Living Mulch Plants Keep Soil Cooler and Cut Watering – Here Are 6 to Plant Now

Have you ever heard of living mulch? A useful solution for gardeners looking to improve soil health, suppress weeds and reduce watering during the hottest months of the year, it consists of low-growing ground cover plants that create a protective green layer over the soil.

Much like traditional garden mulches (such as bark or straw), this living carpet has several benefits, not least keeping the soil cooler in summer, slowing moisture loss and reducing erosion during periods of hot and very dry weather.

In addition to this, though, many living mulch plants help improve soil over time. Legumes (or the pea family), for example, fix nitrogen in the soil, which is why it is always a good idea to simply snip sweet peas and beans to ground level in the fall and let those roots work their magic. This process can also reduce the need for additional fertilizers.

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Try These 6 Living Mulch Plants

Beyond protecting the soil, living mulch plants provide valuable habitat and nectar for pollinators, helping to boost biodiversity while creating a lush look in beds and borders.

So, whether you want to protect your dry yard from soil degradation, enrich tired soil, reduce maintenance or simply fill bare patches with attractive greenery, consider living mulch the answer. It is, quite simply one of the easiest ways to create a healthier, more resilient garden.

With that in mind, then, here are six essential ground cover plants to consider this year.

1. Nasturtium

Nasturtiums are invaluable to gardeners. These fuss-free trailing plants bring months of colorful blooms while the rounded foliage (almost like water lily pads) smartly covers bare soil. They work in pots, of course, but I like using them in vegetable beds or kitchen gardens, filling those spaces between rows of carrots, lettuces or whatever it is you are growing.

If you want to try growing nasturtiums, sow seeds (available to buy via Amazon) directly where they are to grow. You can plant them most anywhere, with a preference for full sun and a decent amount of water to help them settle and establish. In warmer spots, such as US hardiness zone 8 plus, part-shade is just fine. There is no need to fertilize .

Try these 'Black Velvet' variety for a dramatic bloom display, available via Walmart.

2. Yarrow

For full sun yards, yarrow is a good living mulch plant option to consider, easily covering borders and flower beds.

Live yarrow plants are available via Walmart, and they across USDA Planting Zones 3-9, tolerating chilly winters and hot summer sunshine. It has attractive silver-green foliage that cover soil, as well as colourful flat flowers that pollinators love.

Yarrow plants typically have a dense fibrous root mat that can help to bind and anchor lighter, more sandy soils, too. For a brighter variety, try the pink 'Cerise Queen', available from Amazon.

3. Red clover

Clover is a low-growing perennial legume that fixes nitrogen in the soil, as well as carpetting vast areas of turf, beds or borders. Sure, some people might think of it as a nuisance weed, but not me. It has pretty, delicate leaves with three (or four, if you are lucky) leaflets, as well as plenty of flowers for pollinators in spring and summer.

Red clover, or Trifolium pratense, thrives in cool, moist soils and tolerates some shade. It forms a dense mat that suppresses weeds and reduces soil erosion in the summer, too. And, if you dread yard work and fear the weekend chore of mowing, clover is a good option for lawns, requiring far less water than traditional turf.

Red clover seed is available from Walmart, and can be grown down to US hardiness zone 6. It is typically not frost tender, and will produce masses of purple-pink blooms from May through September.

Remember: red clover is categorized as an invasive plant in some US regions, particularly in areas of disturbed soil. Be sure to consult the website of your local government office before planting.

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4. Wild Ginger

Hardy down to zone 3, wild ginger (or Asarum canadense, if you prefer) is a North American ground cover species that grows across much of Canada and the US.

In shady and moist environments, it can grow a little too well, forming dense mats that spread via rhizomatous growth. But, in large plots, where you have the space, wild ginger is a good option for a living mulch plants that protects the soil and doesn't require any special attention,

You can find bare root wild ginger plants at Amazon. Just remember that, in terms of how to grow wild ginger, shade is essential. Planting under large trees or shrubs is a good option, particularly if you want to cover large swathes of bare soil.

5. Purple Prairie Clover

Purple prairie clover, or Dalea purpurea, is one of those native prairie plants that quietly does a lot of hard work in the yard. This drought-tolerant perennial legume fixes nitrogen in the soil, helping to improve fertility while producing slender stems topped with vibrant purple flower spikes that pollinators adore throughout summer. What more could you want?

Hardy down to US zone 3, purple prairie clover thrives in full sun and well-draining soils, making it an ideal living mulch for hot, dry gardens where many other ground covers struggle. It has a deep root system that helps to stabilize soil, improve structure and reduce erosion over time.

If you are gardening for wildlife, this is a particularly good choice. Bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects flock to the nectar-rich blooms, while the foliage supports several native insect species. Be sure, then, to treat them to purple prairie clover seeds, which are widely available from retailers including Amazon..

6. Creeping Phlox

Creeping phlox, or Phlox stolonifera, is one of my favourite native ground covers for filling awkward gaps. Whether spilling over retaining walls or carpeting the front of your borders, it creates a dense mat of evergreen foliage that works hard all year round.

Hardy in US zones 5 to 8, creeping phlox thrives in well-draining soil and performs best with at least a few hours of direct sun each day. The more sunshine, the more flowers. Once established, it requires very little attention, making these easy living mulch plants to grow that help to shade the soil, retain moisture and reduce weed growth.

The phlox show begins in spring, when the foliage is almost hidden beneath masses of white, pink, purple or lavender flowers. This floral display lasts for several weeks, but the rather smart green foliage remains attractive long after the blooms have faded, helping to protect bare soil throughout the growing season.

What more reason do you need, then, to pick up some creeping phlox live plants from Amazon?