It's easy to undervalue the lowly groundcover plants. After all they are usually the last thing to be noticed. We often walk all over them without stopping to think about what groundcovers contribute to our gardens.

Groundcovers provide critical garden support. They protect against soil erosion and temperature changes. They help with weed suppression and moisture loss. The support pollinators and caterpillars which are vital for food production for both humans and birds.

So what is a groundcover? They are perennials, often evergreen, low-growing, spreading plants that cover otherwise bare soil. They can range from inches to a foot or so in height. They can be slow or fast growers. Kinnikinnick can take several years to cover 3 square feet while coastal strawberry, bleeding heart, or lily of the valley seems to spread overnight.

Try these plants to get started.

For mostly sunny areas:

Arctostaphylos uva ursi (kinnikinnick)

Campanula rotundifolia (common harebell)

Carex obnupta (slough sedge)

Ceanothus prostratus (prostrate ceanothus)

Erigeron glaucus (seaside daisy)

Penstemon cardwellii (Cardwell’s penstemon)

Sedum oreganum or S. spathulifolium (sedum)

Sisyrinchium idahoense (blue-eyed grass)

Viola adunca (early blue violet)

For shadier, woodland areas:

Achlys triphylla (vanilla leaf)

Asarum caudatum (western wild ginger)

Dicentra formosa (western bleeding heart) 

Mahonia nervosa (Cascade Oregon grape)

Maianthemum stellatum (starry false Solomon’s seal)

Maianthemum dilatatum (false lily of the valley)

Oxalis oregana (wood sorrel) 

Vancouveria hexandra (inside-out flower)

Viola glabella (stream violet)