15 Best Flowering Ground Covers for Sun
A sunny yard deserves more than plain grass — it deserves a tapestry of color that blooms season after season. Flowering ground covers are perfect for this, bringing low-growing beauty, easy maintenance, and bursts of color to bright, open spaces.
Whether you’re filling a slope, covering bare soil, or adding softness between paths, these fifteen sun-loving bloomers will make your landscape shine.
1. Creeping Phlox
Creeping Phlox is a garden favorite for sunny slopes and rock gardens. In spring, it blankets the ground with waves of pink, purple, blue, or white flowers, creating a breathtaking carpet of color. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, forming dense mats that also help prevent erosion. Once established, it’s drought-tolerant and nearly carefree.
2. Ice Plant (Delosperma)
If you need a sun-loving ground cover that handles heat and drought, the Ice Plant is unbeatable. Its succulent leaves shimmer with a frosty glow, while bright daisy-like flowers bloom all summer in shades of pink, orange, and yellow. It’s perfect for hot, dry spots where little else will grow — ideal for desert or coastal gardens.
3. Creeping Thyme
Creeping Thyme is not only aromatic but also beautifully floral. In summer, it bursts with tiny purple or pink blossoms that attract bees and butterflies. It stays low and spreads evenly, making it a favorite between pavers or around pathways. Plus, it’s tough enough to handle foot traffic and poor soil conditions.
4. Moss Rose (Portulaca)
For vibrant color and sun-loving resilience, Moss Rose is hard to beat. Its cheerful blooms open each morning and come in brilliant shades of red, yellow, pink, and white. It loves heat and sandy soil, making it a great option for rock gardens or dry patches where grass struggles to grow.
5. Verbena
Verbena is a fast-growing ground cover that produces clusters of vivid flowers all season long. Its trailing habit makes it perfect for sunny slopes, borders, or containers that spill over beautifully. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, rewarding you with color from spring until frost.
6. Lantana
Lantana is a sun-worshipper that’s both hardy and eye-catching. Its clusters of small, multi-colored flowers attract butterflies and bees all summer. It’s drought-tolerant once established and thrives even in poor soil. In warm regions, it’s evergreen; in cooler climates, it returns each year from the roots.
7. Creeping Jenny (Golden Moneywort)
Creeping Jenny’s bright, golden-green leaves add instant warmth to sunny areas. In summer, it produces tiny yellow flowers that add an extra layer of charm. It spreads quickly, filling empty spaces with glowing color. Perfect for borders, rock gardens, or spilling over retaining walls for a cascading look.
8. Sedum (Stonecrop)
Sedum is the ultimate low-maintenance ground cover for sunny spots. Its fleshy, water-storing leaves stay fresh in heat, and its star-shaped flowers bloom in shades of pink, yellow, and white. Sedum varieties like ‘Dragon’s Blood’ or ‘Angelina’ create striking contrasts of color and texture across your garden.
9. Gazania (Treasure Flower)
Gazania brings bold, sunburst blooms to hot, dry areas. Its daisy-like flowers open in the sun and close at night, with vibrant hues of orange, yellow, and red. It’s perfect for edging sunny walkways or filling dry slopes where other plants fade. Gazania thrives on neglect and rewards you with months of color.
10. Alyssum (Sweet Alyssum)
Sweet Alyssum is a fragrant favorite for sunny gardens. Its clouds of tiny white, pink, or purple flowers bloom nonstop through the warm months. It’s low-growing, spreads gently, and attracts pollinators. It also reseeds easily, giving you free color year after year.
11. Dwarf Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
Vinca minor, or Dwarf Periwinkle, offers glossy evergreen leaves and lovely blue-violet blooms. Though it tolerates some shade, it truly thrives in sunny areas. It spreads steadily without being invasive and keeps your garden looking polished and full.
12. Rock Cress (Aubrieta)
Rock Cress is a vibrant spring bloomer that loves full sun and rocky soil. Its purple or pink flowers spill beautifully over walls and pathways, creating a soft, cascading effect. It’s drought-tolerant and looks stunning when paired with other low growers like creeping thyme or sedum.
13. Coreopsis (Tickseed)
For a wildflower-style carpet that thrives in full sun, Coreopsis is a must-have. Its cheerful yellow flowers bloom endlessly through summer, and it’s tolerant of heat and dry soil. It spreads slowly, filling open areas with a meadow-like glow that feels effortlessly natural.
14. Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima)
Sea Thrift forms tidy mounds of grass-like foliage topped with pink or white pom-pom blooms. It’s perfect for coastal or rocky gardens since it handles salt and wind beautifully. It stays neat, blooms generously, and adds lovely structure to sunny borders and slopes.
15. Creeping Zinnia (Sanvitalia)
Creeping Zinnia is cheerful and tough — its golden, daisy-like flowers bloom nonstop all summer. It loves full sun and dry soil, spreading gently to form a bright, happy ground cover. Perfect for edging garden beds or filling bare sunny spots with long-lasting color.
Design Tip
Combine several flowering ground covers for a layered, natural look. Try using Creeping Phlox on slopes, Sedum for hot rock areas, and Alyssum near walkways for fragrance. Mixing bloom colors and textures will keep your garden visually interesting throughout the year.
Pro Tip for Long-Lasting Color
For continuous blooms, choose varieties that flower in different seasons — early spring stars like Rock Cress, summer performers like Lantana and Verbena, and late-season color from Coreopsis. Trim spent blooms to encourage new growth and extend the flowering period.
Budget-Friendly Planting Setup
Flowering ground covers are one of the easiest ways to get a big visual impact on a budget. Starter trays cost less than $5 each, and many varieties like Creeping Thyme and Alyssum spread quickly within one season. For a 100 sq ft area, you can create a colorful, full garden for under $60 — no lawn mower required.
Final Thought: A Garden That Blooms Back
Planting flowering ground covers is like giving your yard a living work of art — full of color, texture, and life. These fifteen sun-loving varieties thrive where grass won’t, bring beauty to every corner, and ask for almost nothing in return. With a little sunlight and love, your garden will reward you with waves of blooms that keep coming back year after year.
