How do I clean up an established Perrenial Garden

[GG300]

I recently purchased a home with a very nice raised garden at the back of the property. It was completely filled with a all sorts of perrenials as well as plenty of weeds and grasses. The gardner that had taken great care in building this area had passed several years ago and while people took care of the lawn and house this area was left to reseed itself and develop into quite the weed patch. I have dug up a 10' x 20' patch so that I could get in some vegetables but I have the remaining 1000' sq ft or so to contend with. I believe that my only route to clear this mess up is to dig everything up this fall and replant everything in a manner that will be a little more manageable. What I was wondering is if there are any sprays that I can use to knock down these grasses without kiiling any of the plants or if I just need to wait until fall? Hand weeding isn't a very good option at this point because the flowers are so dense in this area that I can't even walk through without trampling down a bunch of the gorgeous flowers which will land me in the dog house with my girlfriend. I would appreciate any thoughts or tips anyone can provide.

[Susan W]

This does sound like a challenge! One suggestion which requires some work, but can be done over time is just to start weeding. Label known keeper plants. Also get out that camera to remind you of what is where. I would say start weeding after a good rain or you could water well ahead of time. Once it is somewhat cleaned out, figure places to put pathways through it. The plants can be best divided and thinned in fall or spring. If some are just common and too much, just take them out! You want to get the plants labeled by fall. In the spring you won't know what is coming up and where! If you don't have a name, at least put in a marker. I use plastic picnic knives as markers.
Hope this helps
Susan

[nes]

I had to deal with the same situation. I took it one bed a time, transplanting the perennials I wanted to keep into the new beds. I found it was the only way to stay sane & get rid of the grass.

Right now I've given up on the bed on the right side of the house, it's just too far gone, so I removed all the iris and tulips and I'm letting it go to grass. Perhaps in the future I will cover it with a tarp and replant with shade plants, but for now it's just all grass.

You may want to consider covering the area around your perennials with a landscape fabric or a heavy mulch. Susan had a very good idea about labelling your plants, it's very helpful in the spring to know what is where.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Big sheet of clear plastic, now when it's hot is best. Leave it on until fall and prep and plant then (gives the perennial a winter to work on roots before it goes about the business of leaves and flowers; only the truly tender do not benefit from this treatment.

Intro Forum is usually our spot for howdies, not how-tos, but this one was easy. Best to post perennial questions on the [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=5&sid=4f0a6e088e4413bd4e4aaea1e41cbb78]Perennial Forums[/url], because that's where the perennial know how resides...

Welcome!

HG

[GG300]

Thanks for all of the advice. Sorry about posting in the wrong forum. I meant to say Hi and then ask my question all in my first post but guess I missed the Howdy part. I will post more later in the correct locations since I am sure that I will have plenty of questions. I have mainly gardened veggies but now I have so much more to deal with.

Thanks Again.