PERENNIAL GROUNDCOVERS

June 15, 2026 Karen Logan

Virginia Bluebells [photo by keith kurman]

LIVING MULCH:

Perennial

Groundcovers

When it comes to creating a low-maintenance landscape, low-growing, ground-hugging perennial plants are nature’s best defense against weeds. Instead of continually buying and spreading mulch every spring, planting a "living mulch" of groundcovers brings not only more color and texture but vital food and shelter for local insects and birds. They can even serve as a beautiful alternative to traditional grass lawns.

When you choose native groundcovers, care becomes even easier, requiring no supplemental fertilizer and only minimal watering once established. Many selections are fully evergreen, providing reliable winter coverage and essential erosion control. Whether you are dealing with a baking, full-sun slope or a deep, dry canopy of shade, there is a perfect groundcover for the job.

Try planting ground covers at the base of your shrubs instead of mulching. Ground covers are very effective at keeping weeds out and moisture in!

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Groundcovers for Shade to Part-Shade

These woodland-loving plants thrive in partial to full shade, great for planting under tree canopies and around established shrubs.

Exceptional Foliage

Native Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia): A spectacular native beauty that features delicate, frosted foliage and airy spikes of white flowers in spring.
European Ginger (Asarum europaeum): A slow-spreading perennial grown for its remarkably shiny, leathery, rounded leaves. It features hidden spring flowers tucked entirely beneath the foliage that are uniquely pollinated by ants! Evergreen.
Barrenwort (Epimedium): A highly less-common groundcover that is incredibly tough once established, thriving effortlessly in dry shade where other plants struggle.
Pachysandra: While Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis) is an industry standard, our favorite is our Allegheny Spurge (Pachysandra procumbens), a gorgeous Eastern US alternative with beautifully mottled, matte-green leaves. Both are excellent evergreen choices.
Wood Spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae): A highly deer-resistant, evergreen option that spreads vigorously via underground stolons. It sends up striking 18-inch stalks of chartreuse blooms in the spring and appreciates protection from the hot afternoon sun.

Spring Bloomers

Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum): A fine-textured carpet that covers the ground with small, starry white flowers from spring through early summer. It spreads vigorously via shallow side shoots, making it an ideal border accent. Because it isn't aggressive, spring-blooming bulbs can easily push right up through it.
Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica): A classic choice that forms large clumps of soft blue, bell-shaped flowers in the spring. Virginia Bluebells go completely dormant and disappear by mid-summer. Always plant them in combination with later-emerging perennials, which will seamlessly fill the empty space later in the season.
Native Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis): A stunning, trailing native groundcover in the dogwood family. It features classic white four-petaled flowers in late spring / early summer, followed by bright clusters of showy red autumn berries.

**Virginia Bluebells (*Mertensia virginica*)**

Native Ferns (Excellent Massers)

Ferns spread beautifully to create lush carpets in damp or dappled shade:

Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris): Tall, dramatic, and spreads rapidly via runners to fill large spaces.
Hay-Scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctiloba): A fast-spreading, native ground-covering fern that releases a beautiful aroma resembling fresh-cut hay when brushed against.
Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides): A glossy, deep green native fern that stays fully evergreen through the winter months.
And there are many more!

Groundcovers for Sun to Partial Shade

These sun-loving groundcovers are perfect for open borders, rock gardens, path edgings, and areas that get hit with hot afternoon sun.

