Keep Weeds From Taking Over With A Ground Cover That Produces Bright White Blooms

Have you just spent another large portion of your weekend removing weeds from around your yard and thinking there must be a better way to keep those weeds from constantly taking over your garden? Lucky for you, there's a pretty good solution that you're going to love. It's in the form of a highly attractive ground cover that will grow so densely, it will smother any weeds that manage to come up. Better yet, it has the most stunning bright white blooms that will broaden your smile even further when you see them covering your garden beds instead of those pesky weeds. This delightful plant is commonly known as meadow anemone (Anemone canadensis), and is one of those perennials that bloom with stunning white flowers to add a touch of coolness to your summer garden.

Meadow anemone is a herbaceous ground cover that's native to North America. It grows well in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8 and prefers moist soil. While it can spread quite aggressively through underground rhizomes, it's not regarded as invasive. But, it's this natural spreading habit that makes it such an asset as a ground cover plant to help combat weeds. It has attractive basal leaves that are sharply toothed and somewhat resemble the leaves of wild geranium, which is one of the best ground covers for flower beds. The pretty white buttercup-shaped flowers appear in late spring and continue through summer. These blooms are on tallish stems and make good cut flowers.

You can grow meadow anemone either in full sun or part shade but in hotter regions, it does prefer some afternoon shade. Keep in mind that the flower stems will tend to droop if the plant doesn't receive enough sun, though. Because this ground cover grows naturally along river banks, flood plains and moist meadows, it does prefer organically enriched soil and consistent moisture in an area that drains well. Once planted, meadow anemone requires very little extra care except for regular watering during dry spells. You'll find that the blooms are very appealing to carpenter bees, mining bees, and sweat bees.

As this gorgeous plant will spread readily around your garden, you may find it starting to encroach on areas you don't want it to grow. Controlling this wayward growth can be done quite easily by pulling up individual plant sections and transferring them to other areas of your yard. This is also the best way to propagate meadow anemone as it handles being transplanted quite well. Occasional division of existing patches in early spring or fall will ensure plenty of blooms the following year. You should also note that all parts of this plant are toxic if consumed in large quantities. Finally, in your quest to banish weeds from your yard, you might be interested in other easy-to-grow ground covers that will smother weeds in your yard and garden.