Hi,
I have 6m (l) x 1 m (w) flower bed with some beautiful perennials which flower year after year. The end of the bed has some flowering shrubs which I cut down last year to a quarter of its size. The problem I have is that the bed is overgrown with weeds around the plants and shrubs. Nothing I do seems to have a lasting effect. Yesterday, I deweeded the bed again, and turned the soil and covered all the area around the plants with black bin bags. I don't know if that's the right thing to do. I just didn't know what else to do. Can you advise me how to get rid of the weeds without damaging the existing plants? Happy to buy chipped bark or whatever else needs to be brought.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Your plastic trash bags (bin bags) will help suppress weeds, but they also keep water and air away from the soil.
I would lift them and just mulch heavily. Bark chips would be fine or grass clippings (have to be renewed more often) or a combination, or whatever else organic and loose textured you have around.
You will still have to pull some weeds now and then, fact of a gardeners life, but the mulching will reduce the weeding chores a whole bunch, while helping keep your soil moist.
I would lift them and just mulch heavily. Bark chips would be fine or grass clippings (have to be renewed more often) or a combination, or whatever else organic and loose textured you have around.
You will still have to pull some weeds now and then, fact of a gardeners life, but the mulching will reduce the weeding chores a whole bunch, while helping keep your soil moist.