Toby Buckland: don’t let the weeds

Shelves within a pond allow opportunities for growing plants, such as Alchemilla mollis , that provide extra interest and cover for wildlife

Create a small waterfall flowing into a pond: John and Susan use a pump to circulate the water

Meet the gardeners

Owners: Susan and John Weston Address: Birch Trees, Copmere End, Eccleshall, Staffordshire, ST21 6HH Garden size: Half-acre garden Month visited: July Aspect: South-west facing Soil: Mix of acid in some parts and neutral in others Special features: Island beds containing a range of perennial flowers, grasses, bamboos and shrubs; vegetable patch, stump bed, water features and alpine house Open for NGS: Visit the National Garden Scheme at 8 ngs.org.uk

www.agriframes.co.uk

0117 934 1790

Inset: TI Media

Toby Buckland

Ground elder is sure to spread fast, and will soon swamp border plants – unless you take action now Weeds that spring up during the winter are usually quickly removed with a hand fork

Toby’s top tips

TI Media

1Put weeds trowelled from the ground into a bucket –if left on the soil, they quickly re-root.

Keeping couch grass in check requires a monthly mow; removing leaves ultimately exhausts the roots

Weeds united

While some weeds seem as whimsical as wildflowers, they soon take over. Toby explains how best to manage them

2If you mulch with good garden compost after weeding, you won’t need to weed again until summer.

IT was a wise man who said that when life isn’t coming up roses, you need to look to the weeds for beauty instead. Just don’t look too long… even during this cold corner of the year, they’re quite literally growing under your feet! I often muse on what makes a weed a weed, and when not bent double clawing at the stubborn root of a dock, I like the sentimental thought that they’re simply wildflowers growing in the wrong place. But many have another distinguishing feature; they wake from dormancy at lower temperatures than the flowers we have grown, sown, swapped and paid for. Chickweed, ground elder, nettle and willowherb are already green and spreading, and if not making hay, they are certainly making roots that will ensure they out-compete their ornamental neighbours when spring arrives. And they’re not just in the borders… Cracks in my paving are filled by a burgeoning fringe of hairy bittercress,

“ Even now, they are growing under your feet!”

and in the lawn, couch grass forms shaggy patches above the sward. The genuine lawn grasses (such as hardwearing perennial rye and handsome bents) slumber when the mercury drops below 7ºC (45ºF), but not the mushy-pea-green couch that grows through the frosts. The only thing that will keeps this thug in check and out of the borders is a monthly mow, as the removal of the leaves eventually exhausts and kills the roots. Mowing is a dry weather job, but after a downpour, when the paving shines with rain, is exactly the time to tackle the weeds between the joints, as the lubrication helps the roots pull from the mortar, especially when scraped with a long-handled patio brush. The same is true in the border soil, and although the wet weather makes hoeing a messy waste of time, weeds that have arrived during the winter haven’t had time get a grip on Mother Earth and are quickly removed with a hand fork. The tickled finish left after weeding also makes a handsome backdrop for the rising bulbs. So, marvel at the weeds if you will –but, come spring, your garden will be a lot easier to care for if you do it while digging them out.

Get them out, keep them out!

RATHER than dig up large areas of established

weeds, mulch with a weed-suppressing plastic membrane that excludes all light and kills them.

Lift any plants you want to keep with a spade, and

tease out the weed roots from the clumps. As a

rule, ornamental plant roots are dark, while the weed roots (being younger and in growth) are

A weed-suppressing plastic membrane is an eff ective way to kill weeds