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I hate weeding. You hate weeding. We all hate weeding!
So, you don't want to weed? Good on ya`!
I am one of those people that think you shouldn't have to slave away to have a beautiful and lush garden. It's true, most people don't garden near what they'd like to because they can't handle all that raggedy weeding. Well, what if you didn't HAVE to weed? Oh yeah, I'm serious. Keep on`a readin`!
I'm talking about mass planting and using various additions in your garden to avoid those nasty unwanteds.
Things to help suppress weeds until your plants get established.
Old Sheets
Garbage Bags
News Papers
Just about anything else you can lay over the soil to prevent weeding.
I know it is a daunting task to undergo a new garden. It always is because it's a lot of hard work initially. Never be afraid to ask for help! If you have older children make them help you. You're their parent and they have to listen or you won't pay their cell phone bill. A good punishment for naughty children is having to weed on their weekends off.
The addition of drip lines can help suppress weeds enough that your plants take off at such a rate they crowd them out and they never really get a foothold to start with. Excess water is not just a waste- it's a demon in disguise. Don't PAY your weeds- Kick them out like bad tenants! Fertilize carefully, making sure to not spread it all over the ground. Target fertilize around your plants so most of the nutrients go to them and not the weeds.
Tell me, how's a weed gonna grow in THAT?
It's such an easy concept-better yet it is easy to actually accomplish!
How do we do it? Well, let's break this down shall we?
I'm assuming you already have your ground worked and ready for the plants you want to grow.
Now, lay your newspaper or whatever you're using to keep weeds down. If you don't have anything, just (like I do) plant more fast growing plants in their stead. I use sedum and daisies a lot in my gardens. They grow very fast but are easily removed at a later date. And they're desirable to boot! Plant carefully the things you want to stay in your garden, follow spacing requirements so you don't have to move them around when they really take off later. Use your fast growing flowers to fill in all the spaces left over. As your main plants take off you can gradually pull out a filler here and there. Much less hassle than a bunch of weeds!!! You may want to use filler plants that don't reseed, I don't but you may want to.
Other things you can do to prevent/thwart weeds.
Try laying solid concrete or brick paths and sitting areas. Make sure to plant things in where the spaces between stones are. Maybe irish moss or some tiny tough sedums. I understand that some people have gardens where the plants are in perfect little clumps all to themselves and they don't really want a full garden. You can either lay down moss and hope it takes off and prevents weeds (this is a gorgeous thing to see) or you can go the old fashioned way of laying down weed suppressing plastic/material. Lay your pebbles or mulch over the top and viola, no more weeds. Or, you can always use weed killer. It's fast and it works, just be mindful of the plants you WANT to keep, lol.
Possibilities!
Note that some of these plants are more aggressive than others.
Fillers for Full Sun.
Hare's Tail Grass, Bunny Tails Lagurus ovatus
Appleblossom Grass Gaura lindheimeri 'Pink Cloud'
Bracted Daylily, Small Daylily, Grassleaf Daylily Hemerocallis dumortieri
Canberra Grass, Two Flowered Knawel, Mossy Scabweed Scleranthus biflorus
Golden Creeping Jenny, Gold Moneywort Lysimachia nummularia
Marguerite Daisy, Summer Daisy, Cobbity Daisy, Paris Daisy Argyranthemum
African Daisy, South African Daisy, Cape Daisy and Blue-eyed Daisy Osteospermum Hybrid 'Orange Symphony'
Ox-Eye Daisy, Field Daisy, Marguerite, Moon Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare
Blackfoot Daisy, Black Foot Daisy, Plains Black Foot Daisy Melampodium leucanthum
Fillers for Part Sun.
Hakone Grass, Japanese Forest Grass Hakonechloa macra
Canberra Grass, Two Flowered Knawel, Mossy Scabweed Scleranthus biflorus
Golden Creeping Jenny, Gold Moneywort Lysimachia nummularia
Fillers for Shade.
Hakone Grass, Japanese Forest Grass Hakonechloa macra
Canberra Grass, Two Flowered Knawel, Mossy Scabweed Scleranthus biflorus
Golden Creeping Jenny, Gold Moneywort Lysimachia nummularia
Until we talk again,
Jocie.
All images are my own from my gardens.
About Jocelyn Wyatt
Mother and wife, (in no particular order) Jocelyn Wyatt was born Northwest Florida right smack-dab in the middle of swampland where she gained her love for nature the hard way.
"Make it a pet or let it make you lunch!"
Her love for all wild things living as well as for art and writing was nurtured by her wonderful family.
"To them and God I owe everything. "
Posted by Noturf (from Marquesas Islands
(Polynesia (French))) on August 25, 2008 at 9:29 AM:
I decided some time ago to develop some criteria regarding weeds. Some are attractive and add a wild, natural sense to a garden.
Those not considered attractive are pulled and others stay. Except for situations in edible gardens, weeds do not create problems
of stealing nutrients/sun to the surrounding planted areas. Therefore I recommend to those who enjoy pragmatic/critical gardening
to look at weeds with new eyes. Some are really attractive and feed birds and insects.....On the other hand your solution is perfect
to enjoy gardening without the unnecessary waste of energy.