Pussytoes (Antennaria spp.): A fantastic, low-growing native groundcover that thrives in dry, sunny, and nutrient-poor soils. It features soft, fuzzy, silver-green foliage that adds a beautiful, light-reflecting texture to the landscape. In the spring, it produces unique, soft white flower heads that resemble the pads of a cat's paw. It serves as a great native alternative to non-native lamb's ear and is exceptionally tough once established.
Creeping & Woolly Thymes (Thymus spp.): The ultimate choice for hot, sunny, well-drained spaces or planting between stepping stones.
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum calycinum): A true pollinator magnet that produces massive amounts of yellow flowers. It spreads vigorously via underground stems and handles partial shade well, though more sun equals more flowers!
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi): An incredibly tough, classic native groundcover. It forms a low-profile, woody, evergreen mat that thrives in sandy, coastal soils where little else will grow.
Prairie Smoke / Avens (Geum triflorum): An excellent, ultra-hardy ground cover. While the spring flowers are lovely, it is best known for its spectacular, feathery, pink neon seed heads that look like puffs of smoke rising from the garden bed.
Persicaria: A fantastic choice for late-season interest. This vigorous, stoloniferous spreader features an exceptionally long bloom window from July all the way into October.
Blue Star Creeper (Isotoma fluviatilis / Laurentia) & Pratia: Two fascinating, ultra-low, mat-forming plants that function beautifully as a lawn alternative, filling in completely around flagstones and handling light foot traffic.

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SUCCESSION

GARDENING

AS A GROUNDCOVER

While traditional groundcovers spread outward via stolons or runners to blanket a flat surface, there is another dynamic approach to coverage known as succession gardening. Instead of relying on a single plant to cover a patch of earth all year long, succession planting uses a choreographed sequence of growth where late-emerging, large-leafed perennials rise up to seamlessly replace early-season plants that have finished blooming and gone dormant.

Though these structural plants may not trail along the ground, they function perfectly as a groundcover by ensuring that the soil is never left bare, vulnerable to erosion, or open to opportunistic weeds. Even better, this layered, multi-species approach dramatically increases the overall biodiversity of the garden, offering varied nectars and pollens for different local pollinators as the seasons shift.

The Great Dixter Inspiration

This sophisticated method of choreographing overlapping plant lifecycles is a concept being perfected at the world-renowned Great Dixter House and Gardens in England, where Andrew completed an immersive internship. Andrew has been refining this technique, naturally weaving together plants to create this beautiful succession within our island ecosystem.

Gorgeous combination of Thalictrum ‘Elin,’ Aquilegia, Euphorbia x pseudovirgata and the leaf and seed pod of Paeonia delavayi

How it Works

The magic of succession gardening lies in pairing "ephemerals" plants that put on a spectacular early-spring show and then completely disappear in the summer heat with late-emerging structural companions. Instead of looking at yellowing bulb foliage or empty dirt patches, these late-blooming perennials push right through the fading greenery, covering it completely so you never have to cut it back manually.

Soft, Early-Season Coverups

Pair spring bulbs with soft, mounding textures that come up in early summer. Let the spring perennials foliage be naturally covered up by the expanding leaves of Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) or the dense, clean mounds of White Bloody Cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum 'Album').

The Woodland Understory

True woodland ephemerals are built to bloom before the forest canopy leafs out, meaning they vanish entirely by mid-summer. Spring favorites like Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis), native Trilliums, and Shooting Stars (Dodecatheon) leave noticeable gaps when they go dormant. Succession plants that slowly emerge from the soil and then unfurl their leaves when the spring bloomers begin to fade covering up the empty space. Good succession plants are Hostas, Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride', Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) or Bigleaf Aster (Eurybia macrophylla).

Larger Structural Plants

Larger spring bulbs and structural perennials leave behind heavy, messy foliage that requires a more robust plant to successfully mask. Large bulbs like Daffodils (Narcissus), Camassia, and Autumn Crocus (Colchicum) can be easily hidden away using towering, architectural late-bloomers like Meadow Rue (Thalictrum), Goat's Beard (Aruncus), or Bugbane/Cohosh (Cimicifuga). A structural giant like Thalictrum will weave its wiry stems right up through the messy, collapsing bulb foliage, completely hiding it from view while throwing up airy lace-like blooms later in the summer.

