13 Ground Cover Plants That Bloom Profusely

Ground cover plants — a quick note to anchor this piece for readers.

Ground cover plants: Quick notes

Turfgrass lawns, while they can be attractive, aren’t all that great for the environment. Non-native grasses require irrigation, fertilizers, and herbicides to maintain, which can be costly and harmful to wildlife. Instead of putting all that work and money into your lawn, why not plant a blooming ground cover?

Ground cover plants that bloom profusely are a joy to behold, and often, are great for wildlife, too. They tend to be great nectar sources and are often nitrogen-fixing. They prevent erosion, suppress undesirable weeds, and look beautiful doing it. 

Once established, flowering ground covers tend to be low-maintenance and require little in the way of resources. They often tolerate heat and drought better than turfgrass, and sometimes foot traffic as well. They soften pathways and add tons of color with minimal effort. Here are some of our favorite ground cover plants that bloom profusely. 

Oriental Nights Sweet Alyssum

Oriental Nights Sweet Alyssum Seeds

White Clover Alternative Lawn

Sparkle Blend Iceplant

Sparkle Blend Iceplant Seeds

Perennial Peanut

Spreads fast and thrives in heat and sun.

Perennial peanut is not native to the United States, but it’s well-suited as a ground cover in certain climates. In particular, this plant is great for Florida gardens, as it’s well-adapted to the local environment. It grows beautifully in zones 8-11, and has a quick, dense spreading habit. 

From spring through fall, perennial peanut blooms beautifully. Golden, pea-like blooms cover a carpet of dense, green leaves, which is pretty even when it’s not in bloom. It handles foot traffic well and typically reaches from six to 12 inches in height. It doesn’t require mowing and is highly drought-tolerant. 

Portulaca

Stays cheerful in rocky or sandy spots.

Portulaca, often called moss rose, are great little ground cover plants that blooms beautifully throughout the summer. In frost-free areas, you can grow it year-round. Elsewhere, plant this in the spring for a stunning summer display, and grow it as an annual. 

As a succulent, portulaca needs little care. It’s exceptionally heat-tolerant and performs best in hot, dry conditions. It also prefers gravelly or rocky soils, so it’s great for arid climates. It needs no fertilizer or mowing and grows quickly, forming a mat of succulent foliage and brilliant blooms. 

Blue Daze

Handles salt and sun with ease.

If blue blooms are your favorite, and you live in a warm climate, blue daze is a perfect ground cover for your garden. Even in cooler climates, you can grow this lovely ground cover as an annual. It’s particularly great for coastal gardens, as it appreciates sandy soil. It’s also salt-tolerant. 

Its soft, silvery foliage and mass of sky blue blooms are what make these favorite ground cover plants. It’s heat-tolerant and low-maintenance. It doesn’t require mowing or deadheading to keep it flowering. This one offers nearly continuous color throughout summer and fall. It’s a great pollinator plant, too. 

Creeping Thyme

Smells wonderful when stepped on.

Creeping thyme is a magical plant that blooms profusely, creating a carpet of pink, purple, or white in the garden. In addition to the flowers, creeping thyme also has fragrant foliage, and tolerates foot traffic excellently. When you walk on it, it releases its aroma! It blooms in late spring and early summer. 

Creeping thyme is a fantastic plant for temperate gardens. It’s cold-hardy and semi-evergreen as far north as zone 4. It’s also heat and drought-tolerant, and doesn’t mind poor soil. Plus, it’s a favorite for bees and butterflies, so it doubles as a pollinator attractor. 

Sedum

Stores water and stays bright in dry weather.

Sedum makes an excellent ground cover for a wide range of climates. It’s sturdy, drought-tolerant, and requires little maintenance. It also boasts colorful foliage and beautiful clusters of blooms that pollinators appreciate.

Not every sedum works for every climate, so make sure you plant the right one. And not every one is a ground cover plant that blooms. Ensure you’re working with one of those before planting.

Sedums are succulents, so they perform well in hot, dry, sunny locations where many ground covers fail. They require little to no maintenance once established. Many varieties bloom in the fall. They provide late-season color and a valuable nectar source for bees and butterflies.

Ice Plant

Adds bright color where other plants struggle.

Ice plant is another succulent plant that blooms and makes an excellent ground cover. It’s great for sunny, dry areas, and has year-round appeal in warm climates. Don’t let that stop you from planting it in cooler regions, though; it’s hardy to zone 5. 

