The Clever Trick That Will Keep Grass From Taking Over Your Flower Beds

While it may be nice to have a lawn full of healthy, green grass, it's decidedly less appealing when it's taking over your flower beds. If weeds are just plants growing in the wrong places, then that grass in your flower bed is definitely a weed. Fortunately, there are ways to keep grass from taking over, and one of the best ways is to fill your flower beds with plenty of ground cover plants.

Bare soil is an invitation for grass and other weed seeds to sprout and spread. While mulch can certainly help to protect your soil in the short term, adding a ground cover to your flower beds will help you even more. Low-growing perennial ground covers will not only add more color and beauty to your garden patches, but will also outcompete that pesky grass and prevent future grass seeds from having the opportunity to germinate. Depending on where your flower bed is located, some of the best ground cover plants to consider include creeping thyme, foamflower, and bearberry. 

The best ground cover for your flower garden depends on a lot of factors, including what USDA hardiness zone you live in, how much sun your flower bed gets, and how wet or dry your flower garden usually is. Creeping thyme (Thymus spp.) is a fantastic ground cover for gardeners looking for something for their sunny and drought-prone beds in zones 4 through 9. Not only does this ground cover have a wonderful fragrance and adorable purple or pink flowers, but it is evergreen in many warmer areas.

If you're looking for a ground cover for wetter and shadier locations, then creeping thyme isn't going to be for you. Instead, consider growing foamflowers (Tiarella cordifolia). Hardy in zones 3 through 8, foamflowers thrive in shade gardens and can tolerate significantly moister soil than thyme. Their dainty white flowers make these North American natives a huge hit with pollinators as well. While they don't grow as fast as some options, foamflowers spread via rhizomes and will eventually help fill out your garden and prevent weeds.

A fascinating ground cover for sunny or partially sunny spots with moist or even boggy soil is the adorable bearberry, also known as the American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon). This evergreen is native to North America and thrives in zones 3 through 7. Not only does this low-growing vine have edible berries, but its flowers are loved by pollinators. Be aware that bearberries need very acidic soil to thrive, but this makes them ideal for growing with hydrangeas and many other acid-loving plants.