Hedges usually serve as property boundaries and privacy screens - but their functional character can still be expanded and beautified. It's best to use ground cover plants - we'll show you some combination options and tips.
Which ground cover plants go well under hedges?
The suitable ground cover plants for planting under hedges include shade-tolerant varieties such as golden nettle, spotted lungwort, foam blossom, fern, goldenberry (Waldsteinia), periwinkle and ysander. They contribute to visual enhancement, soil improvement and weed control.
Planting hedges with ground cover plants – the arguments
A hedge often has a very pragmatic role - it is simply intended to separate the property from the sidewalk or neighbors and ensure privacy in your own garden. Many common hedge plants such as privet, holly or cherry laurel are therefore dense and have rather dark leaves. It is usually less likely to have any jewelry value. You can definitely treat yourself to a certain visual plus with pretty underplanting.
Comparatively tall or tree-like hedge plants such as thujas or rhododendrons also create bare areas in the hedgerow that are not particularly attractive and are more easily overgrown by weeds.
But even the most practical gardeners can benefit from planting ground cover under their hedge. Because it can be particularly useful among shallow-rooted plants in the form of weed control and soil improvement. They provide shallow-growing hedge roots with permanent moisture and nutrients, thereby ensuring they thrive.
The arguments for underplanting hedges with ground cover plants at a glance:
- Optical enhancement of a functional property boundary
- Filling bare areas between saplings and hedge plants
- Soil enhancement through ground cover
Suitable varieties
Since a hedge usually casts a lot of shade and is evergreen due to its privacy function, it is obvious that only ground cover that is compatible with shade to partial shade can be considered for underplanting. Golden nettle, spotted lungwort, pretty, delicate foam flowers or a fern are particularly suitable for dark hedge plants such as rhododendrons. These varieties also develop a relatively loose root system - which makes them suitable for planting under other shallow-rooted hedge plants that do not want to be suffocated by dense, typical weed killer ground cover plants.
The goldberry, also known as Waldsteinie, is an excellent and very popular planter for hedges. With its relatively dense growth, it is more suitable for deep-rooted plants such as yew or hawthorn, but is extremely undemanding in terms of soil and light. It also offers a pleasant splash of structure and color with its strawberry-like foliage and small, cheerful yolk-yellow flowers. The good old evergreen or Ysander are also problem-free ground cover for hedges.
