Ground cover plants provide more than what homeowners or gardeners seek. When you plant the ground cover plants, they easily prevent erosion and maintain soil temperatures as well as suppress weeds.
Now, what if you plant ground cover with purple flowers? It can act as a beautiful backdrop, as purple is the color of elegance and mystery. These hues can captivate anyone, including the visitors, and require low maintenance.
In this blog, there's a variety of ground covers with purple flowers, from the mesmerizing violets of pansies to the royal richness of other flowers.
9 Best Ground Cover With Purple Flowers
Here are some best ground cover plants with purple flowers for gardens and homeowners to refer to.
1. Horned Pansy (Viola Cornuta)
Horned pansies emit a soft smell with little gems of whimsy. They have a tough texture with a beautiful exterior design. Resting on the ground in tufts of two-tone small petals, those small flowers bloom from spring to late summer in deep purple to blues, and yellows. They are planted with a gap of 10 inches to 1 foot.
| Some Tips | It's easy to maintain them, and they prefer well-draining soil in full sun or partial shade. Also, ensure to mulch around the base of the plant to keep the weeds at bay. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 6-11
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Duration: Annual and Perennial
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Height: 4-10 inches
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Width: 12 inches maximum
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Soil pH: 6-6.5
These flowers can attract bees and butterflies and can tolerate deer.
2. Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera)
This is another hardy perennial which is a perfect ground cover with little flowers in lavender and violet. Flowers bloom from spring to summer. It softens the hardscape and extends a neat look. The best feature is that it helps prevent soil erosion, which makes it a perfect plant to hold in soil on slopes. It thrives in well-drained, moist, and slightly acidic soil and partial shade.
| Some Tips | Make sure the soil is not too wet else slugs can be a problem. Also, deadhead the plant to avoid powdery mildew disease. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 5-9
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Duration: Perennial and woody
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Height: 3-8 inches
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Width: 9 inches to 2 feet
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Soil pH: 5.5-7
3. Spotted Dead Nettle (Lamium maculatum)
Spotted dead nettle is a hardy perennial plant, and blooms in different colors like white, pink, and purple according to its variety. It is native to European and Asian countries and belongs to the mint family.
The plant consists of heart-shaped leaves with silver-grey markings, which create a magnificent ground cover.
| Some Tips | You can easily maintain it by trimming the foliage in late fall or early spring. Also, when needed, thin out the dead nettle when it starts outgrowing its area. Moreover, these plants should be planted at a distance of 6-10 inches. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 4-8
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Duration: Herbaceous perennial
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Height: 6-9 inches
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Width: 12-24 inches
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Sun exposure: Full shade, partial sun
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Soil type: Moist, well-drained, sandy, loam, clay, chalk
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Soil pH: 6-7
4. Royal Candles (Veronica spicata)
Royal Candles is a tall and bushy ground cover, and is famously called spike speedwell. It features colorful violet-blue flowers from late spring to early summer. Similar to the blooms, the foliage stays lush all season long.
| Some Tips | To maintain it better, ensure to keep the soil consistently moist. Also, trim the plants to produce additional flowers. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 3-8
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Duration: Herbaceous perennial
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Height: 12 inches maximum
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Width: 15 inches maximum
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Sun exposure: Full sun
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Soil type: Moist, well-drained, loam
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Soil pH: 5.5-6.2
Additionally, Royal Candles can easily attract butterflies and tolerate deer and rabbits.
5. Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum)
This is the most preferred ground cover amongst gardeners owing to its pleasant aroma, beautiful purple flowers, and silver-green foliage. No matter whether you grow it between pavers or along the hardscape, it spreads magic. This is the best substitute for turfgrass as it can bear light foot traffic and has no hassle of mowing.
| Some Tips | Make sure it gets sufficient sunlight and well-drained alkaline soil. Trim it regularly and slowly release fertilizer in early spring. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 4-9
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Duration: Perennial, woody
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Height: 2-3 inches
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Width: Up to 10 inches
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Soil type: Well-drained and sandy
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Soil pH: 6.5-7.5
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Spacing: around 15 inches apart
6. Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
Periwinkle blooms from early spring to summer, and also occasionally all year round. It's one of the favourite perennial plants for gardeners as it can survive in drought and heat, and tolerate any light conditions, from full sun to shade.
