Groundcover bushes that flower in autumn: our favourites

Heathers (Calluna and Erica)

Heathers are small shrubs well known for bringing colour in summer, autumn and winter, depending on the variety. Hardy and ground-covering, they prefer acid, well-drained soils, making them ideal candidates for rockeries, borders or woodland edges.

Summer Heathers (Calluna vulgaris)

As its name suggests, the summer Heather (Calluna vulgaris) blooms in late summer, but this long flowering continues into autumn, usually until the first frosts, around November. They bear clusters of flowers that can be, for example, purple in Calluna vulgaris ‘Garden Girls® Angie’, soft pink in Calluna vulgaris ‘Garden Girls® Angie’, or white in ‘Garden Girls® Madonna’. Their compact size is typically between 20 and 40 cm in height, forming a pretty carpet of colour.

Moreover, its evergreen foliage remains decorative all year round. Summer Heather prefers poor, slightly acidic soils, and adapts well to sunny or partially shaded exposures. It pairs perfectly with ferns or grasses such as Carex for a textural contrast.

From left to right: Calluna vulgaris ‘Garden Girls® Angie’ ; Calluna vulgaris ‘Radnor’ ; Calluna vulgaris ‘Garden Girls® Madonna’.

Winter Heathers (Erica carnea)

Winter heathers take over with a flowering that extends from autumn (around November) to early spring (often March). They bear small pink bells, as in the variety ‘Kramer’s Rote’ or white, as in ‘Silberschmelze’, on evergreen foliage. This heath is more tolerant of soil types than Calluna, even tolerating a slightly calcareous and damp substrate. Winter heath pairs beautifully with Cyclamen coum or hellebores to extend the visual interest of the garden throughout the winter.

Erica carnea ‘Kramer’s Rote’ and Erica carnea ‘Silberschmelze’

Autumn Camellias

Autumn camellias (Camellia sasanqua) are particularly appreciated for their late flowering, often from October to November. Among the varieties, some stand out for their compact and broad habit, making them excellent groundcovers. Among the Camellia sasanqua ‘Waterfall White’, one admires semi-double, white flowers and lightly scented, with a golden-yellow centre. While the variety ‘Waterfall Pink’ offers pale pink, double flowers, of incomparable charm. In addition, their evergreen foliage, dark green and glossy, remains decorative all year round.

Autumn camellia prefers acidic, well-drained and slightly moist soils. A site with partial shade to lightly sunny, but sheltered from cold winds, is ideal. Compact, the Camellia sasanqua reaches about 1 metre in height and 1.5 to 2 metres wide at maturity. It is hardy to -12°C once well established. Plant it beside rhododendrons, Japanese azaleas or Pieris for year-round flowering.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Waterfall Pink’ and Camellia sasanqua ‘Waterfall White’

Groundcover roses

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Willmott's Plumbago

For warm, oceanic climates, Willmott’s Plumbago (Ceratostigma) are particularly well suited to drought and are not fussy about soil type.
These small spreading shrubs are covered with blue flowers from late summer until the first frosts.
Moreover, their foliage takes on reddish hues as the cold arrives, adding extra appeal to the garden.
These pretty groundcovers withstand brief frosts down to -14°C and adapt well to dry, well-drained soils, with a preference for full sun.

The Ceratostigma willmottianum

This Plumbago is distinguished by its sky-blue flowers, appearing from August to November, on green-bronze to golden foliage in summer, then reddening in autumn before shedding. It reaches up to 1 metre in height, with a spread of 1.5 metres. It will make a handsome pairing with a grass such as Stipa tenuissima ‘Pony tails’ to play with textures.

The Ceratostigma willmottianum ‘Forest Blue’

This variety features cobalt-blue flowers, very intense, almost electric, on green-medium foliage in summer, which gradually turns red in autumn. More compact than the previous variety, ‘Forest Blue’ reaches 40 to 60 cm in height, with a spread of 80 cm. Not fussy, it adapts easily to poor and stony soils. To extend autumn colours in the garden, plant it alongside sedum or Euphorbia.

The Ceratostigma willmottianum ‘Sapphire Ring‘

This cultivar is one of the most floriferous, with its abundant intense-blue flowering, from July to November. Its foliage is deciduous, green-medium in summer, then tinted bronze and purple in autumn. Just as hardy as its cousins, it thrives in dry, sunny soils. Plant it alongside Caryopteris or Perovskia for blue flowering all year round and a drought-resistant garden.

From left to right : Ceratostigma willmottianum , Ceratostigma willmottianum ‘Forest Blue’ and Ceratostigma willmottianum ‘Sapphire Ring‘

Summer flowering that lasts longer

Some varieties of groundcover shrubs flower in summer and extend their flowering into autumn, typically until the first frosts, bringing a colour transition to the garden.

The Abelia grandiflora ‘Kaléidoscope’

A pretty Abelia variety with a compact habit, producing in summer small white and pink flowers, lightly scented and which persist until October. Also valued for its green and yellow variegated foliage, semi-evergreen, which turns to golden and red tones in autumn, adding colour to the garden. This groundcover shrub will reach 80 cm high and 1 metre across. Easy to grow and undemanding, it withstands down to -15 °C in winter and prefers full sun or partial shade, in all well-drained soils. Pair it with des Hydrangeas paniculata for a border with staggered flowering.

Shrubby Veronica ‘Autumn Glory‘

With its small blue-violet and white flowers at the ends, the Shrubby Veronica ‘Autumn Glory‘ brightens the garden from July to November. Its evergreen, glossy dark-green foliage provides year-round presence. Easy to grow and disease-resistant, this Hebe is, however, only moderately hardy (down to -7 °C). It thrives in warm or oceanic regions outdoors, but it can also be grown in pots to protect it from winter cold in other regions. This compact plant (60 to 80 cm across) enjoys full sun or partial shade, in rich, well-drained soil. Pair it with Heucheras for a contrast of colours and forms.

Abelia grandiflora ‘Kaléidoscope’ and shrubby Veronica ‘Autumn Glory’‘