Growing native groundcovers in our gardens has become more and more important. Many of the groundcovers we have been growing for years, because of their dependability and ease of maintenance, are now included on the invasive species lists. 

Perennials such as vinca (periwinkle), pachysandra (Japanese spurge), aegopodium (goutweed and hedera (English ivy) are creeping into our natural areas and taking over our native species.

Here are a few native groundcovers that you might consider planting in lieu of more invasive plant types.

Wild Canadian ginger (Asarum canadense)

The large, velvety, kidney-shaped leaves of Canadian ginger create a lush groundcover that effectively suppresses weeds.

It sports unique burgundy-brown flowers that, due to their leaf size, are somewhat hidden under the leaves. They bloom from April into May. 

The plant spreads slowly by rhizomes, forming colonies over time. Canadian ginger prefers a site that is shadier and even a deeply shaded location under the canopies of trees, tolerating both moist and dry soils. 

It typically grows up to eight inches high. Deer do not seem to like the taste of this plant and will usually avoid it. 

Wild ginger makes a good groundcover for woodland gardens and shady wildlife gardens. 

Bunchberry dogwood (Cornus canadensis)

Here is a totally different form of dogwood than what you typically think of when hearing the name dogwood.

A native of the forests in Ontario, bunchberry is a charming groundcover with multi-seasonal interest. 

In late spring, flowers, surrounded by showy white bracts, open up, contrasting with the glossy green foliage. The flowers, bracts and leaves are similar to those of our native flowering dogwood tree (Cornus florida), but in smaller, low-spreading form. 

In late summer and early fall, bright red/orange berries begin to ripen, attracting birds. The display of berries doesn’t stop until fall, when its dark green leaves start turning shades of red to purple.  

Bunchberry grows to a maximum of eight inches high and spreads at a moderate pace by underground rhizomes. It does not withstand heavy foot traffic. Being native to our forests, it grows best in dappled shade.  

Wintergreen (Gaulheria procumbens)

Wintergreen is a native plant that makes an attractive, low-maintenance, evergreen groundcover for shady locations. It grows about four to six inches high and spreads one to two feet across. 

Wintergreen blooms in late spring/early summer with small white to light pink pendulous bell-like flowers. In late summer/early fall, waxy, edible scarlet red berries ripen and remain on the plant into winter. 

The leaves also turn to a wine/red colour in the fall and remain that colour until spring, when they will turn green again. Bruised or lightly crushed stems and leaves give off a wintergreen fragrance.  

Wintergreen prefers an organically rich, moist, slightly acidic soil. It performs best where the summers are a bit cooler.

The bright red berries and reddish-bronze leaves of wintergreen plants are a welcome sight in the winter months when there’s little else to look at in the landscape.

Next time you are at the garden centre, looking for plants for groundcover, make sure that you check out these three native varieties.

Joanne Young is a Niagara-on-the-Lake garden expert and coach. See her website at joanneyoung.ca

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society is pleased to be hosting a series of Saturday morning gardening classes, available to the public. They will be facilitated by Joanne Young on Saturday mornings, and they will run until May 31 at the NOTL Community Centre. Join us for the classes that interest you. For all the seminar details and to pre-register for the classes, visit notlhortsociety.com/classes.