Not all garden stars get the spotlight. While some plants are common go-tos, others quietly do the heavy lifting—filling in space fast and adding unexpected beauty to bare spots.
If you’re looking for something fresh and different, these 11 lesser-known fast growers will quickly cover gaps while giving your garden a distinctive look.
Golden Groundsel (Packera aurea)
This fast-spreading native loves shade and moist soil. Its bold yellow blooms in spring attract pollinators, while the dense foliage quickly covers bare patches and suppresses weeds.
Hardy Ice Plant (Delosperma cooperi)
This tough, trailing succulent bursts with bright daisy-like blooms and spreads fast in hot, dry spots. It’s perfect for sunny slopes, rock gardens, or those tricky gravel patches.
Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris)
A low-growing wildflower with purple blooms, self-heal spreads quickly by creeping stems and fills in grassy or partially shaded areas. It’s bee-friendly, resilient, and even has herbal uses.
Fleeceflower (Persicaria affinis)
This fast-spreading perennial grows as a ground-hugging carpet with tiny pink flowers that turn reddish over time. It thrives in sun or part shade and offers a beautiful, textural alternative to turf.
Strawberry Begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera)
This shade-loving beauty sends out strawberry-like runners that root wherever they touch. With fuzzy leaves and delicate white flowers, it fills in dim corners quickly and stylishly.
Creeping Raspberry (Rubus calycinoides)
Not your average berry plant, this ground-hugging evergreen spreads fast and creates a beautiful, low-maintenance mat. It’s tough, drought-tolerant, and even produces tiny, edible fruits.
Speedwell (Veronica ‘Waterperry Blue’)
This compact variety of Veronica hugs the ground and covers bare spots with blue-violet flowers in spring and fall. It spreads fast, especially in full sun, and provides year-round foliage interest.
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)
Perfect for shady nooks, wild ginger forms a lush carpet of heart-shaped leaves. While its small flowers are often hidden, it spreads steadily and suppresses weeds with elegant coverage.
Silver Mound Artemisia (Artemisia schmidtiana)
This soft, silver plant offers rapid growth and excellent texture contrast in sunny borders. It’s deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, and quickly forms tidy mounds that edge paths or beds beautifully.
Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’
This colorful and vigorous grower features red, green, and yellow foliage. It spreads very quickly—ideal for contained beds or areas where you want fast results and vibrant color.
Running Tapestry Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora var. prolifica)
This rare spreading fern offers glossy fronds that emerge coppery-pink before maturing to green. It spreads by underground runners and works beautifully in shady woodland gardens.
Why settle for the usual when you can fill in your garden with plants that bring both speed and surprise? These lesser-known growers thrive in tough spots, cover ground fast, and offer unique texture, foliage, and flowers.
Comments
No Comments