August 16, 2016

10 Southwest Native Ground Covers

Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana)

Most of us are familiar with the idea of using ground covers in the landscape and how they can add a welcome carpet of color.

Goodding’s Verbena (Glandularia gooddingii)

But, you may be surprised to find that they serve another purpose that is especially appreciated in hot climates. Ground covers help to reduce the heat from the sun. They do this by preventing the sun from heating up the ground that they cover. When the ground heats up, it absorbs heat only to re-radiate it outward. So, using ground covers is just one way to help cool down the landscape by a degree or two.

I recently shared my favorite 10 native Southwestern ground covers in my latest article for Houzz.

10 Native Ground Covers for Southwestern Landscapes

What is your favorite ground cover?

Comments

Jedidja says

August 25, 2016 at 9:26 am

My favorite groundcover is Lavender ( Western Europe). I love to read about your plants. It's interesting! http://momentsfrozentime.blogspot.nl/

The plant tips and guidelines in this blog are primarily geared towards the gardener in the desert southwest. These tips come from a combination of my degree in horticulture and my 18 years of working as a horticulturist in the Southwest where I managed & designed landscapes in a 9a zone.

One thing I have learned is that there are often exceptions to the rule in regards to plant behavior. Plants are living things and do not always act the way we expect them too. Some plants thrive where they should not, grow larger or smaller, fail to thrive and in general ignoring the published information that says otherwise. Gardening isn't an exact science, but it is an exciting journey.

10 Southwest Native Ground Covers

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