A number of years ago I saw an ad on Kijiji for perennials really cheap like 1-2 dollars each so I drove into Halifax as fast as I could. When I arrived I met a lady who had been gardening for a really long time who had a lovely garden and at first I was surprised the pieces were so tiny but then she explained that gardening is all about moving little bits and bobs around so they will spread out where you want them. I was intrigued, and it was a life changing moment.
Seasoned gardeners will also tell you that a weed is just a plant you don’t like.
And so for a few years I’ve been moving this weed around, treating it as though it is Irish Moss, and for me honestly it works just as well. This is Pearlwort (I’m pretty sure) I just learned yesterday from a little gardening group online. To avoid digging weeds or whippersnipping, you need groundcover or moss in between stones and so I dig out grass and weeds and replace with this little moss-like plant. Voila.
This seems to have popped up in a few spots and I hadn’t noticed it before so must have come in with a perennial additions, it happens. It’s a little weedy, but I love it and I just learned that it is Thyme-leaved Speedwell. So now I have a new crack filling plant. I’ve started pulling it out of the garden and replacing grass and weeds. By the fall things will look a lot tidier and require much less maintenance, so tired of buying spool for the weed whacker…much prefer to spend it on a local brew to enjoy in the garden!
It seems like a ton of work but I have been through all this in a smaller space and about year 3 you see payoff.
Partially due to finances, and primarily because I hate to waste anything I would prefer to slow garden and move things around. I just group things together and move them out if they don’t tickle my fancy over time. I weed in stages. So I pick a demon weed every year. Once again here it is Buttercups. You need to dig deep to remove them and nothing grows where they are. Takes time, especially in an area as large as I’m dealing with now. Other stuff like Chickweed you can just pull out by hand as you go. As you go you learn each year. And usually learn the hard way not to pull every shoot that comes up because you end up chucking out things you planted.
It may be hard to believe, but by June this will be fabulous.
When I moved in 2 years ago it was just lawn and some established perennials on the edge with rail ties to separate it from the driveway.
Again, you really don’t make big progress until year 3, which for me will be this spring/summer so I expect by fall it will be pretty close to perfect and tidy.
The first year I was here I added some shrubs and started weeding and removed one of the rail ties. Last year I started adding perennial flowers and making the area bigger. I just removed a second rail tie yesterday and moved a bunch of giant rocks from other areas of the yard. This is big heavy work and doesn’t look real purdy yet but it will, I promise.
I drag the old rail ties down by my Garlic patch to create a boundary for what will become an expanded veggie garden once I figure out what I can grow other than Garlic that is deer and rabbit resistant. In the meantime that area is starting to fill up with Russian Sage and Allium until I figure it out. More flowers never hurt right?