Native to Europe, it's a low-growing plant and features broad and deep green foliage. This evergreen ground cover can easily control weeds and prevent slopes and erosion, filling in the gaps under and around shrubs.
| Some Tips |
This plant has a habit of spreading out quickly, so make sure to keep it at bay from lawns and other plants. Also, this plant needs to be spaced out. Hence, plant each one about one foot apart. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 4-9
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Duration: Perennial
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Height: 4-6 inches
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Width: 2 deep maximum
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Soil type: Moist, well-drained, loam, sand, clay
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Soil pH: 6.0-7.5
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Spacing: 10-15 inches apart
Additionally, this plant can attract butterflies and tolerate deer.
7. Ice Plant (Delosperma spp.)
Ice Plant features daisy-like blooms with succulent foliage. It's an evergreen perennial ground cover that can easily captivate the visitors with its intense, deep purple-pink color for the entire summer.
Imagine a carpet of light-green, fleshy leaves covered with a lot of big, beautiful flowers! This ice plant grows best in dry, sunny gardens and can easily survive colder temperatures. It's also low-maintenance and requires well-drained soil and a good soaking occasionally.
| Some Tips | Ensure to keep these plants one foot apart as they need to be spaced out. Also, remove any winter-killed stems in the spring. Importantly, do not over-fertilize. Just mulch it with an organic material like straw on colder days to protect it during the winter. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 6-10
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Duration: Herbaceous perennial
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Height: 3-6 inches
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Width: 1-2 feet
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Sun exposure: Full Sun
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Soil Type: Dry, well-drained sandy
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Soil pH: 6.0-7.0
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Spacing: 15-18 inches apart
Additionally, Ice plants also attract butterflies and can survive deer.
8. 'Sweet Heidy' cranesbill (Geranium' Sweet Heidy')
'Sweet Heidy' cranesbill or geranium features beautiful and multicolored flowers that come in pink to purple with a white center. They thrive from early to late summer, with lush green foliage and bowl-shaped blooms.
| Some Tips | During spring, you must divide 'Sweet Heidy' cranesbill and replant it for thicker ground coverage. Also, mulch over the plant with organic materials to retain the moisture and prevent weeds. Lastly, prune some stems or branches near the end of summer so that they grow more. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 5-8
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Duration: Perennial
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Height: 12 inches maximum
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Width: 20 inches maximum
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Soil exposure: Full Sun, partial shade
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Soil pH: 5.5-7.5
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Spacing: 12-18 inches apart
Moreover, these flowers not only attract butterflies but also tolerate deer and rabbits.
9. Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)
One single plant of Bugleweed can easily spread out as it spreads faster and forms a dense mat with its glossy green leaves. Mat-forming is a good choice for places like rock gardens, borders, and banks. It's a low-growing and robust option to cover the ground with a spike of violet flowers.
| Some Tips | Plant them with proper spacing to avoid overcrowding, and don't plant them in erosive areas. To control its spread, prune it twice a year. |
Some basic characteristics:
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USDA Hardiness zone: 4-9
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Duration: Herbaceous perennial
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Height: 4 inches to 2 feet
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Width: 6 inches to
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Soil exposure: Full Sun, partial shade
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Soil pH: 5.5-7.5
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Spacing: 12-18 inches apart
Conclusion
Ground cover with purple flowers is an interesting and aesthetic way to bring charm and color to the outdoor space. Be it pavers or the area along the hardscape, purple flower ground cover will surely add a visually appealing charm to the space. There are multiple varieties of purple flowering ground cover that you can choose based on factors such as hardiness zones, spacing, light requirements, and many more.
