The Lush Weed-Suppressing Ground Cover That Boasts Button-Like Flowers

You've just spent the entire afternoon weeding your garden beds. As you look with satisfaction at the progress you've made and marvel at how nice the yard now looks, a question runs through your mind: "Is there a better way to keep the weeds at bay without putting in all that effort?" To answer your question, there is a better solution — it's to grow a lush ground cover that's not only excellent at suppressing weeds but also looks great as well. Cotula 'Tiffindell Gold' is a perfect example. It's a pretty ground cover with lush green foliage and the most delightful golden button-like flowers. This beauty will save you loads of time in the garden and make you smile every time you gaze out your window and see those happy little blooms.

Commonly known as "creeping gold buttons," this ground cover is a true stunner with its soft fern-like foliage that spreads over the soil with ease. It can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 10, and each plant can spread to a width of 2 feet. Although the foliage is attractive in its own right, nothing can prepare you for the profusion of yellow buttoned blooms that appear in late spring to early summer. What's even more enticing is that these flowers, on their tall wiry stems, are ideal for cutting and will last well in a vase indoors. If this is something you love to do, you might want to find out how to keep your cut flowers fresh longer.

The impact this plant has on your landscape is heavily amplified when you have loads of it forming a gorgeous mat of green and gold all over the garden beds. The foliage itself only grows to a height of about 4 inches but creates a dense mat, as the creeping stems spread along the ground and take root. This growth habit makes creeping gold buttons exceptionally good at suppressing weeds — the ground cover shades the soil so weed seeds never get any sunlight to germinate. Plus, its root system is quite extensive and seeks out moisture deep within the soil, making this cultivar relatively drought-tolerant once fully established. In fact, creeping gold buttons are the ideal alternative to fast-spreading invasive ground covers, like vinca minor.

Creeping gold buttons do prefer a sunny spot for maximum flowering. However, they can handle a little dappled shade if you want to plant them under or around taller growing trees. But, if that's not enough to entice you to give creeping gold buttons a try in your landscape, the bright flowers attract pollinators, so the plant would look fantastic growing as a border around your veggie beds. Finally, creeping gold buttons are deer-resistant, too, which is another reason to grow them in your yard.