Michigan Native Plants

By Anna OhlerPublished On: April 26th, 2023

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Top 10 Michigan Native Plants For Ground Cover

In recent years, there has been a big movement to replace invasive or ornamental plant species with native plants. One easy way to introduce native plants into your yard is to use them as ground cover in landscaped areas. This article will review some of the top native plant options for ground cover in Michigan, and how to plant them.

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What Is Ground Cover?

Ground cover refers to any low-growing plant or group of plants that is used to cover the ground, rather than growing vertically as a shrub or tree. Ground covers are often used in landscaping to provide a uniform, low-maintenance cover for bare soil or to control erosion on slopes.

Ground covers can include a wide variety of plants, such as low-growing grasses, flowering plants, and even certain types of mosses or ferns. They are typically hardy and easy to care for, making them a popular choice for both residential and commercial landscaping.

What Are The Benefits Of Planting Native Ground Cover?

Ground cover can provide several benefits for your landscaping, including:

Provide a visual interest in garden beds or to provide a backdrop for other plants. Ground cover provides a blanket of color that draws the eye and can help make other plants visually catching from color contrast.

Eliminate the need for weed fabric, mulch, or stones between larger plants such as native shrubs and trees. Native ground cover plants can grow thickly between other plants, out competing weeds and replacing the need for other mediums.

Provide essential food and habitat for insects and birds. Different types of ground cover can provide different elements for our local native insects and birds. Flowering ground covers attract pollinators, while ground covers that produce fall berries are a bit hit with our feathered friends.

Erosion control on sloped areas. Many types of native ground covers grow a lot of tightly clustered roots throughout the blanketed area. This type of root growth can be a great way to prevent erosion, especially on sloped or hilly areas.

Best Michigan Native Plants For Ground Cover

1.Wild Strawberry | Fragaria virginiana

Wild strawberry is a low, spreading ground cover that forms dense mats of bright green leaves. It blooms with small white flowers in spring and produces tiny, sweet berries that wildlife loves. Fast-growing and great for naturalizing, it works beautifully in borders, slopes, and native garden beds.

Growing Conditions

Full sun to partial shade
Prefers well-drained soil
Spreads quickly for easy ground coverage
Suitable for slopes and light erosion control

Ecological Benefits

Spring nectar source for native bees
Host plant for several butterfly species
Berries feed birds and small mammals

Wild strawberry is easily grown from seed, making it a really affordable option for covering large areas. We’ve had good success with these Wild Strawberry seeds from Everwilde Farms.

Grow Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana): sun–part sun, well-drained soils; edible native groundcover with spring bloom and sweet early-summer berries.

Wild Strawberry_Fruit_BLG

2. Wild Ginger | Asarum canadense

Wild ginger forms a lush carpet of heart-shaped leaves that stay attractive all season. Its hidden maroon flowers bloom at ground level in spring, while the dense foliage naturally suppresses weeds. This plant thrives in shade and is perfect for woodland gardens and shaded borders.

Growing Conditions

Full shade to partial shade
Moist, rich, well-drained soil
Slow to moderate spread through rhizomes
Excellent for dense ground coverage in shade

Ecological Benefits

Attracts early-season native pollinators
Provides shelter for insects and small ground-dwelling wildlife
Supports forest-floor biodiversity

Grow Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense): part to full shade, moist rich soil; lush native groundcover with hidden spring flowers and easy, low care spread.

Wild Ginger_Zoom

3. Creeping Phlox | Phlox subulata

Creeping phlox is a spring showstopper with its carpets of bright, colorful blooms. Its needle-like evergreen foliage forms a dense, low mat that spills beautifully over slopes, rock gardens, and borders. It spreads steadily and is one of the best flowering native ground covers for sunny areas.

Growing Conditions

Full sun
Prefers sandy or well-drained soil
Drought-tolerant once established
Ideal for slopes, edging, and rock gardens

Ecological Benefits

Early nectar source for bees and butterflies
Provides cover for small beneficial insects
Supports spring pollinator activity

Explore more images and purchasing options for creeping phlox.

Creeping phlox is a native ground cover that is drought tolerant and can help prevent soil erosion.

Blue Phlox by Danielle Blue

4. Wild Geranium | Geranium maculatum

Wild geranium offers soft pink to lavender flowers in spring and early summer above clumps of deeply lobed leaves. It spreads gently and fills woodland edges, shaded beds, and naturalized plantings with reliable color and texture.

Growing Conditions

Partial shade to full shade
Moist, well-drained soil
Moderate spread through clumping growth
Suitable for woodland borders and shaded beds

Ecological Benefits

Excellent nectar plant for native bees
Attracts early butterflies
Provides habitat for woodland insects

Small purple flowers top wild geranium, a commonly used ground cover in Michigan.

Wild Geranium by Cranbrook Science

5. Blue-Eyed Grass | Sisyrinchium angustifolium

Blue-eyed grass forms tidy clumps of grass-like foliage topped with dainty blue-purple flowers. Despite its name, it’s actually a small iris species that works beautifully along paths, in meadows, or mixed in sunny perennial beds.

Growing Conditions

Full sun to partial shade
Prefers moist, well-drained soil
Slow to moderate spread through clumping
Works well in open meadows and borders

Ecological Benefits

Attracts small native bees
Provides nectar for early-season pollinators
Supports meadow and prairie biodiversity

Blue-eyed grass can be started from seed pretty easily as long as it gets a cold, moist stratification period. Everwilde Farms also carries a reliable seed for Blue-Eyed Grass that we’ve had success with!

