Ground cover for your garden slope or landscaping with a groundcover.

Some of the California native plants that can be used as less than a foot high ground cover.

Low ground covers are useful in small spots, borders, or to lower the edges of larger ground covers. They compete poorly with weeds.
(One-two foot ground cover, click here)
(Two foot and above ground cover, click here.) Slopes

Pacific Mist is a lovely ground cover near the coast.Arctostaphylos Pacific Mist

Pacific Mist loves coastal sandy gardens where it grows one foot high and 6-8 feet across.

Carmel Sur manzanita is a small ground cover for small gardens.Arctostaphylos edmundsii Carmel Sur Manzanita is a delightful small ground cover for small scale gardens. Carmel Sur prefers part-shade inland and full sun next to coast. Tolerates the heaviest of adobe soils yet grows ok in beach sand.

Danville is a ground cover for a prissy garden near the coast.Arctostaphylos edmundsii Danville Manzanita is a close cousin to Carmel Sur but is much more of the artsy one. Needs regular water, can't take full sun, except maybe next to the coast, and isn't that frost tolerant. A real nice looking sissy.

A ground cover for small gardens , under the pines, in sandy soil, near the coast.Arctostaphylos hookeri Monterey Carpet Manzanita. A sissy ground cover for under pine trees, in sandy soil, near the coast.

This little ground cover grows well in northern California up through Washington.Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Point Reyes Manzanita really needs part shade and regular water. Looks like a green lawn.

A flat, lawn-like ground cover that works well in the northwest, San Francisco and even parts of the east coast.Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Radiant Manzanita is a little less touchy than Point Reyes but still needs regular water. Very low, an inch or two tall is common.

This manzanita ground cover grows on San Bruno mountain by San Francisco in heavy clay.Arctostaphylos uva-ursi suborbiculata San Bruno makes a low mounding ground cover that looks kinda like a lawn flowing over boulders, with pink flowers.

Ceanothus Heart's Desire is a blue flowering ground cover.Ceanothus gloriosus Hearts Desire is one of the gloriosus cultivars that we can actually grow. Most freeze here. Use as the middle layer to lower a ground cover height.


Pt. Reyes Ceanothus likes to be near the coast.Ceanothus gloriosus gloriosus, Holly Ceanothus is useful in coastal gardens. Best within site of the coastal fog. Summer heat or winter cold fries it. Very low and green.

Rene Russo loves Mt. Vision Ceanothus as a ground cover in her Brentwood home.Ceanothus gloriosus porrectus is a wonderful low ground cover for north slopes in coastal gardens.

This is a flat Ceanothus ground cover. Commonly one inch high.Ceanothus hearstiorum is a flat Ceanothus, no higher than 2-3 inches. It needs part shade in the interior and some summer water.

This ground cover can grow in heavy soil on a coastal bluff.Ceanothus maritimus. Maritime California Lilac is native to San Luis Obispo county where it grows on old ocean beaches and bluffs.

Squaw Carpet is an evergreen ground cover that grows at middle elevations in the west.Ceanothus prostratus. Squaw Carpet is an evergreen ground cover that grows on open slopes and under Jeffrey or Ponderosa pines from 4000' to 7000' elevation.

A flat ground cover for small walkway edges.Corethrogyne filaginifolia Silver carpet is a nearly flat ground cover for sunny borders.


A small scale lawn like ground cover.Danthonia californica California Oat Grass is the closest native we have to a 'real' lawn.


a green moundy lawn like ground cover.Deschampsia caespitosa, Tufted hairgrass is a perennial bunch grass from mountain meadows



For a small strip between a lawn and a walk way, Wayne Roderick's plant is a wonderful groundcover.

A pretty edging plant that makes a small ground cover.Erigeron Wayne Roderick Daisy makes a delightful small scale ground cover.


a small ground cover for coastal gardens.Erigeron glaucus Cape Sebastian makes delicate ground cover for those small coastal gardens. Butterflies will love you.


Bright yellow ground cover.Eriogonum umbellatum, Sulfur buckwheat makes a stunning ground cover in mountain gardens.


a few rocks and a few buckwheats equals ground coverEriogonum ursinum. Hey, it's called mat buckwheat!


A great little buckwheat that works as a groundcover in Big Bear or Arrowhead.Eriogonum wrighti subscaposum is a really nice small ground cover for mountain gardens or adventurous folks.

a small, low perennial for a coastal butterfly garden.Erysimum menziesii is a coastal wallflower that grows in beach sand. Very useful to spot color in amongst other coastal ground covers.


Wood straberry is a wonderful small ground cover with real strawberries.Fragaria californica, Wood Strawberry is a strawberry that grows as a ground cover in the woods. Moist part shade or shade with light good enough to take a picture without a flash.


Make your own ground cover in the woods, and have strawberries!

Beach strawberry is a nice small ground cover for really sandy soils.Fragaria chiloensis, Sand Strawberry grows in wet spots in the sand dunes. If you have a sandy or light loam soil that's moist and maybe cool coastal sun or inland part shade, this is a great ground cover.

Mountain strawberry is a wonderful small ground cover that works well in moist shade up into Big Bear, Arrowhead and Idyllwild.Fragaria virginiana platypetala, Mountain strawberry is a flat perennial strawberry with gray leaves.

