Ground cover plants are an under-rated type of plant in my opinion. I think this is mainly because they aren’t over the top showy and colourful, they are small and almost out of sight due to being at ground level and often considered weeds as they creep along the ground as they grow. Some of my favourite plants are ground covers because they are more subtle that many plants.

What is a ground covers?

A ground cover is a plant that grows at ground level and spreads across the floor as it does so, rather than up towards the sky. They don’t get tall, they spread instead.

What is erosion, why it’s an issue and why should we care?

Erosion is where the topsoil is removed through rain washing it away or wind blowing it away. This can be helped by us through ploughing or digging the soil or by leaving it bare.

Erosion is a huge issue all over the world, especially around farming from what I have read. This is because the topsoil is where plants grow, soil life lives and where we grow our food-probably the most important aspect of this issue for people. Without top soil we don’t have anything at all-yes, it sounds grim but it’s true.

We should care because we all need to eat food. Added to this point, we can care about wildlife, and plants that look pretty and because I, for one, don’t want to live in a world of grey concrete!

How do ground covers help to prevent erosion?

Ground covers have lots of fine roots close to the soil surface. Plant roots do hold the soil together, the finer the better for this job.

Along with this is the fact that because these plants are on the ground, they cover the soil-obvious statement, but gets missed because it is obvious. This reduces the impact of the rain as it falls and covers a lot of the soil and stops wind picking up the soil.

Do note that all plants will hep in this as they all have fine roots, have leaves that slow rain and all plants drop leaves at some point (protecting soil this way). Where ground covers are great is that they grow and spread across the soil and cover it in the process.

Do think about choosing some ground-cover plants as a valuable addition to your garden. The wider the range of plants in your garden the better it is.

How can you do something helpful to help solve this erosion problem?

The main thing is to have plants growing in your garden, to the point where you can’t see the soil. It can be grass, shrubs, annuals or veg as well as ground cover plants.

Yes, your own garden is not a large area and not the main source of soil erosion but we all have a responsibility to look after our land if we have some to look after. Plant some ‘pretty plants’ to cover the soil and you benefit as well the soil!

Are there any other ‘benefits’ to ground covers?

These plants are often really pretty. The flowers attract all sorts of bees, butterflies and other critters to your garden.

Trees are great, as are shrubs, perennials, annuals and any other grouping you want to shout out, but a few ground cover plants can add a finishing touch to your garden.

Conclusion

Ground cover plants look great, attract wildlife, and finish off a garden as well as protecting soil. We can all do a little to help prevent soil erosion and do something positive-always a good thing!