"gardengal" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a large (really large, like 50 feet by 50 feet) shade garden in
my backyard, but it is being completely overrun by weeds. I am trying
to come up with a way to get rid of the weeds (and keep them from
coming back!) without killing off the beautiful trees, ferns, hostas
and other perennials growing throughout. I have used thick layers of
newspaper covered with mulch in smaller areas with a great deal of
success, but this is such a large area (and the weeds are soo tall!),
I'm looking for other suggestions. Any thoughts?

welcome back Pam!!!!!!!

I have some sort of grassy weed myself that is ONLY above my
knees.........................I would suggest you invest in a machete, and
whack the weeds back by half with the blade. Stop and drink some iced tea,
whack away at some more. Rest and do this a little at a time depending on
what your weather is like right now. If you do chunks of this, you'll be
surprised at how quickly you will get the weeds down to managable size, and
then honestly, I'd weed whack the rest of them. As badly as the weeds are,
I'd almost say cut all the perennials down to the ground that are through
blooming, their strong roots will give you display next spring.

Once you have the weeds whacked down to managable height, you can seek out
local neighborhood teenagers willing to be paid for a couple of hours work.
A twenty sounds piddling, but that would be $10 an hour................You
could also provide soda pop and pizza and make it a weeding
party.........that way you could watch the plants you want to try and save
from their efforts.

Keep us posted. GREAT that you're back!!

madgardener up on the weedy, grassy overgrown ridge, back in Fairy Holler,
where the foundation of my house is collapsing after rains we received last
week, overlooking a hazy and humid English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee,
zone 7, Sunset zone 36