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 25, 2008 at 10:08 AM:
I must say, I do love your "weedy" garden! Sooo lush!
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Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on August 25, 2008 at 12:00 PM:
Thanks for the list of plants. I never heard of
appleblossom grass - sounds pretty! And
thanks for the dandy garden ideas.
Fitsy
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 25, 2008 at 1:34 PM:
:-)
Fitsy, it is SO much fun to browse through the PlantFiles looking for plants! I found so many I had to have, it's almost scary hehehe.
Edited my dyslexic error LOL!
This message was edited Aug 25, 2008 12:34 PM
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Posted by Eleven (from Royal Oak, MI) on August 26, 2008 at 10:07 AM:
Noturf, I've been using the "is it attractive?" criteria this summer! It's our first year in a house with an established garden. Although I've managed to identify most, there remain a few unidentified plants that I'm fairly certain are weeds. I mentioned this to my husband (as I was feeling a little guilty), and he said "well, at least they look pretty!"
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Posted by 2hot2plow (from Garden Grove, CA) on August 26, 2008 at 2:42 PM:
My favorite "weed" is Wandering Jew. I love the little blue flowers.
Anyway, my favorite anti-weed mulch is Red Lava Rock. I found my overly lush side yard needed some relief from the green (such a problem...) so I began to add large rocks I happened to have a lot of from a former owner who grew them, apparently, instead of plants. Not enough. So I go to Home Depot and grab a few bags. Wherever I see unwanted green, I clear it (I am so cruel) and down goes another bagful. I suppose a cloth underlayment would be smart, but I never claimed to be. Only real prob is the doggoned bermuda grass, with which Southern California is carpeted muchly. What I like about the little bitty rocks is they are sharp, which keeps the blasted cats from doing their business AND they can be removed easily when a new plant hits my fancy. Like every 3 days.
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 27, 2008 at 11:38 AM:
LOL@every 3 days.
I looove using rocks/pebbles in the landscape. The red mulches/rocks look sooo good under a shady tree. My friend Ginger_H used some red mulch in her shade garden and it looked really snappy. I love how it 'ages' over time and gets more subdued. So pretty.
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Posted by mardijoy (from Washington, PA) on August 28, 2008 at 3:12 PM:
I have always loved Queen Anne's Lace. At our last house I had a whole garden of it under our crabapple tree. We live in the country now and I have thousands of them!
I also love chicory. Until I knew what it was I called it cornflower because the blue of the flower looks like my favorite blue crayon "cornflower blue". It's not very pretty when the flowers are closed, but when they open.........well, I think they are gorgeous! I have one plant that is about 30" tall and 18" wide and I hope it reseeds for next year.
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 28, 2008 at 3:54 PM:
Oh so cool Mardi. Cornflowers are one of my favs as well.
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Subject: Creeping jenny &plumbago vs weeds
Posted by MaryAS (from Johnson City, TN) on August 25, 2008 at 7:36 AM:
Thanks for very useful article. I use creeping jenny and plumbago as my main weed-blockers, with the added benefits that they're easy to dig up and share and they're pretty. I always have some to share. Creeping jenny is also great to marking where I've planted bulbs so I don't forget and disturb them later. Ajuga also spreads well and overwhelms weeds.
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 25, 2008 at 10:10 AM:
Didn't think about marking bulbs with CJ! That's a great Idea, I think I'll use CC to mark any I plant in the future, as I'm constantly chopping plants I forgot I planted LOL!
Thanks!
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Subject: Good Article
Posted by phicks (from Lakeland, FL) on August 23, 2008 at 4:20 PM:
Nice Pictures Paul
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 23, 2008 at 5:55 PM:
Thanks Paul!
I tell ya, all the members of DG that have uploaded photos/bugs to the files have really helped people out worldwide.
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Posted by phicks (from Lakeland, FL) on August 23, 2008 at 6:01 PM:
Hey Whats Crossville like ? Close to the Smokeys? Paul
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 23, 2008 at 6:19 PM:
Were about 2 hours from there yup. We like to go up once a year or so and camp, it's soooo much fun!
Crossville is good for the most part, just like every place it has it's downsides though :-(. Lot's of meth and the like.
But it is a good country town with good people that are always willing to help a person out or share their produce!
The mountains are just glorious, that's one thing I missed a whole lot when I moved back to Fountain, Florida.
Ya should come a visit sometime! I'll even waive the entrance fee of a flower! hehe
One great thing about Crossville, ROCKS! LOL
Our back property.
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Posted by phicks (from Lakeland, FL) on August 23, 2008 at 7:11 PM:
I live in Va for a Long time the Shendoha Valley ya no rocks in florida and to flat
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Posted by crimsontsavo (from Crossville, TN) on August 25, 2008 at 7:13 AM:
Yea I can't stand flat land, LOL. And it's nice to not have pure sand as substrate too lol.
A good punishment for naughty children is having to weed on their weekends off.
