2/01-05 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information contact: Christine Kelleher, 800-321-9753, Ext. 512, or Gary Doerr, 916-716-1889

Too many gardeners spread mounds of wood chips, shredded hemlock and even dyed scrap wood between their favorite perennials to smother weeds, conserve moisture and provide a uniform background. Problem is, the resulting look is so uniform that it stifles the senses in subdivisions from Daytona to Duluth.

Why not try something different?

Groundcover plants create living mulches with all the benefits of bark plus the beauty of flowers and foliage. The horticultural workhorses shade soil in summer, conserving precious moisture. And they block out sunlight, helping to stifle pesky weeds. Most importantly, they spread wider and thicker every year – a trick that can't be matched by even the best of bark mulches. There are groundcover shrubs, vines, grasses and evergreens, but some of the most attractive and versatile plants for flower gardens are low-growing perennials.

To get the most from a perennial groundcover, select a plant that's suited to both your climate and growing conditions – sun or shade, dry soil or moist.

One superb low-growing perennial for full sun or partial shade is Fragaria. Fragaria 'Red Ruby,' a diminutive spreading strawberry from Blooms of Bressingham, reaches 5 inches tall but each plant spreads to 24 inches wide, with glossy foliage and delicate ruby-red flowers. If you prefer pink, try Fragaria ‘Pink Panda’. Numerous runners can be trimmed to keep the strawberries from spreading, but if you want it to cover space, just let the runners take root. 'Red Ruby' and ‘Pink Panda’ are fine complements to Ornamental Grasses, Delphinium and Violet Sage.

Serbian Bellflowers, Campanula poscharskyana, are low, mat-forming creepers. A new variety from Blooms of Bressingham, ‘Blue Waterfall’, has a profusion of bell-shaped deep blue flowers that bloom in profusion from the center of the plant. The cascading flowers are perfect along walls or slopes and for the front of the border. The main flowering period is early to midsummer with some repeat flowering in fall.

Bergenia is an outstanding plant for all seasons, offering glossy semi-evergreen foliage and colorful flowers in spring. It's best home is at the front of a border where its thick, leathery foliage smothers weeds and provides glossy, green ruffles beneath taller plants. The variety 'Bressingham Ruby' is particularly attractive, with deep ruby-red foliage in late autumn and bold flower color in mid- to late spring. Plants reach up to 14 inches tall and about 12 inches wide. Divide plants every three years in spring.

Another attractive perennial that doubles as a groundcover is Heuchera 'Rosemary Bloom' a variety of Coral Bells with green, low-growing foliage and bright coral-pink flowers borne on 18-inch spires. In addition to attracting attention, the flowers lure hummingbirds and butterflies. 'Rosemary Bloom' works especially well as a groundcover under small trees and shrubs.

Pictures available