Hi

I have a fairly shaded area of my garden which is very solid and pretty much
undiggable due to the presence of the roots of two Sycamore and two Elder
trees. It does however get really weedy. I'd like to either a) grow
something which will give nice ground cover (leaving my interminable weeding
time for other, more visible areas of the garden, or b) put some kind of
weedkiller down which will leave it clear of weeds but will not harm the
well-established trees. Can anyone advise?

There's also another area of garden nearby with much nicer soil and more
sun. I'd really like to plant something there that will cover the area which
I can intersperse with shrubs. It's south-west facing and quite exposed to
wind and cold in the winter. Any ideas? I'm fond of blues, greys and whites
btw!

On Apr 26, 4:51 pm, "louisxiv" wrote:
Hi

I have a fairly shaded area of my garden which is very solid and pretty much
undiggable due to the presence of the roots of two Sycamore and two Elder
trees. It does however get really weedy. I'd like to either a) grow
something which will give nice ground cover (leaving my interminable weeding
time for other, more visible areas of the garden, or b) put some kind of
weedkiller down which will leave it clear of weeds but will not harm the
well-established trees. Can anyone advise?

Louise if it is a small area, don't use weedkiller, just cover the
entire area with old carpet or anything that will keep out the light
and all your weeds will die.

There's also another area of garden nearby with much nicer soil and more
sun. I'd really like to plant something there that will cover the area which
I can intersperse with shrubs. It's south-west facing and quite exposed to
wind and cold in the winter. Any ideas? I'm fond of blues, greys and whites


Lots of people here who will be able to advise you on that better than
I. However, there is a very pretty lilac, very sweet smelling which I
have in my garden, it grows as a shrub but I am hopeless with names
but I am sure gthere is someone here who can tell you the name. Itg
is between a blue and a lilac. It won't cover the area but you can
underplant with a geranium which I have, it's a lovely blue and it
really creeps and is a terrific groundcover, again, someone here will
give you gthe name as I cannot remember it. I hope that helps a
little

Judith

wrote in message
oups.com...


Lots of people here who will be able to advise you on that better than
I. However, there is a very pretty lilac, very sweet smelling which I
have in my garden, it grows as a shrub but I am hopeless with names
but I am sure gthere is someone here who can tell you the name. Itg
is between a blue and a lilac. It won't cover the area but you can
underplant with a geranium which I have, it's a lovely blue and it
really creeps and is a terrific groundcover, again, someone here will
give you gthe name as I cannot remember it. I hope that helps a
little

Judith

Thanks Judith, sounds like the gauntlet's down! C'mon folks...

On 26/4/07 21:44, in article
, "louisxiv"
wrote:


wrote in message
oups.com...


Lots of people here who will be able to advise you on that better than
I. However, there is a very pretty lilac, very sweet smelling which I
have in my garden, it grows as a shrub but I am hopeless with names
but I am sure gthere is someone here who can tell you the name. Itg
is between a blue and a lilac. It won't cover the area but you can
underplant with a geranium which I have, it's a lovely blue and it
really creeps and is a terrific groundcover, again, someone here will
give you gthe name as I cannot remember it. I hope that helps a
little

Judith

Thanks Judith, sounds like the gauntlet's down! C'mon folks...


Geranium possibilities that come to mind are Johnson's Blue and the
amazingly good Jolly Bee.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

On Apr 26, 9:57 pm, Sacha wrote:
On 26/4/07 21:44, in article
, "louisxiv"





wrote:

wrote in message
roups.com...

Lots of people here who will be able to advise you on that better than
I. However, there is a very pretty lilac, very sweet smelling which I
have in my garden, it grows as a shrub but I am hopeless with names
but I am sure gthere is someone here who can tell you the name. Itg
is between a blue and a lilac. It won't cover the area but you can
underplant with a geranium which I have, it's a lovely blue and it
really creeps and is a terrific groundcover, again, someone here will
give you gthe name as I cannot remember it. I hope that helps a
little

Judith

Thanks Judith, sounds like the gauntlet's down! C'mon folks...

Geranium possibilities that come to mind are Johnson's Blue and the
amazingly good Jolly Bee.
--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devonhttp://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Johnson's Blue, that's it!!!

On 26/4/07 23:35, in article
,
" wrote:

On Apr 26, 9:57 pm, Sacha wrote:
snip

Geranium possibilities that come to mind are Johnson's Blue and the
amazingly good Jolly Bee.


Johnson's Blue, that's it!!!

Ad some G. Jolly Bee to it. It's an even better plant and goes on flowering
for longer. There's another nice one called 'Ann Folkard' which is a fairly
bright pink.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

On 26 Apr, 21:05, "
wrote:

Louise if it is a small area, don't use weedkiller, just cover the
entire area with old carpet or anything that will keep out the light
and all your weeds will die.

