Now that the hot days of summer are here, we tend to see some bare spots in our gardens. This is especially true in the Southern regions where the heat is very intense and drought conditions occur. To cover those bare spots in your flower garden, just buy some ground cover plants to and plant them.

Ground cover plants are basically low maintenance plants that spread out to cover any area where you plant them. They can protect bare soil from erosion, can be planted to cover up slopes and banks, or just have a beautiful carpet on the ground with bright colors. There are many varieties to choose from, most of them grow less than 24 inches tall, and thrive in just about any type of soil.

What I normally do is to try and match the color scheme that is already in my garden. For example, I have red Roses in the front of my house and red and white Pentas all around the edge. To cover a few bare spots that I have, I bought white ground cover plants. It looks great because the white breaks the red color nicely and I am basically not changing the colors I already have.

If you have some bare spots in your garden, just visit your local nursery and get some ground cover plants. Or, if you prefer to buy online, Proceed to this site. It is a good source to buy from. Here are some of the ground cover plants that I am familiar with:

Bee Balm Coral Reef – Botanical name is Monarda Didyma

If you like butterflies around your garden, then this ground cover is for you. Coral Reef has a rich minty scent that attracts butterflies. A native of North America, this plant thrives even on wet soil and has been seen along side of creeks and ditches in some areas.
Coral Reef requires no special attention and will spread quickly. You can thin the plants out every year and start another bed elsewhere in your garden.

Coral Reef hot pink blooms begin early summer and continue until the fall. Plant them in full sun and keep it in moist soil and you will have beautiful flowers all summer long. Coral Reef grows to 36 inches tall and up to 48 inches wide, and thrives in zones 4-9.

Bergenia Redstart – Botanical name is Bergenia Cordifolia Redstart

This one is an evergreen ground cover that you can use in just about any location for year-round beauty in your garden. Although it is a low growing plant, it is very vigorous and forms mounds of leathery, dark green foliage. The leafs are heart shaped and in the spring, gorgeous 18+24 inch bloom stalks appear which are covered with bright red flowers. Bergenia Redstart is only 6 inches tall, loves full sun, and grows well in zones 3-8.

Blue Fescue Boulder Blue – Botanical name is Festuca Glauca Boulder Blue

A must have for every gardener as this ground cover tolerates poor, dry soil. If you have some hard to plant areas in your garden, then consider planting Boulder Blue as this plant will grow anywhere and tolerates just about any drought conditions, extreme heat and poor soil. Boulder Blue has silvery blue foliage that will continue year-round held in a cascading mount for an awesome look. It grows to 8 inches high and 10 inches wide, it is maintenance free, loves the sun, and thrives in zones 4-8.

As I mentioned before, there are many varieties of ground cover and listed above are just a few of the ones that I am familiar with. When you purchase them, be sure to follow the instructions given for each plant and you will have beautiful color in your garden and all your bare spots will be covered.

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

William Robinson (gardener) - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Home & Garden Topics from Answers.com
flower gardening - a set on Flickr
Gardening made easy and deliciously inexpensive - USATODAY.com
Outdoor container gardening: Planting a beautiful pot of flowers
AOL.com Video - 30 Minute Flower Garden

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