Blue eyed grass is a stunning native grass that grows densely to form an effective ground cover.

Native Blue Eyed Grass Ground Cover

6. Pennsylvania Sedge | Carex pensylvanica

Pennsylvania sedge is a soft, fine-textured ground cover that forms low, flowing mats. It’s one of the best native lawn alternatives for dry shade and spreads gently but reliably through rhizomes.

Growing Conditions

Partial shade to full shade
Prefers dry to medium, well-drained soil
Forms low, grass-like mats
Ideal for shaded slopes and woodland lawns

Ecological Benefits

Host plant for several native moth species
Provides shelter for ground insects
Supports woodland ecosystem diversity

View more images and purchasing options for live Pennsylvania Sedge plants here!

Pennsylvania Sedge

7. Foamflower | Tiarella cordifolia

Foamflower produces frothy spikes of white spring blooms above attractive, heart-shaped foliage. Its semi-evergreen leaves and creeping habit make it an excellent native ground cover for shaded gardens.

Growing Conditions

Partial shade to full shade
Moist, rich, well-drained soil
Moderate spreading through stolons
Great for woodland beds and shady borders

Ecological Benefits

Nectar source for early native bees
Supports forest-floor insect activity
Provides shelter for small wildlife

View more images and purchasing options for foam flower here!

Foamflower being used as a thick and pretty ground cover in Michigan.

Foamflower by F.D. Richards

8. Canada Anemone | Anemone canadensis

Canada anemone forms vigorous, spreading colonies of bright green foliage topped with cheerful white flowers in late spring. It’s ideal for large naturalized areas where rapid coverage is needed.

Growing Conditions

Full sun to partial shade
Moist to medium, well-drained soil
Fast spreading for large coverage
Excellent for meadows, slopes, and naturalized plantings

Ecological Benefits

Attracts bees and pollinating flies
Provides habitat and cover for insects
Supports early-season biodiversity

View more images and purchasing options here!

Canada Anemone

9. Bearberry | Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Bearberry is a tough, evergreen ground cover with glossy leaves, pale pink spring flowers, and bright red berries loved by wildlife. It thrives in sandy, dry, acidic soils and is ideal for slopes, rock gardens, and dry open spaces.

Growing Conditions

Full sun
Dry, sandy, acidic soil
Slow spreading, evergreen ground cover
Excellent for erosion control on slopes

Ecological Benefits

Flowers feed early native bees
Berries support birds and small mammals
Provides year-round cover for wildlife

View more photos of this stunning ground cover, along with purchasing options here!

Blooms on bear berry plant that is a native Michigan ground cover plant.

Bearberry Bloom

10. Coral Bells | Heuchera americana

Coral bells offer colorful foliage and airy spikes of tiny summer flowers. They form neat clumps that spread slowly and add texture and contrast to shade and part-shade garden beds.

Growing Conditions

Partial shade
Moist, well-drained soil
Slow spreading through clumping growth
Ideal for borders, edging, and mixed shade gardens

Ecological Benefits

Attracts hummingbirds and native bees
Provides pollen for small insects
Supports biodiversity in shaded landscapes

Coral bells can be started by seed, but if you are trying to grow a significant patch for ground cover it is often easier to start from established plants. View live plant purchasing options here!

Heuchera, or coral bells, is a Michigan perennial that can be planted in the fall season to bloom the following spring.

Purple Heuchera fastgrowingtrees.sjv.io/AWjEYx

Why Are Native Plants So Important?

Native plants play a critical role in healthy ecosystems. They support biodiversity, improve soil and water function, and require fewer inputs compared to nonnative species.

Biodiversity Support
Native plants are the foundation of local food webs. Research shows that native plants support up to 10 to 20 times more caterpillar biomass than nonnative ornamentals, which directly affects bird survival. More than 90 percent of terrestrial birds feed insects to their young, making native plant communities essential for nesting success.

Adapted to Local Conditions
Because native plants evolved within regional climates and soils, they tolerate local temperature swings, rainfall patterns, and seasonal changes. They typically need less water, fertilizer, and pest control compared to nonnative species. This makes them reliable performers in home landscapes, even under stressful weather conditions.

Conservation of At-Risk Species
Habitat loss has contributed to declines in more than one third of native plant species in the United States. Adding native plants to yards, parks, and restoration areas creates habitat corridors that help support vulnerable plant and insect populations.

Ecosystem Services
Native species contribute measurable ecological benefits. Deep-rooted natives improve soil structure and infiltration, reducing soil erosion and runoff. Studies show that native vegetation can filter 70 to 90 percent of sediments before they reach waterways. Many species also support pollinators responsible for roughly one third of our food supply. In addition, native plantings store carbon, cool surrounding air, and reduce urban heat.

Planting native groundcovers is a simple way to strengthen local ecosystems while creating a resilient, low-maintenance landscape.

For more regionally relevant information, visit our Michigan Native Plants hub page!

Learn More About Michigan Native Plants

Michigan has an abundance of native plant species that are equal parts beautiful and functional within our local ecosystems. Check out some of our other guides on growing native plants in Michigan:

Shop Locally For Michigan Native Plants

Bright Lane Gardens proudly supports the native plant movement by offering locally native plants that thrive in our region. Our plants are sourced from Michigan growers and are selected based on their appearance, longevity, and habitat/food contributions for our local wildlife.

In addition to native plants, we also sell everything you need to start your own vegetable garden, fruit bushes and trees, larger trees and shrubs, and all of the soils, amendments and accessories you need for your garden project.