Product Description

Open sweeps of lawn are a large part of most home landscapes, but imagine turning those stretches of lawn into striking swathes of beautifully planted ground covers. Barbara W. Ellis explores hundreds of wonderful possibilities in her new guide, helping readers create eyecatching splashes of color and texture in unexpected places.

More than just broad expanses of a single plant, ground covers can bring a fresh look to dozens of landscaping challenges and opportunities. Flowering plants, herbs, mosses, groundhugging shrubs, and heathers, planted singly or in creative combinations, can cover all sorts of ground situations with unexpected drama and add an elegant, professional look to otherwise dull and ordinary areas. Additionally, hardscape lawn alternatives such as bluestone, crushed gravel, brick, or shredded bark mulch introduce pathways and help create defined borders.

Working with the theory that ground covers should be hardworking as well as beautiful, Part One, Rolling Out the Carpet, inspires readers with low-maintenance, creative ideas. Simplify lawn mowing by filling in awkward corners with easy-to-care-for colorful plants. Edge walkways to keep them neat and attractive. Use broad drifts to control erosion along streams. Ground covers can fit anywhere.

Part Two, Landscaping with Ground Covers, matches plants to specific site requirements. Looking for herbs hardy enough to thrive between stepping stones? Shrubby plants that tolerate full sun? Native ferns for a woodland floor or moss gardens for acid shade? Ellis has all the answers and the experience to combine appropriate plants in stunning combinations. Part Three includes in-depth how-to for planting, growing, and propagating, with special emphasis on site preparation, plant selection, and weed control.

From single-plant drifts to unexpected plant combinations and new uses for natural hardscaping, ground covers are an exciting, low maintenance alternative to traditional lawns.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #937293 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From the Back Cover
REIMAGINE the Possibilities for Covering Your Ground

REPLACE GRASS on hard-to-mow slopes

CONNECT scattered flower beds, trees, and shrubs

CONTROL erosion along stream banks

CARPET the patches between stepping stones

STABILIZE boggy areas

EDGE walkways, curbs, and driveways

CREATE natural alternatives to traditional lawns

ADD A SPLASH OF COLOR anywhere you need it!

About the Author
Barbara W. Ellis, a freelance writer and editor and lifelong gardener, is the author of Covering Ground, Deckscaping, and Taylor's Guide to Growing North America's Favorite Plants, as well as several other volumes in the popular Taylor's Guide gardening series. Ellis lives in Maryland on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay with her husband and an assortment of dogs, cats, and parrots. Her garden is a perpetual work in progress.

Customer Reviews

Informative, helpful
Nice variety of plants discussed, most easy to find at local nurseries, Lowes, Home Depot. Excellent photos. Plants are well-grouped, ie dry shade, wet soil, shrubs for sun and shade, acid soil, alkaline soil, etc. Discusses how ground covers work, but provides little info on invasives. Overall creativity factor is low to medium (nothing too new or innovative is presented). Best used as a sourcebook, it will get you out to the stores in search of what fits your landscape.

A Great Help
My landscape problem area is a steep, rocky hillside bordering our driveway. Two landscapers have offered me ideas, but neither of them were suitable to my desire for a natural, but colorful, look. With the beautiful pictures and informative information in Covering Ground, I can now visualize this project. It is time to call that landscaper again, now that I'm better focused and informed.

A top pick for any public lending library's home and garden reference collection.

There are many possibilities for covering ground, and many of them are covered here; from replacing grass on slopes and carpeting patches between stepping stones without overgrowing them to edging walkways or using plants as an alternative to traditional lawn-type ground covers. COVERING GROUND; UNEXPECTED IDEAS FOR LANDSCAPING WITH COLORFUL, LOW-MAINTENANCE GROUND COVERS addresses all issues revolving around yard and ground covers and is a top pick for any public lending library's home and garden reference collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch