Choosing the right plants that we want to have in our garden is not an easy decision. There is a great variety of species and, in addition, the characteristics of our garden, such as humidity, temperature, hours of daily light, etc. they condition and limit our choice. Reflecting on what we want to achieve can be of great help, so if what we want, for example, is to get a garden that hardly needs care, we will opt for plants that need little water and attention, if we are looking for a colorful and very striking, we will opt for floral species and if we need to cover unpopulated areas we will choose upholstery plants.
What are upholstery plants
The cover plants are those that develop and grow forming a kind of cover or vegetable carpet , being able, therefore, to cover large areas of land. They are also known by the name of creeping plants, precisely due to this characteristic, since their development usually occurs horizontally at ground level, with hardly any vertical development.
Its use is mainly ornamental, being used to cover unpopulated surfaces of land or to hide imperfections such as, for example, irregularities of the land, in which hardly any vegetation grows, slopes resulting from the execution of works or earthworks and even to decorate fences and walls , and can also be used as insulators from heat and cold. In addition, these plants need little attention and little water, which makes them a more than interesting alternative when it comes to replacing or replacing traditional grass . Some species are capable of resisting extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, being able to survive frost, such as the Pink Lamprantus , Aptenia cordifoliaor the creeping Hyperic .
It should be noted that it is not only terrestrial species, but we can also find species of groundwater aquatic plants , also being used in aquariums and fish tanks. Some examples of aquatic ground cover species are Utricularia graminifolia , Eleocharis parvula, and Riccia fluitans .
Types of groundcover plants and species names – list
There are many types of cover plants , succulent being the most popular and well-known, although we can also find shrubs, perennial, perennial and climbing species.
- Succulents: they are covering plants with fleshy and large leaves, which are usually found covered by a fluff that characterizes them. These are capable of storing a large amount of water and nutrients that the plant requires, allowing its supply in times of drought. Example: Lampranthus aureus .
- Vivacious: they are deciduous cover plants, that is, they lose their leaves in the coldest seasons of the year and sprout again during the spring. Example: Festuca glauca .
- Perennials: these plants retain their leaves during all seasons of the year, and are even capable of flowering. Example: Begonia semperflorens .
- Climbing plants : this type of covering plants is used above all to cover surfaces located vertically, being able to develop and grow in multiple ways as long as they have a substrate to adhere to. Example: Hedera helix or Lonicera .
- Shrubs: they are woody upholstery plants, that is, their stem is woody and usually has ramifications. Example: Creeping rosemary or Junípero .
Why choose upholstery plants
There are many benefits of carpet plants . These are some of them and, therefore, reasons why we recommend them to decorate your garden or outdoor area even if it is a cold place.
- The first, and which we have already mentioned above, is the ability to cover and decorate large unpopulated areas of land where other plants have difficulty growing. There are many species, with a variety of shapes, colors and textures, so they offer us multiple possibilities when decorating our garden.
- On the other hand, these plants are very easy to grow and hardly need any attention, so their maintenance is very simple, being, in most cases, their planting more recommended than that of the classic lawn.
- In addition, they are capable of withstanding extreme conditions such as temperatures below 0 ° C thanks to their morphology and ground-level arrangement, which allows them to protect themselves from strong winds.
- They can also have structures to store nutrients and water in their leaves, stems and roots, being able to survive adverse conditions.
- Another of the characteristics they present is their ability to nullify and prevent the growth of weeds , since, as their name indicates, they are capable of “covering them”, covering them almost completely and depriving them of the necessary resources such as light, water and nutrients. However, this effect not only occurs in the case of weeds, but it can also affect the rest of the plants that we have in our garden, so it is advisable to select in a conscientious and appropriate way where we should have them.