Late-Season Plants

When mapping out your succession layout, these are some top late-emerging perennials to plant right alongside your spring bulbs and ephemerals to ensure continuous ground coverage:

For Architectural Foliage: Rodgersia, ornamental rhubarb (Rheum), and the smoky, feathery plumes of Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum').
For Structural Summer Blooms: Burnet (Sanguisorbia), Monkshood (Aconitum), dramatic Foxgloves (Digitalis), and highly resilient Wood Spurge (Euphorbia).

By pairing the early risers with the late bloomers, your garden becomes a self-managing, living tapestry that protects the soil, smothers the weeds, adds vital food sources and keeps the landscape visually beautiful throughout the entire growing season!

NATIVE GROUNDCOVERS

ECOLOGICAL GARDENING

SCREENING FOR NATURAL PRIVACY

May 15, 2026 Karen Logan

Screening for Natural Privacy

Balancing Budget, Environment, and Aesthetics

Screening is one of the most frequently requested landscape functions we encounter. From a homeowner’s perspective, the request seems simple: “I need privacy from my neighbors.” However, from a designer and grower’s perspective, creating a successful, long-lasting living wall is a beautiful but complex puzzle.

To understand how we approach this challenge, we look at a recent Island project, followed by the core principles that dictate a successful screening design.

A Recent Client Scenario: Instant Restoration

Over the winter, a client watched as their neighbor’s property was cleared for the construction of a new, two-story house. Overnight, their front yard, once a mature, oak forest, was transformed into an open construction site. The clients reached out to Vineyard Gardens to help them restore the natural privacy they were accustomed to.

The Solution: Vineyard Gardens collaborated with Maciel Land and Tree to bring back the natural barrier. Utilizing Maciel’s giant 90-inch diameter tree spade, we successfully transplanted five mature, 20-foot Thuja plicata (Western Red Cedar) directly into the void. The result was seamless; this new screen looks as though the trees have been growing there for decades, providing instant natural relief and peace of mind.

While a large-scale transplant is the ultimate instant fix, every property requires a tailored approach based on three critical factors: Budget, Environment, and Taste.

A couple of years later once established

1. The Budget: Time vs. Money

Privacy is a universal need regardless of budget, but your financial investment directly correlates to the time it will take to achieve your end goal.

The larger the tree, shrub, or grass, the more expensive it is to source and the more labor-intensive it is to install. Furthermore, even very large transplants require a couple of years of dedicated care to re-establish their supporting root systems.
Homeowners are often tempted to choose the fastest-growing plants available. However, fast-growing varieties are often weak-wooded, making them highly susceptible to high winds and winter storm damage, or they can become invasive, quickly outgrowing their intended footprint.

The Economical Choice: Often, the hardiest and most economical solution is to start your screening vision with smaller, high-quality plants that can quickly adapt to the native soil and rapidly establish themselves.

2. The Environment: Above and Below Ground

Martha's Vineyard may be small, but it features an incredibly diverse range of microclimates and habitats. A plant that creates a flawless screen in Vineyard Haven yard will not necessarily survive in Chilmark.

When designing a living screen, remember that what you see above ground is only half the plant; what happens below is even more critical.

Soil Types: The sandy, nutrient-poor soils of Oak Bluffs drain instantly, while other pockets of the Island feature heavy clay soils that retain water and can slowly suffocate new roots.
Moisture Levels: Ample groundwater is a blessing for some species, but it will quickly cause root rot in drought-loving plants like Juniper.
The Browse Line: Deer pressure varies heavily across the Island. Up-island, heavy deer browsing can decimate certain evergreen screens in a single winter.

3. Taste vs. Practicality: Cultivating Flexibility

When walking through the nursery, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the beautiful varieties on display. But while we may carry 15 different types of evergreens, your specific site conditions might dictate that only 3 or 4 will actually thrive.

