Purple Plants to Use as Ground Cover

Purple is the color of royalty. Purple ground covers draw the visitors eye to their spot in the garden. Use them in places you want to draw attention to such as around the pool or by the patio or deck. Use them to draw attention to your garden features like a water fountain or statuary. The will also make a difficult to plant slope look like it was touched by an artists pallet.

Lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina) is also known as wooly betony and is a member of the mint family. The plant grows as a low mat of white, velvet textured leaves measuring from 2 to 4 inches long forming rosettes. Flower spikes 12 to 18 inches tall grow from the center of the rosettes in the summer with small velvety purple-pink flowers. Plant lamb's ear in full sun in the cooler climates and in partial shade in the south. Give the plant a moist well drained soil. Lamb's ear is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 7.

Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is also called carpetweed and is a member of the mint family. The plant is a semi-evergreen that grows from 2 to 4 inches tall in summer, fall and winter and up to 10 inches tall when the flowers appear in the spring. Leaves are light green, dark green, bronzed, purple, or variegated depending on the variety. Flowers come in blue, purple, pink, or white. Plant in partial to full shade and a moist, well-drained soil. Bugleweed is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8.

Purple prairie verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida also goes by the names prairie verbena, Dakota vervain, Dakota mock and vervain. Pink, lavender, or purple flowers grow in round clusters at the top of the flower stems from March through October. Purple prairie verbena is native to Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and is hardy as far north as Indiana. Plant in partial shade and a moist to dry soil. Birds come by for a meal of the seeds.

Purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) is a member of the mallow family. The grows up to 3 feet along the ground while growing 12 inches high. The white , pink or purple flowers measure up to 2-1/2 inches long, bloom in March, April, May and June and are open only during the day time. The plant is found growing west of the Mississippi from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. Plant in full sun or partial shade and a soil that is moist and dry. Bees will stop by for the nectar they need to make their own special kind of honey. Butterflies will come and make a meal out of the nectar also.