Salal is probably an indain name, nothing to do with salad.Gaultheria shallon looks like something to use in a salad. spreads in shade and best in coastal areas under redwoods.


A low coastal ground cover that will grow with little water in full Los Angeles sun.Grindelia stricta venulosa is a low ground cover that works well in coastal gardens.

Huechera hirsutissma is a nice little perennial groundcover for a small shady spot..Heuchera hirsutissima is a glorious little perennial that makes a nice small ground cover for pocket gardens.

Makes a lttle spot of cover in a bed on a moist north side flower bed, or coastal bluffHeuchera pilosissima is perfect for that foot wide flower bed that lingers in the shade all day and has a lot of moisture from the air conditioner drain.

Jack o the rocks, sounds painful but is a little mini ground cover for a moist shady rock.Heuchera rubescens glandulosa is another small scale ground cover. Basically a flat mat of green with pink flowers.

If you have a shady walk this ground cover makes the smell of pine woods in a small yardHorkelia parryi is a small low ground cover type perennial that brings a pine forest into your yard.

The sages make a good low ground cover

This rush looks like an iris ground cover.Juncus phaeocephalus phaeocephalus is a wonderful creeping ground cover for seasonally wet (winter) spots near the coast, with heavy clay soils.

Some people like to use dwarf juniper as a small gray ground cover.Juniperus communis montana. This dwarf juniper trails along the ground at less than a foot high. Put a couple of rocks in and you have a beautiful ground cover.

barberry ground coverMahonia aquifolium Compacta can be very low in coastal beach sand.

A monkey flower for mountain seeps.Mimulus tilingii is a higher elevation seep monkey flower.

A nice plant in rock garden or as groundcover between steps, has dark green leaves with purple margins.Monardella macrantha. Got a small, partly shady spot that needs a low perennial?

a good smelling little perennial that works as a small groundcover in front a rock or behind a bench.Monardella odoratissima. Western Pennyroyal is a great addition to a small rock garden.

Smells like a coyote? How does a coyote smell, like mint toothpaste?Monardella villosa. Coyote Mint can work very well with flat rocks to create a mini-ground cover.

Dissappears in winter, beatiful groundcover in sand during summer.Oenothera californica is a creeping little perennial that can fill in a bare spot.

A pretty perennial that makes a decent groundcover.Penstemon 'Margarita BOP has been used to fill in borders and those annoying small strips where nothing fits and you need a spot of color.'

a ground cover for a snow garden.Penstemon azureus works as a ground cover at mid elevations where it likes to be under snow in winter.

A Penstemon ground cover that grows at 8-12,000 foot but does ok.Penstemon heterodoxus makes a turf like ground cover in places like Lake Tahoe.

a cute little perennial mat with attractive white flowers.Pycnanthemum californicum is a great smelling small ground cover. A flat ground cover that is covered with flowers!Salvia Bee's Bliss is a great ground cover for dry sun.

A gray ground cover that fills in fast. Really fast!Salvia Gracias is similar to Bee's bliss but appears to like abuse more.

Salvia sonomensis Farmar-Bower is a very stable creeping sage.a very stable sage with flowers

a dark green sage ground cover.Salvia somonensis Mrs. Beard is a neat, clean sage ground cover.

Salvia Pt. Sal is a gray groundcover.A low gray groundcover.

Salvia sonomensis works great on those rock quarries that some of you call yards.Creeping sage works well on rocky soils.

Hummingbird sage is a great ground cover under oaks.Salvia spathacea works in full sun on coastal bluffs, full shade under oaks in the interior.

A very low growing form of hummingbird sage.Salvia spathacea Las Pilitas grows as a flat hummingbird sage under other shrubs or bushes.


Used to cover much of San Francisco as a ground cover.Satureja douglasii, Yerba Buena covered much of the Bay area and San Francisco was originally named after it.


Sedum oreganum works on wet shady boulders.Sedum likes really wet spots.

goldenrod ground coverSolidago californica, California Goldenrod will sucker along the ground making a ground cover. Flower spikes are one foot or so high.

Solidago spathulata Coast Golden RodSolidago spathulata is a low form of Goldenrod that grows on coastal bluffs.

Symphoricarpos mollis Southern California SnowberrySymphoricarpos mollis is a creeping snowberry that grows in fairly heavy shade inland, full sun near coast.

A Gray and pink ground cover.Zauschneria californica, the pink form likes part shade and near garden conditions.

Zauschneria californica White White California FuchsiaZauschneria californica White California fuschia also grows in part shade with regular watering.

Fuzzy gray fuschia.Zauschneria californica Ghostly Red makes a fuzzy gray ground cover.

A mat forming California fuchsia form San Jose.Zauschneria californica Uvas Canyon grows in low mats with red flowers in late summer.

Zauschneria latifolia viscosa Southern Mountain California FuchsiaZauschneria latifolia viscosa is a higher elevation form of California fuchsia.

Mattole River White Leaf Fuchsia works GREAT as a small scale ground cover.Zauschneria septentrionalis Mattole River makes a real splash in late sumer in coastal garden.