A wide variety of plant species can be used as groundcovers, depending on site conditions and how tall you prefer the plants get when mature. Our recently-revised Groundcovers web page can be a starting point, but its included plant lists are far from exhaustive. (They are broken into groups based on general site conditions, like sun vs. shade and damp vs. dry.) Consider too if you have deer browsing in the area, though we have less information about what rabbits will and won't eat, which can sometimes be as big of a challenge as gardening with deer pressures.

There isn't really a short list of the best wildlife-supporting groundcovers, as different animals use different resources. Various insects will visit the flowers of most of the plants grown as groundcovers (though grasses are mainly wind-pollinated, and ferns reproduce without pollination). Birds will eat seeds (either as dry seeds or berries) for many plants, as well as some of the insects they attract. Birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and other creatures can all use the low-lying plants as shelter as well, whether for year-round living, overwintering, or sheltering from a passing predator. The main tip would be to use a mixture of species where possible, both for aesthetic value and to ensure that a future pest or disease issue that may stress the plants won't affect the entire planting equally severely. Plus, the more diverse the planting, the more diverse the range of wildlife it may support, especially if the plants are largely native.

For pollinators at least, as a generalization, plant species belonging to the mint (Lamiaceae) and aster families (Asteraceae) tend to be among the most popular for flower visitors. Since they're both species-diverse groups as well, they also tend to support caterpillars and other insects as host plants.

Miri