Success requires observing your unique growing conditions and remaining flexible in your aesthetic expectations:

Sun vs. Shade: If planted in the shade, sun-loving Junipers will languish for years before dying. Conversely, if planted in full sun and exposed to high winds, classic Arborvitae will scorch and lose their uniform shape.
The Deer Workaround: If you have high deer pressure, native American Hollies (Ilex opaca) are an excellent shade-tolerant choice, but deer will often defoliate them up to the 4 to 5 foot "browse line" over the winter. To counter this, we recommend pairing Hollies with an under-planting of Clethra (Summersweet) or Winterberry, both of which are shade-tolerant, deer-resistant, deciduous native shrubs that elegantly fill the lower gaps where the deer nibble.

Carpinus as a hedge (at Cronig's up-Island)

The Deciduous Alternative for Summer Residents

If you primarily live on the Island during the summer season, you don't necessarily need a dense evergreen. Deciduous screening options offer exceptional texture, faster establishment, and beautiful seasonal transitions:

Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata'): A stunning, upright deciduous tree that forms a dense, natural-looking screen in just a few years, even when starting from a smaller, economical plant size. They also transplant beautifully as larger specimens, offering a solution for every pocketbook.
Native American Beech (Fagus grandifolia): A highly dependable native screening tree. Beeches naturally hold onto their lower branches, and once leafed out, they provide an impenetrable summer screen. As an added bonus, they tend to hold onto their dried, warm-copper fall foliage throughout the winter (marcescence), extending their screening utility deep into the off-season.

Let Us Help You Design & Install Your Screen

Whether you need an immediate intervention or a thoughtful, budget-friendly blueprint using smaller native species, the landscape team at Vineyard Gardens is here to help you navigate the process. Every property on the Island is unique, and selecting the right plant for the right place is the key. We will work with you to analyze your soil, evaluate your light, and choose the perfect palette for your property.

LANDSCAPE PROJECTS

LANDSCAPE SERVICES

BROADLEAF EVERGREENS

April 27, 2026 Karen Logan

Rhododendron Maximum illustration by karen blackerby logan

BONES OF THE GARDEN

Broadleaf evergreens

Often in spring, it’s easy to get excited about the fresh smells and colors of early spring flowers that first burst to life after winter. But beneath all that seasonal excitement, it’s the evergreens that quietly hold everything together. They are the bones of the garden, the structure and backdrop. While flowers come and go, evergreens carry the landscape through every season. Broadleaf evergreens, in particular, offer year-round texture and depth, anchoring the garden in winter and elevating it in spring, summer, and fall. They don’t just fill space, they give the garden its shape.

Rhdodendrons are wonderful for year round screening

The Benefits of Broadleaf Evergreens

They provide year round interest
Great for privacy screening
Drought resistant, once established
Provides habitats for birds and other small animals
Pollinator friendly!
Great for Martha’s Vineyards climate zone 7A

Most broadleaf evergreens have a spectacular display of spring blooms!

Even better, they don’t all flower at once. Skimmia and Pieris japonica lead the way in early spring, followed by azaleas and rhododendrons creating a long, layered season of color.

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BROADLEAF EVERGREENS

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SKIP CHERRY LAURELS

Skip Cherry Laurels are vibrant evergreen trees that can create dense privacy hedges for any yard. Skip laurels grow to be 10-18 feet tall and 5-7 feet wide, with a moderate growth rate of roughly 24 inches per year. While they thrive in full sunlight, Skip laurels also fare very well in the shade. Their dense foliage is glossy green year-round. In the springtime, you’ll be rewarded with fragrant white blossoms that attract all kinds of pollinators. In fall and winter, Skip laurel trees produce red berries that attract songbirds.

Make excellent privacy screens

Green year-round
Fragrant, white blossoms in spring
Drought-tolerant
Smaller leaves than other laurels that give a neat, compact look
Deer-resistant

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MAHONIA

Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ is a small to medium evergreen shrub growing up to 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide, with an upright form and large fern-like leaves arranged in whorls on sturdy, branching stems. In late fall to early winter, it produces fragrant yellow flower spikes followed by clusters of waxy blue berries loved by birds. A striking focal point in the winter garden.

