Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Spreads low — 1.5–3 ft tall, 1.5–2 ft wide — to knit bare ground and smother weeds, and it blooms May through Aug.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms May–Aug
Low, spreading natives that knit together to cover bare ground, smother weeds, and replace thirsty lawn or mulch. Every species here is genuinely native to Wyoming and the wider flora of the Mountain West and hardy through zones 3–5 — proven performers for Wyoming's cold, semi-arid, high elevation climate across Rocky Mountain montane & sagebrush steppe, not a generic list. Local standouts include Common Yarrow and Prairie Smoke. A living native groundcover does everything mulch does and then keeps doing it for free — covering soil, blocking weeds, and feeding wildlife as it goes. Match the spreader to the site (sun or shade, wet or dry), plant on tight centers so they close ranks in a season or two, and weed faithfully that first year while they fill in.
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 3–5 · see this collection in other states.
Achillea millefolium
Spreads low — 1.5–3 ft tall, 1.5–2 ft wide — to knit bare ground and smother weeds, and it blooms May through Aug.
Geum triflorum
Knits across the ground 12–18 in wide and just 6–16 in tall, no mowing needed, flowering as it flowers in Apr and May.
Bouteloua gracilis
A living mulch at 8–20 in tall, fanning 8–16 in wide to cover soil and block weeds, and it blooms Jun through Aug.
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
A mat-forming native, 4–8 in tall and 3–6 ft wide, that fills in and crowds out weeds, flowering as it flowers in Apr and May.
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Carpets bare soil 10–20 ft wide to replace thirsty lawn or mulch, inconspicuous green flowers, flowering as it flowers in Jun.
Rhus aromatica
A living mulch at 2–6 ft tall, fanning 5–10 ft wide to cover soil and block weeds, flowering as it flowers in Mar and Apr.
Sporobolus heterolepis
Spreads low — 2–3 ft tall, 2–3 ft wide — to knit bare ground and smother weeds.
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.