Any suggestions for this mound?

darrenheaphy

We've put a lot of plants in over the years but it takes *hours* every few weeks to weed. Looks great when it's done, mind. Any suggestions on what I could do with it? I'd like something that reduces weeds ideally. At the too row I've started the carpet rose which is looking rather nice. In Spring there's lots of tulips. Any other suggestions?

darrenheaphy

darrenheaphy wrote: »

We've put a lot of plants in over the years but it takes *hours* every few weeks to weed. Looks great when it's done, mind. Any suggestions on what I could do with it? I'd like something that reduces weeds ideally. At the too row I've started the carpet rose which is looking rather nice. In Spring there's lots of tulips. Any other suggestions?

When I click on the image it is just coming up as a photograph of decking?

darrenheaphy

Oops! Picture updated

Teyla Emmagan

I have that pink bucket.

Why don't you let it get "wilder". Fill it with ornamental grasses and crocosmia. Let it all grow in until there's no space for the weeds to come up. You have an awful lot of space to keep clear in the current set up. Fill the whole thing full of flowering annuals and you won't need to go near it again.

I like your lavender.

I would cover the area in weed control fabric, creating holes in it for your plants to grow through it, and then cover the fabric in either wood chips or gravel. My friend did this recently and it takes away the regular weeding requirement and looks really nice.

magicbastarder

i hate weed control fabric. the wood chips just rot down and give the weeds something to root into (and the roots end up going into the fabric anyway making it harder to pull them up). or if you use the shiny stuff, the wind and rain just cause the bark to slide off it and make it look shoddy.

looksee

Do not introduce crocosmia (montbretia) into your garden.

Do not introduce crocosmia (montbretia) into your garden.

Do not introduce crocosmia (montbretia) into your garden.

Do not introduce crocosmia (montbretia) into your garden.

Harry Palmr

It;'s very hard to come up with a simple single method esp one that works in such a multi-tiered set up, the btw if you do not have an oscillating hoe buy one, they are great for weeding. As mentioned above squeezing them out with cover crops is your best bet.

looksee

More helpfully The soil looks a bit impoverished so the weeds grow but the plants are having problems. Get some John Innes compost and mix it into the surface. Then plant things that will cover the area but not too big - ajuga, low growing campaula, aubretia, rock roses (cistus), small geraniums (the hardy geranium, not the summer pelargonum).

NIMAN

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

I have that pink bucket.

Why don't you let it get "wilder". Fill it with ornamental grasses and crocosmia. Let it all grow in until there's no space for the weeds to come up. You have an awful lot of space to keep clear in the current set up. Fill the whole thing full of flowering annuals and you won't need to go near it again.

I like your lavender.

I like this idea, I posted a thread a while back called WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THIS BANKING, as I was tortured pulling weeds and ivy constantly out of a section of my garden.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057756555


I was hoping there was something I could plant which would spread, and basically take over leaving no space for weeds. Could you maybe name some things I could go out and buy and plant?

Harry Palmr

Here is a list - many herbs can work and create a nice smell.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/fgen/planting-flowers-to-deter-weeds.htm

Day Lewin

First: google "Forest gardening" - it's not actual forests, but mounds.

On these mounds, you can grow a dense selection of mainly edible plants:

In your case, I'm thinking of a cascade of rhubarb which will shade out a lot of weeds. Clumps of low-growing black-currants. Nearer the top, some space for lettuces and spuds.

What about a golden sheet of oats, barley or wheat?

There are ground cover plants which trail across and cover the earth --

Rubus, cotoneaster, various Ivies, even Ceanothus if you have full sun. Roses can form dense clumps, as can raspberries.

Ornamental grasses, bamboos and willows. (Invasive, mind you)

New Zealand Flax and Tree Ferns are easy to grow, cover the ground and are BIG.

A few larger boulders, sculpture, or tree logs and stumps, carved or not, would take up some space and add texture.

Or you could build a Pyramid (or Ziggurat, like the Aztecs) to cover the lot.

Any of those any good?

darrenheaphy

There's some great tips, thank you all, presumably it's not too late in the year in the start new plants on the mound?

With regards to impoverished soil, yeah it's very dry. How often should I mix in compost?

looksee

Just do it once then plant your plants, put plenty of water in the hole before putting in the plant, and give them a soak before planting them.