15 Walkable Groundcovers Perfect for Garden Paths

Fragrant and resilient, thyme makes a superb groundcover for sunny spots in your landscape where you can enjoy its fresh scent every time you walk by. Some of the best varieties are the non culinary types, such as red creeping thyme, mother-of-thyme, and wooly thyme. All three grow as dense mats of pretty foliage. Another bonus: Thyme is deer- and rabbit-resistant.

Botanical Name: Thymus sp.

Size: To 5 inches tall and wide

Light: Full sun

Growing Conditions: Well-drained soil; drought-tolerant once established

Zones: 4-9

Buy It: English Thyme, ($20, The Home Depot)

Brighten shady corners of your landscape with the charms of blue star creeper. This pretty little ground hugger develops masses of pale blue, star-shape flowers in spring and early summer. Use it as a lawn alternative in locations that are too shady to support turf grass. Once established, blue star creeper spreads quickly by underground runners and may become invasive in cool, moist locations. It’s tough enough to tolerate light foot traffic as long as it receives regular water.

Botanical Name: Isotoma fluviatilis

Size: To 4 inches tall and 18 inches wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Well-drained, consistently moist soil

Zones: 5-9

Buy It: Blue Star Creeper, ($16, Plant Delights Nursery)

Heat- and drought-resistant, sedum groundcovers are ideal for sunny, exposed locations. These tough-as-nails plants require very little attention and are strong enough to handle foot traffic. Tuck individual plants between pavers or look for sedum “tiles” that you roll out like sod to cover larger areas. Sedum comes in a wide range of shapes and sizes but short varieties make the best groundcovers. Look for varieties such as ‘Dragon’s Blood', ‘Tricolor', ‘Blue Spruce', ‘Kamtschaticum', or ‘Fuldaglut.' Most sedum groundcovers also produce pretty flowers in the late summer that will attract bees and butterflies.

Botanical Name: Sedum sp.

Size: To 6 inches tall and 3 feet wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Well-drained soil; drought-tolerant

Zones: 3-10

Buy It: Tricolor Sedum, ($5, Walmart)

Good things come in small packages! Ajuga, for example, grows just a few inches tall, yet it adds tons of color to your landscape. Also known as bugleweed, this easy-care walkable groundcover plant is prized for its ability to slowly and steadily carpet your yard with its colorful foliage. In spring, ajuga sends up spikes of blue, purple, or white flowers atop a base of bronze, chocolate, bright green, or bicolor foliage. Ajuga also thrives in containers.

Botanical Name: Ajuga

Size: To 9 inches tall and 1 foot wide

Light: Full to part shade

Growing conditions: Well-drained soil; drought tolerant

Zones: 4-10

Buy It: ‘Chocolate Chip’ Ajuga, ($40, Nature Hills)

Like its name suggests, creeping Jenny thrives is a low-growing plant with long stems that spread outward. Its coinlike golden leaves are why it's commonly called moneywort. Creeping Jenny works well growing between stepping stones, where it will tolerate some foot traffic. It also will happily cascade over stone walls or the sides of mixed planters and window boxes, which will help keep this vigorous spreader contained. In the late spring, creeping Jenny also produces dainty butter-yellow flowers.

Botanical Name: Lysimachia nummularia

Size: To 6 inches tall and 18 inches wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Consistently moist, well-drained soil

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: Creeping Jenny, ($23, Garden Goods Direct)

Portulaca, also called moss rose, often goes wild in the Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden® pathways during the summer. It’s a tough, sun-loving plant that frequently self sows, popping up in unexpected places. The crepe paperlike blooms come in a wide variety of colors, including yellow, white, salmon, red, orange, and bicolors. Portulaca also has bright green needlelike foliage that pops back into place if you happen to step on it. This drought-tolerant is perennial in frost-free regions, but usually grown as an annual elsewhere.

Botanical Name: Portulaca grandiflora

Size: To 9 inches tall and 1 foot wide

Light: Full sun

Growing Conditions: Well-drained soil; drought tolerant

Zones: 10-11

Buy It: Portulaca seeds, ($2 for 500, Etsy)

At first glance, you might not think that Scotch moss is tough enough to take foot traffic. Yet this golden moss bounces right back if someone steps on it. Use Scotch moss in garden paths, rock gardens, or as a lawn substitute in small backyards. Scotch moss is also frosted with a pretty layer of tiny white flowers in the spring. The key with this walkable groundcover plant is to keep it well hydrated, particularly during summer heat.

