Banishing Weeds – My Outdoor Nemesis

Hello!

I hope you all had a glorious weekend.  For the first time in awhile, we had sunny, beautiful weather, the entire weekend.  I worked in the yard a lot this weekend, and have the sore back to prove it.  It’s really a nice change of pace from work, where things are so busy and stressful.  Getting outside in the fresh air and just focusing on the work at hand is really rewarding.

On the topic of yardwork, let’s get down to business.  Do you have a weed problem?  Sometimes I think Mother Nature just likes to play games with me since I struggle with getting my hydrangeas to bloom, but yet, I can’t eradicate weeds to save my life.

Let me introduce you to something that has made my weeding problem more manageable.  Landscape fabric.

I tested it out last year in a small area around our mailbox that had these vine-like weeds that had a network of roots like the NYC subway system.  Ridiculous.  It went from looking something like this:

To this (taken last year):

And I’m happy to report, that it still is virtually weed-free. 

So, now that we’re in the process of getting the yard mulched, I am on a mission and have been putting this stuff down all over the place.  We have some beautiful rose bushes that get lost with all of the weeds that like to hunker down in there.  So, it’s a double whammy for me – trying to pull prickly weeds amid thorny rose bushes.

Here’s what it looked like before I got to work:

And now:

I can’t wait to have all of the mulch put down to finish it off.  But for now, I’ll take my victories where I can get them. 

The areas that have been completed are looking so pretty.

Things are looking up in the landscaping area.  Take a look at one of my hydrangeas…  Yes, those are BLOOMS that you see!

What are your weed-banishing tricks?  

11 Comments

  • Reply
    Kat
    May 21, 2012 at 1:13 pm

    The past couple years, we've put newspaper down in our beds, then water them so they stay put, then throw the mulch on top. That's a free alternative to the fabric, but one that you have to do every year since it's biodegradable. But it really does keep those darn weeds out!

  • Reply
    Terrie Mathison
    May 21, 2012 at 2:06 pm

    Great post.
    Love the hydrangea blooms! They are so hard to grow and bloom each year, yours are going to be beautiful!

  • Reply
    Dawn F
    May 21, 2012 at 3:41 pm

    I'm with Kat – newspapers! We don't do it every year though – just once – then every year we add a new layer of mulch on top and we rarely have weeds. Free and easy!

  • Reply
    Robin
    May 23, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    I have a weed or flower bed to deal with as well. I have been spending so much time in the front yard garden this spring the back yard bed have become more weeds than flowers. I normally used a fabric landscaping produce like you did around any shrubs and perrineals and newspaper around annuals.

  • Reply
    M.Darville Anaya
    May 25, 2012 at 12:51 am

    I'm using the landscape fabric for the first time this year, so far so good.

  • Reply
    Lisa at Shine Your Light
    May 26, 2012 at 2:28 am

    I have never used landscape fabric and will give it a try in a new bed I just created after reading about it here! I have had luck with Preen, a product that you sprinkle in your gardens to prevent weeds, but the fabric sounds like a great way to go!

  • Reply
    Lisa at Shine Your Light
    May 26, 2012 at 2:29 am

    PS Your house and gardens are SO pretty!!!!

  • Reply
    Pam@OurAdventuresInHomeImprovement
    May 27, 2012 at 9:59 pm

    Great job! In some areas it makes so much sense to put the weed block in, especially near the rose bushes. It looks so nice!

    We fight bindweed here and I swear the roots are never ending.

    Enjoy your weekend.
    Pam

  • Reply
    Jeremy Beauregard
    October 23, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    It’s nice to know you’ve found the perfect solution to prevent the invasion of weeds in your garden. I know it can be a great pain, especially since its presence limits your landscape upgrades. Another thing is they take some of the nutrients that were intended for your plants. You definitely have a better yard setting now. 🙂

  • Reply
    Shona Martinez
    October 29, 2012 at 9:40 pm

    Nice! It’s great to know that your garden is still weed-free. You must be a really good gardener! You really did a great job on keeping your garden blooming and looking spanking new. Keep it up, Jenny! :))

  • Reply
    Charlene Washington
    November 14, 2012 at 3:58 pm

    For as long as your weed-banishing ideas are safe to use, then stick to it. I don’t have any tricks in particular, but I do love to remove those weeds in my lawn manually or with the use of a machine. That fabric is definitely worth a try. I feel lucky enough to see this stuff that you’ve shared! Keep those good information coming! =)

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