like to try blue star creeper and the rest in my large flower bed! Thank you!
I don't use creeping thyme or wooly thyme….I use elfin thyme…no trimming needed ever. Creeping Jenny is considered highly invasive and hard to eradicate. So I avoid it. Maybe if it is completely surrounded by sidewalks, the home foundation etc.?? I do love my "beacon silver" though 🙂 Thanks for mentioning corsic mint….would love to try that. I use blue star creeper in a large area between my house and sidewalk. EVERYONE notices it and wants to know what it is.
My issue is what wildlife will eat these plants. Living in a rural area in Connecticut, I have rabbit and deer issues galore. I planted creeping phlox for years and was doing great for mulch replacement until i discovered one rabbit devouring these plants in a single season along with my daylilies.
I have to check the invasive species website for Hawaii. Beautiful for top of lava yatd
Creeping Jenny is a listed invasive species in many states! Please only plant it in containers.
These photos are ridiculously AI’d. Any gardener knows that there are no shortcuts as pictured. Also many of these groundcovers are highly invasive and destroy natural habitats. Creeping Jenny is terrible for the environment!!
Well detailed ❤
Stunning