Botanical Name: Sagina subulata

Size: To 1 inch tall and 1 foot wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil

Zones: 4-8

Buy It: Scotch Moss, ($15, Plant Clearance)

Forming small clumps of bright green foliage, dwarf mondo grass is simply spectacular when planted in masses along a path or patio. Plus, you don’t have to fuss over it to keep it looking good; a quick shearing back in spring will encourage fresh new growth after the winter. And this plant grows slowly so there’s no worry about it getting out of control.

Botanical Name: Ophiopogon japonicus

Size: To 3 inches tall and 1 foot wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil

Zones: 7-10

Buy It: Dwarf Mondo Grass, ($57, Garden Goods Direct)

After a long, dark winter, the early spring flowers of creeping phlox are a welcome treat. For several weeks, these tough overachievers are almost smothered in blue, purple, rose, white, or bicolor flowers. The plants spread quickly and even when not in bloom, their dark green needlelike foliage keeps them looking good. Creeping phlox works especially well on small slopes that drain quickly after rains.

Botanical Name: Phlox subulata

Size: To 6 inches tall and 2 feet wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil

Zones: 3-8

Buy It: Pink Creeping Phlox, ($7, Greenwood Nursery)

This perennial truly lives up to its common name: Snow-in-summer produces large drifts of tiny white blooms in late May and June atop a mound of spreading silver-gray foliage. It may self-sow but doesn’t generally become invasive. To keep plants looking good, shear them back after flowering. Snow-in-summer prefers cooler climates and may suffer during hot, humid summers.

Botanical Name: Cerastium tomentosum

Size: To 1 foot tall and wide

Light: Full sun

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil

Zones: 3-10

Buy It: Yo Yo Snow-in-Summer, ($8 for 3 plants, Direct Gardening)

Many favorite perennials were once grown for more utilitarian purposes than looking good in a garden. The leaves of soapwort, for example, were once used to make a cleansing lather. Today, however, soapwort is prized for its compact, rough-and-tumble nature and pretty pink, red, or white flowers. Use it along your garden path or tuck it into rock gardens or walls. Soapwort is drought- and deer-tolerant.

Botanical Name: Saponaria officinalis

Size: To 2 feet tall and 18 inches wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Well-drained, slightly alkaline soil; drought tolerant

Zones: 3-9

Buy It: Soapwort, ($11, Bluestone Perennials)

Most people think of baby tears as a houseplant or terrarium plant, but in warm, humid regions, it makes a lovely bright green shade groundcover that works well in vertical gardens, containers, or shady pathways. When happy, baby tears spreads rapidly, forming a mosslike cushion. Keep the foot traffic on it light.

Botanical Name: Soleirolia soleirolii

Size: To 6 inches tall and 6 feet wide

Light: Full shade

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil

Zones: 9-11

Buy It: Baby Tears, ($6, Amazon)

Occasionally called cup flower, mazus forms a dense mass of bright green foliage highlighted with lavender, orchidlike flowers in late spring. It grows just 3 inches tall but packs a big impact when it spreads across the ground. It’s perfect for walkways or the edge of a flower border. This compact beauty grows quickly and tolerates light foot traffic.

Botanical Name: Mazus reptans

Size: To 3 inches tall and 1 foot wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Moist to wet soil

Zones: 5-8

Buy It: Purple Mazus, ($55, Gardener Direct)

No groundcover list would be complete without hens-and-chicks. Named for the baby "chicks" that surround each mother plant or "hen," this delightful succulent plant comes in a wide variety of forms and colors that you can mix and match to create a living mosaic. Hens-and-chicks can be tucked between pavers, in rock or wall gardens, or in containers. If the plants grow too close together, simply transplant the chicks to other locations in your landscape. Even though hens-and-chicks can take a lot of abuse, they don't like too much foot traffic.

Botanical Name: Sempervivum sp.

Size: To 1 foot tall and 18 inches wide

Light: Full sun

Growing Conditions: Well-drained soil; drought tolerant

Zones: 3-8

Buy It: ‘Chick Charms Bing Cherry’ Hens and Chicks, ($17, Plant Addicts)

One of the smallest members of the mint family, Corsican mint grows to only 1 inch tall, forming thick mats of aromatic foliage. In warm climates, it appreciates some afternoon shade during the hottest part of the summer, but otherwise does well in full sun locations. Use Corsican mint between stepping stones so you can enjoy its fragrance every time you brush past the foliage. In late summer, Corsican mint produces lilac flowers that are so tiny they are easy to overlook.

Botanical Name: Mentha requienii

Size: To 3 inches tall and 1 foot wide

Light: Full sun to part shade

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil

Zones: 6-9

Buy It: Corsican Mint, ($6, Mountain Valley Growers)