The fleshy, succulent foliage has a glistening quality in the sunlight. This is where its common name comes from. It produces tons of brightly colored, daisy-like blooms from spring until fall. In warm climates, it can bloom nearly all year. It stays neat and attractive without much maintenance and doesn’t require fertilizer. 

Trailing Lantana

Roots as it spreads and covers slopes easily.

Trailing lantana is a fabulous blooming ground cover for warm climate gardens. It naturally hugs the ground and works excellently on slopes and in sunny areas. The trailing stems root where they touch the soil, and the fine foliage fills in well, creating a dense carpet. 

In terms of the blooms, trailing lantana is one of the longest-blooming on the list. It produces pretty clusters of flowers in lavender, white, yellow, or purple. Pollinators love them, especially butterflies. It needs little to no maintenance and is great at controlling erosion. 

Moss Verbena

Great for sunny slopes that need stabilizing.

Moss verbena is colorful and virtually carefree as a ground cover. This pretty plant has aromatic foliage and forms a veritable flowering carpet in the garden. It’s evergreen in frost-free climates, but the root will overwinter as far north as zone 7. Elsewhere, it’s an annual, but it’s fast-growing. 

The foliage is soft, lush, and airy with fine, fernlike leaves. It has a mossy feel and fills in quickly, forming a dense mat. It grows well in dry, sandy soil and is heat-tolerant. Plant this in sloped areas where erosion is an issue; it’s great for stabilizing soil. It blooms from spring until fall, so there is no shortage of flowers. 

Clover

Keeps soil rich and bees happy.

If you want truly carefree, beautiful ground cover plants that bloom and are beneficial for the soil and pollinators, clover is perfect. All types work for this purpose, but white and red clover are particularly effective and low-maintenance.

They can be invasive, so check to ensure the plant you’ve chosen is not before planting in your garden. These are low-growing, so there’s no need for mowing, and they are nitrogen-fixing, so they fertilize your soil!

Many types of clover are frost-tolerant, so in many places, it will remain green over the winter. Most bloom from spring until fall, and various types thrive in a wide range from zone 3 through 10. The blooms are an invaluable source of nectar for all kinds of native pollinators.

Creeping Phlox

Covers slopes fast and stays green all year.

Creeping phlox can turn a patch of soil into a fairy wonderland in no time. This is such a pretty and easy-going plant, it’s a wonder that it’s not the most popular plant at the garden center. The evergreen leaves form a dense mat that makes a perfect backdrop for thousands of tiny, star-shaped blooms. 

It’s incredibly durable for such a delicate-looking ground cover. Creeping phlox needs little care once established. It’s drought-tolerant, stabilizes soil, and does a great job of feeding pollinators, too! It will grow in full sun or partial shade and is cold-hardy all the way to zone 3. 

Sweet Alyssum

Attracts bees and keeps its color for months.

For a fabulous, fragrant ground cover that blooms for months, sweet alyssum is a wonderful choice. This low-growing plant has fine, soft foliage that stays low to the ground and creates a beautiful carpet. However, it’s the flowers that make this a special plant. 

Sweet alyssum is a profuse bloomer. The tiny blossoms are honey-scented and are exceptionally popular with pollinators. Native bees and honeybees adore them. While it’s only perennial in warm climates, it’s known to self-seed well. It blooms from spring until frost. 

Creeping Zinnia

Keeps color coming till the first frost.

This cheerful little plant is an excellent ground cover for frost-free climates. Elsewhere, it is a fast-growing annual with a low, spreading habit. It forms a dense carpet and blooms from late spring right up until the first frost. 

Creeping zinnia is one of the most floriferous low-growing ground covers you will find. It’s quite attractive to small butterflies, and blooms consistently, making it a great nectar source. Plant this in full sun, in well-draining soil. It tolerates poor and sandy soil types. 

Snow-in-Summer

Stays pretty with little water or fuss.

Snow-in-summer is a European native that likes dry, sunny conditions. It’s cold-hardy and drought-tolerant, so it tends to be low-maintenance. In warm climates, it may struggle, but there are plenty of warm-weather alternatives. This is one of the best ground cover plants for blooms in cooler regions. 

The foliage is silvery and semi-evergreen. It’s beautiful year-round in the southern reaches of its range. It’s an excellent erosion control, and doesn’t mind poor soil. Snow-in-summer isn’t a great nectar producer, but it blooms profusely in spring and summer.