The cleanest, most resilient and easy to walk in ground cover

Certainly, you can unfold some grass and call it a good. But why not hang things up, add a little colour and texture to the landscape, and make your garden even more attractive to pollinators with easy-to-walking ground covers?

Also known as stepbull (or stepwise), a walkable ground cover is just that. It is a vast, low-growth plant that can withstand pedestrians from humans and animals.

They create excellent natural root coverings that help reduce erosion, save moisture and make weeds into crowds. Instead of using wooden chips, pea gravel or bark to fill empty spaces in your landscaping, you can plant a low-maintenance ground cover between garden paths, pavement, or places where grass is placed.

A walkable ground cover is much easier to maintain than a lawn (say goodbye to boring tasks like rimming and weeding!). There is little need to mow as it tends to stop growing when it reaches a certain height.

Depending on what you are doing and how much patience you are, you can buy a ground cover in a pot, buy a plug tray, or start with seeds. (The following lists my favorite online sources.)

This is recommended if you are looking for a step-by-step ground cover that will return every year (or will remain greener throughout the winter depending on the weather).

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Also known as Micro Clover, this low-maintenance perennial grinding cover is a regular white clover variety (triforium repens var. ‘pirouette’ and ‘pipolina’). It resembles a regular clover in that it acts as a nitrogen fixator (yes for healthier soil!), and it is even a ground cover that you can eat. However, mini clover is one of the best alternatives to grass grass, so we want to continue growing.

So, what’s so good? For one thing, it is drought-resistant and remains green as the other grass begins to turn brown. It only grows 3-6 inches tall, so there is zero mow (though when it is cut, the mini croyber forms small leaves and maintains miniature growth habits until summer). It also does not require fertilizer and spreads densely over a soft, cushioned ground cover.

Sedum (also known as Crassulaceae, Stonecrop) is found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere and in Africa and South America. It thrives in the perfect sun, can withstand the heat as well as droughts, and is perfect for warm climates in direct sunlight all day long.

More importantly, sedum is tough. It is an evergreen ground cover that can handle walking (especially by loud dogs and children) and does not require much maintenance.

Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) native to Corsica, France, Italy and Sardinia is a fierce grower that produces itself and spreads through rhizomes, and is invasive in warmer climates like the southeast (but not as aggressive as mints of other types of shades).

But this invasiveness is what makes it a very effective ground cover. Corsica mint can really move to quickly cover the area!

And with every step of taking on this delicious, fragrant ground cover, you can get a whim of a lovely mint scent (which may help to fight off deer-like garden pests).

A great low aquatic plant alternative is the silver carpet lamb ears (Stachys byzantina). It grows to a very low mat (4 inches tall) with a unique, dense underground cover native to South Africa.

Tell me about simple things. Silver carpet lamb ears are not cranky about where to plant. It thrives in poor soil and dry shade, but also loves the sun. It only requires light watering until it is established, and has since been extremely drought-resistant and a great option for hot, drought-resistant climates. The fuzzy, silvery leaves are also inseparable for deer and rabbits.

If you’re looking for a brightly colored burst, the creeping Jenny plant (Lysimachia nummularia) produces gorgeous golden leaves! Jenny, often called Money Wart due to the appearance of the golden coin, appears to cover your garden with a beautiful yellow carpet.

It loves the perfect sun and can withstand bright shades. This ground cover can thrive with little maintenance, but in the event of drought, it should be lightly watered.

Beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis, also known as Coast Strawberry or Sand Strawberry) native to North America creates a lovely evergreen carpet of green leaves.

This is another walkable ground cover that thrives in bright shades in the sun and allows medium foot traffic. A little taller than some of the other plants on this list, sometimes reaching 6 inches, the runner reaches about the same length.

For a wonderfully fragrant garden, consider planting wool thyme or creeping thyme (thymus Serpyllum). Both plants like direct sunlight and require most caution. They spread quickly, form a soft, fragrant carpet on the soil, and are two of the best perennial plants to grow for pollinators.

Wool thyme produces, blooms, and blooms beautiful pink flowers that bees absolutely love!

The creeping thyme produces stunning purple flowers in the summer, giving off a delicious herbal scent, especially when walking or brushing.

Mazus (Mazaceae, sometimes called the creeping Mazus) is a rapidly growing semi-evergreen ground cover that maximizes at heights of 3-4 inches. It likes partial shades from the full sun and tolerate light pedestrians.

Once established, it spreads in the spring and summer to form a dense mat of leaves with small orchid-like lavender flowers. It is also deer resistant, making it a beautiful ground cover and daffodil paired with bulbs.

Snow Snow (Extreme Cerastium) from indigenous peoples of West Asia and Europe is a short-lived perennial plant that grows to 6 inches tall. It prefers the sun and grows best in well-drained soil.

This cute plant definitely stands up to its name. During the summer, it bursts with an abundance of dain white flowers that look like fat snowflakes against silver leaves.

This post was updated from an article originally featured on September 1, 2021.