I love ground covers! I did not realize until recently that there is so much to be learned about this topic.

The universal ground cover is, of course, turfgrass. People have been using grasses of one sort or another for centuries. The most important role ground covers play is to prevent erosion, as the fibrous roots hold soil well. We will discuss the gardener’s purpose of ground covers, and identify the wide varieties of them to choose from.

Many ground covers are less than a foot tall, so beautiful flowers or shrubs are enhanced in this backdrop of color of your choice. They come in many colors, textures and sizes: herbaceous or woody; clumps or running; or spreading out. They help define the space — whether a bed, walk or driveway.

Fall is the best time to clean your beds and add ground covers. Then, they have an opportunity to establish roots before winter. Work up the soil and add amendments according to the soil test results. Then lay out your covering plants, staggering them to fill in well. As they fill in, maintenance is simple, as you pull any stray weeds, water and care for the bed in general.

Now for some of my personal choices:

• Wild Ginger — a beautiful plant with bright green, round leaves like miniature shiny waterlilies. They stand about 5 inches tall and tend to mound. This is one of many native ground covers.

• Bugleweed — comes in many colors. I have a variegated form with the prominent color as pink, but bronze and plain green are beautiful as well. This is a native plant for Ohio.

• Lamium or Dead Nettle — an early bloomer. The green or green and white leaves are very attractive, but it is the pink flowers the bees are interested in!

• Lungwort — a beautiful plant with green leaves with silver blotches and green veins in clumps that send up tall spikes of pink flowers that age into periwinkle blue.

• Barronwort — spade-shaped leaves and small orchid-like flowers comprise some 15 or more varieties. One has red around the spade edging and is gorgeous! This one looks delicate but is hardy if treated well.

Sedums can be ground covers but many must be trimmed up midway through summer, as they can get leggy. Some bloom yellow, red and white and attract pollinators.

Sweet woodruff is actually an edible herb used in teas, wines and syrups. Its beauty has been pictured as the understory of a beautiful woods.

Creeping Jenny comes in green and a lime color. This plant acts like a vine, running along the ground, between rocks and around trees.

Other ground covers include mondo grasses, liriope, little blue stem, coral bells and sedges. All of these will enhance whatever you plant in your garden.

Hughes is an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in Mahoning County.