There are a few sayings about weeds. The favorite one is that weeds are just plants in the wrong place. Or plants the gardener doesn’t want. Or that we need the homeliness of the lowly to set off the beauty of the cultivated.
Whatever.
The plants I designate as weeds remain annoying, mostly unattractive and some seem hell bent on enveloping and destroying other plants. Recently, that’s been bindweed, which had never been a problem before.
Mostly, though, my ultimate weed solution seems to be working pretty well. I just don’t let them have any space.
People who have nicely modulated and regulated garden beds do not do what I do. I see those gardens. There are clearly defined areas where a few perennials may dominate, but you can usually see where one plant ends and the other begins.
That is not possible in a few of my planted areas. In these, areas that I do not want to weed and need to just exist without too much tending, I have installed vigorous cultivars – or sometimes species – and allowed them to fight it out.
It’s kind of like Anne’s method, but not quite, as none of these are classified as weeds by anyone I know.
In the area shown at the top of this, hellebore, Solomon’s Seal (variegated), brunnera and a few hosta varieties are engaged in a raucous cacophony. I do swoop in and pull a few stems away just to even the visual balance, but rarely will I do more rearranging than that.
And there are no weeds. And by weeds I mean weeds: Bishop’s weed, bindweed, garlic mustard, mugwort, etc. There isn’t any room for them. Does it look crowded? Sure, kinda, but that works for me. If I do decide to pull a few things out, it’s only to replace things that I hope will be equally aggressive.
Of course, it doesn’t work everywhere. That’s when you have to pull and mulch, pull and mulch, rinse and repeat.
Maybe because my neighborhood is so urban, so dense with structures, bursts of greenery tend to look right. Maybe because in Western New York we have a shorter growing season than many, I don’t mind if the growth is a bit over-enthusiastic.
It’s also true that a few of my neighbors have fully embraced weed culture, allowing huge patches of variegated bishop’s weed which happily self-seeds wherever it can, usually reverting back to the plain green type, as far as I can tell.
That’s alright. We all have our comfort zones.
Ha! This is so accurate, thanks for sharing.
I call my bed like that the thuggery, like a fernery, only is home to all the plants I call thugs: ditch Lillie’s, spiderwort, phlox, etc.
I also plant closely to avoid extra work I don’t need! I read in Fine Gardening (late Fall 2022) they were calling this ‘mosaic’ planting. Hmmm! I am in Lancaster County PA 6-a. Like you the season isn’t long enough! Thanks for your rant!
Chris Abel, I am with you – I plant newly purchased plants very close. no time give for weeds to fill in between while native perennials establish themselves.
I find it so interesting that anyone considers phlox a thug. One man’s plant trash is another man’s plant treasure. Garden on! in whatever style suits you.
I know, right? It fascinates me that a plant that is considered thuggish and invasive, even in other yards in my own town, are well-behaved and even sulky in my own garden. Example: my Sweet Woodruff never spreads/survives to the next spring, and my lily of the valley has JUST started to spread a little, to my delight, after years in my front shade garden.
Just the word “bindweed” sends shivers down my spine. I’ve fought it and fought it. Tried to out think it and smother it. Have even nuked it, all to no avail. If anyone has suggestions, I’m receptive!
Me too! Shivering and open to suggestions that is. While I currently don’t have bindweed in my garden, my neighbor does and I figure it’s only a matter of time before it waltzes over. A removal plan is very welcomed.
Don’t get too happy about the crowd of desired plants crowding out the bindweed. I suspect the it’s setting an ambush – sending runners out in search of areas not so crowded. Keep careful watch out in the area, about a 1/4 mile radius might suffice. I didn’t have bindweed until about 3 years ago. It’s one of the few weeds I break the chemicals out for. Canada thistle is another.
I found a bindweed in a shrub, not a good spot to spray so I’m trying a plastic bag with spray-soaked paper towel and stuffed the vine in the bag.
I don’t think, just in case anyone is panicking, that ground elder spreads much by seed. Rooting is its thing. Anyone got other evidence?
Love this garden style! After the long, bare upstate NY winter I want to see enthusiasm and abundance in my garden! Isolated plants in a sea of wood chips doesn’t appeal.
Agree with this. Here in Colorado, we’re just emerging from a terribly long and snowy Winter. Everything is so green from all that moisture. Abbondanza! We’re loving it.
And now we have a happy, rainy, verdant Spring. #Joy
Since when and where does ANYone consider the happy Phlox to be a weed?
Phlox-loving Diane, l felt the same way until the phlox reached critical mass and began coming up absolutely everywhere, sporting leprous mildew and trying to obliterate smaller more expensive plants like primroses. And those long stalky plants sure look like weeds until they bloom. So l’m ripping them out. But they’ll be back like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, l’m pretty sure.