Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_21.gif)
Saturday - January 24, 2009
From: Dublin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Groundcovers
Title: Ground cover for North Central Texas
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I live in north central Texas. My backyard has very fine, powdery sand soil. The previous owners of the property let the grass die out and now every time it gets windy, the sand gets into our patio and in our window panes. What is the best ground cover for this area. The area is about 3,000 sq ft. I also have two medium outdoor dogs. I'm open to anything that will keep the dust down. Thanks DarinANSWER:
If most of your lawn is in the sun, then your best bet is Bouteloua dactyloides (buffalograss). It is a low-growing turf grass that requires infrequent mowing and very little water after it is established. Once it is established, its fibrous root system will anchor the soil and prevent sand blowing into your area. It does well in the sun, but not so well in shade. Please read our HOW TO ARTICLE, Native Lawns: Buffalograss, for more information on establishing a buffalograss lawn. You can combine the buffalograss with another low-growing grass, Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama). Native American Seeds in Junction offers a mixture of the two, Native Sun Turfgrass, for sale. They also have a useful article, Planting Tips for Native Grasses, on their website.Sedges (Carex spp.) also make good groundcovers. They are generally low-growing and some are evergreen. For information about using sedges as a groundcover lawn, please read Sedge Lawns for Every Landscape by John Greenlee. Here are a few recommended sedges:
Carex blanda (eastern woodland sedge)
Carex cherokeensis (Cherokee sedge)
Carex planostachys (cedar sedge)
Here are some other low-growing plants that could also be used in your area as groundcover along with, or instead of, the grasses and sedges:
Artemisia ludoviciana (white sagebrush)
Asplenium platyneuron (ebony spleenwort) for shady areas
Calyptocarpus vialis (straggler daisy)
Phyla nodiflora (turkey tangle fogfruit)
More Groundcovers Questions
New gardener on lawn for Poolville TX
April 28, 2012 - I have never had the opportunity to have a nice yard until recently when I got married. My husband loves a nice yard and we have worked very hard and put in hours of work. We are learning by trial a...
view the full question and answer
Replacement for shade grass in El Paso TX
April 05, 2013 - We currently have a Honey Mesquite tree with thinning bermuda grass underneath in our front yard. I suspect that the filtered shade is killing the bermuda. I was thinking of planting Buffalo Grass, or...
view the full question and answer
Groundcover for clay soil in Southern California
August 08, 2012 - I live in Southern California and have hard packed clay soil in my yard. Could you recommend ground cover that would be green, low to the ground, require little water and survive in clay? I can't a...
view the full question and answer
Groundcover for Orange County, Florida
April 14, 2012 - I live in Central FL (Winter Park)and I have a small, mostly sunny (no trees) backyard next to a large in-ground swimming pool which fills up with the leaves of my neighbor's oak trees. The backyard ...
view the full question and answer
Plants for wet soils in North Carolina
October 03, 2009 - I'm looking for evergreen plants (shrubs or ground cover)that will tolerate wet conditions for the zone 8 area of North Carolina. The local garden centers here do not stock these types of plants, eve...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |