Horti-Culture ~ Weeds

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Weeds need three things to grow: soil, sun, and water. You can use black plastic, lava rocks, pavement or parked cars on cinder blocks to keep the light of day and water from hitting those weed seeds. Those things are nice and all, but I prefer to keep weeds from getting those necessities by offering them to a more worthy plant first. When that parking space in your garden is gone, that weed will just have to keep driving.

Few plants are more worthy than the mighty ground cover. You can get them for free, and they are really easy to propagate. I am writing about this in the Fall because mother nature waters them for you at this time, granting you the wish of more time for hay rides, apple-bobbing or wild, drunken nakedness in the pumpkin patch. If you live in a place that snows, just make sure to get the plants in early so they can establish their roots before the freeze. You are also granted permission to leave your socks on in the pumpkin patch. If leaves fall on your ground cover, just brush them aside periodically so they don't smother your newly installed loved-ones. The leaves will help keep out the weeds as your ground cover grows.

We may love to blow money at the nursery, but sometimes we have to pay rent. Here are some ways to get ground cover for free:
1) Go out late at night with a small plastic bucket, gardening knife and headlamp and collect some from a neighbor who has so much they won't notice some missing. I say a garden knife because the shovel is a dead giveaway. Of course the headlamp isn't so smooth either, but at least you could say that you were late-night slug hunting or looking for your cat. Be sure to hide the knife. They always alert the authorities when they see the knife.
2) As you pass a nice patch of ground cover during your daily walk, casually lean over, pretending your sole intention is admiration, then snatch some up. This works especially well with succulents like sedum. They root from any part of the plant so easily. Make sure not to mangle the plant. You are a plant collector, not a hoodlum.
3) Trade them with friends. In fact, you don't have to trade plants for plants. You can trade ANYTHING.
4) For those not seeking so much adventure, ask the neighbor in daylight hours if you could take some ground cover (yawn!).

How much ground cover should you nab? You'd be surprised how quickly a little patch will grow. In our back yard we have a patch about two feet wide that started as a tiny sprig that we tore out of another area last fall. Getting some roots with your cutting is ideal, but as mentioned before, there are some ground covers that will grow from any piece of the plant. The important thing is to keep it watered until it's established.

Make sure to weed around your ground cover until it fills the space. It's a pain between the buttocks to get weeds out of a ground cover after they've grown attached to each other. Grass especially should be ushered out immediately. Weeding is a time-consuming aspect of ground cover cultivation, but those who take the challenge seriously will be greatly rewarded. Some organic fertilizer, compost and loose soil helps hasten the process, but keep in mind that it also helps the weeds, so weed more frequently if you go that route.

My favorite ground covers are Blue and White Star Creeper, any Sedum, Chicks and Hens, Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' or 'Claridge Druce,' Veronica peduncularis, Scotch Moss, Irish Moss and Elfin Thyme. These are ground covers that are easy to grow and spread quickly, but are not invasive and give solid coverage. Those need some sun, but if you have a lot of shade, use Baby's Tears, Pachysandra or Corydalis. If you want to go native, try Deer Fern, Sword Fern and Maidenhair fern. A lot of people like the native Kinnickinnic, but it lets in too many weeds for my taste and its spelling annoys me. I also tend to steer away from Wild Ginger*, Gallium* and Brass Buttons*, not for their spelling but for the amount of weeds they allow into their space.

It takes 2-3 years for the ground cover to really start its work, but once the ground cover fills in, you'll be chasing the weeds less and less. You'll stop seeing the garden as yet another chore and more as a place to relax...a place where you can kick back with your beer and watch the neighbors weed their yards.

*These plants are native to the Pacific Northwest, check with your local garden center for ground covers that will thrive in your area.

Diedre Muns owns and operates a wonderful landscaping business in Seattle. Visit Florabunga and Leap from Yard to Garden!