This natty tightset ground cover hosts dainty urn-shaped white flowers amid small lustrous gray-green leaves that burst forth with cozy bronze hues. A low, fast spreading evergreen gem introduced by Saratoga Horticultural Foundation in 1972, ‘Carmel Sur’ takes on heat, heavy clay soil, dry conditions and regular summer irrigation, better than most Manzanitas. It smothers weeds, stabilizes slopes and serves as a verdant lawn replacement.

Blooms March–April

Size: 12" high x 4' 0" – 6' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 8.

Full of vigor and bright, fine textured greenery, this coastal California native spreads to form a low, handsome mound. Rubescent brown branches gracefully sweep upwards and sometimes grow in twisted shapes, forming a framework for the upfacing, pointed leaves, reddened stems and dainty white flowers.

Always appreciative of well drained sites, and when grown inland, summertime watering with a little shade, ‘Wayside’ is a superb candidate for banks, rock gardens or native plantings accompanying Erigeron ‘Ron’s Pink’ and Deschampsia ‘Goldgehänge’.

Blooms February–April

Size: 2' 0" – 3' 0" high x 6' 0" – 8' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 8.

Flat-growing reddish brown branchlets with gleaming miniature dark greenery, an unmatched profusion of flowers and berries plus superb disease resistance set ‘Little Leaf Massachusetts’ apart. Exhibiting exceptional cold tolerance and perhaps the tiniest, spot-free leaves of all uva-ursi species, this wildly popular prostrate ground cover turns burgundy when cold weather arrives, cascades down banks or over walls and thrives in poor, acidic sandy soil.

Blooms April–May

Size: 6" – 12" high x 3' 0" – 4' 0" wide.

Zone 2b.

Lustrous, trim and fresh looking, this prostrate evergreen ground cover keeps its composure all year long. Small, rich green leathery leaves glow with wintertime reddish purple tinges, while ushering in quantities of light pink urn-like flowers, followed by showy red apple-shaped berries that birds adore. A sturdy northern California native reputed to possess astringent qualities, ‘Radiant’s lush close-to-the-ground mat brings verdant low maintenance accents to a native or Mediterranean setting.

Blooms March–April

Size: 6" – 8" high x 3' 0" – 5' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

A tidy low growing mainstay for the rockery, the oblong and narrow, vivid deep green leaves and red-tinged petioles clasp long slender stems to create a closely knit, polished ground cover. Aptly named ‘Vancouver Jade’ premiers pale pink flowers in early spring, broadcasts reddish bronze tones in winter and boasts a vigorous disease-resistant habit.

Blooms March–April

Size: 6" high x 3' 0" & spreading wide.

Hardy to zone 5.