PLANTING TIP
Plant Winter Sun Mahonia in a sheltered site, ideally with an eastern exposure. It prefers moist, well-drained soil. Plant it where its winter blooms and fragrance can be enjoyed up close, along a path or near a seating area.

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AZALEAS

This spring, our flowering shrubs include the familiar evergreen rhododendrons and azaleas. Azaleas are part of the rhododendron family and represent a diverse genus with many species, including both evergreen and deciduous forms. In general, deciduous azaleas bloom slightly later than evergreen types, flowering on old wood before the new leaves emerge.

Some deciduous, fragrant azaleas:

Azalea viscosum, native swamp azalea: These bloom a little later and often bloom before the foliage emerges, making them extra showy. The fragrant blooms will perfume your entire property, growing 8-10ft tall and 6-8ft wide.
My Mary: A yellow, fragrant, deciduous, spring blooming azalea that attracts pollinators and butterflies, growing 4-5ft tall.
Rhododendron prunifolium: This is a species azalea (not a hybrid). It is a native wild azalea.

There are some deciduous Weston hybrids with viscosum that stay smaller. If an 8ft shrub is too big for your spot try one of these :

Lemon Drop: A yellow blooming fragrant deciduous azalea
Innocence: A white blooming fragrant deciduous azalea

To see these deciduous azaleas in their full splendor they will be blooming in a few weeks at the Polly Hill Arboretum!

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BUXUS (BOXWOOD)

Buxus is an evergreen deer resistant shrub that typically bloom in May. They do best in some afternoon shade and are a great back drop for deciduous plantings. Even though the flowers seem insignificant, they still produce nectar and pollen for beneficial insects.

Buxus sempervirens: This variety has an elegant columnar habit with a soft and lush foliage of ovate, lustrous leaves. Its deep green foliage has shown good resistance to boxwood blight.
Buxus microphylla var. japonica 'Winter Gem' : “An excellent evergreen shrub for small hedges. Among the hardiest of the small-leaved boxwoods, the rich green foliage can acquire a golden bronze hue in cold winter zones, but is one of the first to become green again in spring. Makes a wonderful addition to formal gardens, providing year-round interest.” (monrovia)

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HOLLIES

We love hollies at Vineyard Gardens! Our appreciation traces back to Chuck Wiley, the original owner, who grew up near Fernbrook Nursery in New Jersey, known for its beautiful American hollies (Ilex opaca). That early exposure sparked a lifelong admiration. American hollies are also more deer resistant than many other types, and for berry production, you’ll need both a male and female plant nearby.

American holly, Ilex opaca

“The stout, stiff branches of this pyramidal evergreen bear dark green, non-glossy, spine-tipped leaves. Bright red berries occur on the female plants. Many varieties are grown for ornament, shade, and hedges. You must have both a male and female plant to have berries, The male must be the same holly species as the female and bloom at the same time. This is a slow-growing tree (but slower growing is stronger). Berries are attractive and a good winter food source for birds.” (Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center) The height of American holly grows up to 25ft. They can be pruned to be kept smaller.

Ilex opaca ‘Jersey Knight’: A male cultivar that is considered to be a good pollinator. Typically grows 7-8’ tall and spreads to 3-4’ wide over the first 10 years.
Ilex opaca ‘Jersey Princess’
Ilex opaca ‘Portia Orton’
Ilex opaca ‘Satyr Hill’

Inkberry, Ilex glabra

“A mound-shaped, colony-forming shrub 6-12 ft. tall and wide. Lance-shaped, sparingly-toothed, glossy, leathery foliage varies in color from dark- to light-green both in summer and fall. Inconspicuous flowers are followed by black berries which persist well into winter. This species differs from all other evergreen hollies by lacking spines on the leaves, only having teeth toward the tip of the leaves.” (Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center)

