With thick, woolly leaves, lambs’ ears is as soft as it looks. In early summer, spikes of small, pinkish-purple flowers, which range from 4 to 18 inches in height, bloom on most cultivars. Lambs’ ears ...

Grass might be the ultimate walkable ground cover plant, but even traditional lawns will wear out with too much foot traffic. Think about those brown play areas in your backyard, or how permissive ...

Cultivating a lush lawn takes a lot of maintenance, especially in hot, drought-prone regions. If you’re looking for a practical and pretty alternative, a myoporum ground cover could be worth ...

Who doesn't love the sight (and sounds) of beautiful hummingbirds wandering about from flower to flower in their yard and feeding on nectar as if magically suspended mid-air? While you sit and take in ...

My friend Robert has a dilemma on the nearly unmowable, steep slope in his hot, sunny front yard. For years St. Augustine grass did just fine, but back-to-back wet and dry seasons set it up for ...

If you have a standard lawn of grass outside your home, you may have had occasion to wonder if our ancestors were crazy. How in the world did grass become the de facto ground covering? Grass is a pain ...

If your front yard feels dated, or has a whimsical yet fussy style that you've grown tired of, it's time to turn to a more contemporary look. Often, this means stripping out the excess and focusing on ...

Many Midwestern homes have areas planted with ground covers. These low-growing, often vigorously spreading plants are generally easier to maintain than grass, but they are not carefree. For example, ...

Steve Nix is a member of the Society of American Foresters and a former forest resources analyst for the state of Alabama. Tree and yard owners are often faced with the problem of a tree's exposed ...