In her book Groundcover Revolution, author Kathy Jentz explores the option of replacing the traditional grass lawn with sustainable, eco-friendly alternatives. She begins by pointing out the problems with grass lawns and the downside to concrete or artificial turf, and proceeds to enumerate the many benefits of installing groundcover plants including weed suppression, wildlife support and soil improvement. A chapter on installing and maintaining groundcovers considers dealing with concerned neighbors and local lawn laws, and then discusses the various factors that are important to the selection of groundcovers and the basic principles involved in establishing and maintaining them. Profiles of 40 groundcovers follow and make up over half of the book. A final chapter discusses covering ground when nothing will grow there.
Each groundcover profile consist of at least two facing pages and includes botanic and common names, two or more photographs of the plant, a general description of the plant, and a chart summarizing the important information such as height, hardiness, bloom time, spread speed, native range, and light and soil requirements. Insets give further information on noteworthy cultivars, and interesting facts such as historical uses. The author considers a groundcover to be “any plant that sufficiently covers the soil in a fairly dense manner” and includes plants up to 3′ tall such as Solomon’s seal, northern sea oats, and prickly pear. Most of the plants, however, are low growing and have a wide range of requirements so readers can find suitable and pleasing groundcovers for most situations.
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Karen Meyers