Ilex glabra ‘Compacta’

Ilex glabra ‘Shamrock’

Winterberry, Ilex verticillata

“The leaves of Common winterberry are not shaped with sharp teeth like other hollies and are not evergreen. The purplish green foliage turns black, in fact, with the first frost. The inconspicuous flowers, however, are followed by dense clusters of bright red berries that remain on the branches throughout winter. Winterberry is a globular, upright, medium-sized shrub, typically 6-10 ft. tall. Extremely showy in late fall and early winter when covered with their bright red fruit, these shrubs are either male or female--a trait typical of the holly family. Birds are readily attracted to them.” (Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center)

Ilex verticillata Southern Gentleman
Ilex verticillata Winter Gold
Ilex verticillata Winter Red
Ilex verticillata Little Goblin Guy
Ilex verticillata Little Goblin Red

and even more holly varieties are available!

EVERGREENS FOR SCREENING

September 28, 2022 Karen Logan

EVERGREENS FOR SCREENING

Evergreens retain their foliage for a full year or more and are classified as either conifers or broadleaf evergreens. Coniferous plants belong to the phylum gymnosperms which are plants that bear cones instead of flowers as reproductive structures. Their leaves are called either needles or scales. These are adaptations for survival in tough windy droughty conditions, like on top of mountains. While broad leaf evergreens have flowers that produce seeds and belong to the phylum Angiosperms, the flowering plants. They are beautiful and functional! Both conifers and broadleaf evergreens are a wonderful asset to your landscape and for screening.

SCREENING is one of the most requested landscape functions. This can seem like a very simple request however from the grower’s perspective it is much more complex and dependent on budget and environment.

BUDGET: How much you have to spend on screening directly correlates to the amount of time it will take to achieve your end goal. The bigger the tree, grass or shrub, the more expensive it is and the more work it is to install. Faster growing plants are not always an ideal option. A fast growing plant can be weak wooded, suffering from high winds or winter damage, or the plant could be invasive and outgrow its location. Even very large transplants can take a couple of years to re-set their supporting root systems. The most economical and hardiest solution is to start your screening "vision" with smaller plants that can quickly establish themselves with slower growth screening behind.

ENVIRONMENT: The Island may be small but it is very diverse in terrain and habitats. What would work for a screen in Vineyard Haven will not necessarily work for screening on the north shore in Chilmark. There are many different soils, exposures and pests that can modify your choices. Deer are a big problem up island and poor, sandy soils are a problem in Oak Bluffs. Some areas have clay soils that cause poor drainage that can slowly kill off new plantings. Some have ample available water that can cause problems for plants like Juniper that are adapted to poor, dry soils. It may help to remember that what you see above ground is only half of the plant, what goes on below is perhaps even more important.

*Layered screening with large Thuja plicatas that give wonderful privacy*

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CONIFERS WE’D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT

Picea Abies (Norway Spruce). A fast growing evergreen. Growing on average of 13 inches per year! This is ideal for planting on the island because it grows in acidic, loamy, sandy, well drained & clay soils.
Cupressocyparis Leylandii (Leyland Cypress). Grows at least 24" per year. Also ideal for island growing conditions, except for near the shore, where salt and wind can cause irreversible damage.

Pinus Strobus (Eastern White Pine). Prefers acidic, moist, well drained soil. This evergreen grows at least 24" each year.
Thuja plicata Green Giant: We have been carrying this cultivar for years. This specific variety can get up to 60' tall! Many use arborvitae as screening for privacy on their properties, as well as a windbreaker. We have them in several sizes.
Thuja plicata Virginian: This year we received a new cultivar of arborvitae from Worthington Farms, introduced as Thuja 'Green Giants' little sister. Thuja Virginian grows only 15' tall x 6' wide in ten years. Grows 1 to 2 feet yearly. It is also known to be deer resistant! They are beautiful and make great screening. We offer 3 different sizes up to 9'.