Totally off-topic, but is this a good way to approach a large weedy
area in general? I am about to tackle a new front garden with a view
to laying a lawn - two patches of soil about 6ft by 15ft. They were
dug over last summer and are now a riot of weeds. I have been advised
to dig out all weeds by the roots but there must be hundreds of them
and I was dreading it... How long would it take to kill the weeds by
covering them up?

Cheers,
cam

First kill the weeds with something like "roundup" which only destroys above
ground vegetation and is harmless once it reaches the soil.

Then try a raised beds filled with good compost above the existing roots,
surrounded by log rolls which you can buy at supermarkets very cheaply. You
can then plant any shade loving plants you wish - ferns, bluebells, tree
anenemes, hostas, primroses, snowdrops etc, to give year round interest.

Finally you could cover the surface with bark chips to keep any more weeds
at bay.

Quick, cheap and simple.

Hope this helps - good luck

Alan

"louisxiv" wrote in message
...
Hi

I have a fairly shaded area of my garden which is very solid and pretty
much undiggable due to the presence of the roots of two Sycamore and two
Elder trees. It does however get really weedy. I'd like to either a) grow
something which will give nice ground cover (leaving my interminable
weeding time for other, more visible areas of the garden, or b) put some
kind of weedkiller down which will leave it clear of weeds but will not
harm the well-established trees. Can anyone advise?

There's also another area of garden nearby with much nicer soil and more
sun. I'd really like to plant something there that will cover the area
which I can intersperse with shrubs. It's south-west facing and quite
exposed to wind and cold in the winter. Any ideas? I'm fond of blues,
greys and whites btw!

On Apr 27, 6:06 pm, cam wrote:
On 26 Apr, 21:05, "

wrote:
Louise if it is a small area, don't use weedkiller, just cover the
entire area with old carpet or anything that will keep out the light
and all your weeds will die.

Totally off-topic, but is this a good way to approach a large weedy
area in general? I am about to tackle a new front garden with a view
to laying a lawn - two patches of soil about 6ft by 15ft. They were
dug over last summer and are now a riot of weeds. I have been advised
to dig out all weeds by the roots but there must be hundreds of them
and I was dreading it... How long would it take to kill the weeds by
covering them up?

Cheers,
cam

It's not off topic at all. If you want you can use Roundup it will
kill the weeds right down to the roots so you don't need to dig them
up. I am sure you can seed fairly quickly afterwards as it does not
affect the soil. You will find that it takes about a week before the
weeds wilt and then go yellow, don't bother trying to pull them up.

Judith

In message , ALAN
writes
First kill the weeds with something like "roundup" which only destroys above
ground vegetation and is harmless once it reaches the soil.

Roundup is Glyphospahte, it is systemic weedkiller, it is translocated
around the plant and kills the roots as well (though tough things with
extensive roots systems may need more than one hit)


--
Chris French

In message . com, cam
writes
On 26 Apr, 21:05, "
wrote:

Louise if it is a small area, don't use weedkiller, just cover the
entire area with old carpet or anything that will keep out the light
and all your weeds will die.

Totally off-topic, but is this a good way to approach a large weedy
area in general?

Yep.

I am about to tackle a new front garden with a view
to laying a lawn - two patches of soil about 6ft by 15ft. They were
dug over last summer and are now a riot of weeds.

Ah yes, just perfect conditions for encouraging lots of weed seed
germination :-)

I have been advised
to dig out all weeds by the roots but there must be hundreds of them
and I was dreading it...

You don't need to take all of them out by the roots, but certainly the
perennial ones (Dandelion, thistle etc.) need the roots taking out.

How long would it take to kill the weeds by
covering them up?

I reckon (having done this in various places a few times) a few months
will pretty much get rid of most things. Probably a month or so at this
time of year will kill off lots of the stuff - such as annuals and
younger perennials. Older perennials will still be alive, but looking a
pretty weedy/yellow, but it's much ;less daunting to dig them up once
a lot of the other stuff has died off.

Problem is a sheet mulch isn't that attractive in the front garden....

I don't really like carpet, though it works ok, but once it starts to
semi rot it is a PITA to remove as it falls apart. Old Cardboard boxes
works well. The black woven sheet mulch (landscape fabric etc.) works
well and is easy to use but costs money, but if you have a use for it
elsewhere makes sense. but enough for 20 Sq metres or so wouldn't be too
bad - Cheapest place is Ebay IME

--
Chris French

"chris French" wrote in message
...


Roundup is Glyphospahte, it is systemic weedkiller, it is translocated
around the plant and kills the roots as well (though tough things with
extensive roots systems may need more than one hit)


So it could be used on weeds in an area that I want to then use for
vegetables? How long wil it take and how long after using it will it be safe
to plant?