When Mudmama came to visit last month she totally cracked me up by saying “Oh, I LOVE YOUR GARDEN!” And she wasn’t being facetious either. She really did love my garden.
My garden and me, we have a funny relationship. I try to give it its freedom because I’m laid back and haven’t the energy to try to control it. In return, it tries to take over the world. I am always in awe of its capacity for unchecked growth. This is what it looked like in June 2007.
I live in a townhouse, which means I’m in the middle of nine connected homes. Our nine tiny back yards are all connected and separated only by wooden fences. One day a few weeks ago my next-door neighbours on the left knocked on my back door and very nicely pointed out that the crazed mutant Virginia Creeper vine had set its sites on their back yard and was expected to cross the property line by morning.
She gestured at her own tidy back yard with its rows of potted flowers. “I don’t have much of a garden,” she said, “But I like what I’ve got, and I don’t want that vine to get it.”
She had a point. The rapacious vine strangles everything in its path. The only thing that stands a chance against it is the other aggressive weeds. My garden is all about aggressive weeds and survival of the fittest, but her garden is all about delicate flowers and tender loving care.
I was sympathetic. As soon as I indicated my willingness to cut back the vine, she and her husband whipped out their machetes and shears and giant garbage bags, and we all set to work hacking away at the mutant vine. The mutant vine, by the way, doesn’t have its roots in my yard – its home base is next door on the right. We cut it back to THAT fenceline. It put up quite the fight. When we were done, I swear I heard it hiss “This ain’t over – I’ll be back.”
And sure enough, it’s on the march again. See?
If my back garden is freakishly and frighteningly aggressive, my front garden can only be described as downright embarrassing. It’s a complete eyesore, right out there in public for everyone to see. Even Mudmama couldn’t bring herself to say she loved it.
Instead she said “What are you planning for this garden?”
Last Fall I attempted to stifle the growth of this year’s goutweed (it’s a tenacious and pernicious invasive weed) by digging it all up and covering the entire front garden with landscaping cloth.
My plan was to cut x’s in the fabric this year and plant desirable sturdy annuals while remaining vigilant for signs of returning goutweed. I was going to stay on top of that goutweed, dammit.
Somehow a few assorted weeds found their way through the fabric and I was so impressed with their survival instincts that I let them stay.
“What’s wrong with a few little weeds?” I asked myself.
Well, when I got back from holidays, these few little weeds had mushroomed and now there were lots of very big weeds.
It didn’t help that I never got around to cutting those x’s in the fabric and planting flowers. Or that I didn’t stay on top of the goutweed babies. You give that stuff an inch and it takes a mile.
I can’t even pull the weeds anymore because they’re too big and strong. I need tools and implements and protective gear before I tackle them.
Or, you know, I could just wait till winter and let nature take care of it. Then I could get a fresh start next year and do everything right and have flowers and herbs and other wonderful things growing in my garden. Is that what you would do if you were me?
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Sounds a lot like my garden!
Now that I have a garden that has to peacefully coexist with 259 others, I have to tackle weeds a lot harder than I used to when I was a kid at home.
Logan-the-Dande-Lion-King would love to explore that jungle… Can Duncan come out to play? mwahh-ha-ha!
If I were YOU? Probably not. If I were ME? Definitely not. I say Mother Nature is a better gardener anyway – a few pesky vines and weeds notwhithstanding and she can just keep doing it.
My wild roses are like that, I cut them back every spring, but a month later, you can’t tell I’ve trimmed them at all
Oh dear, that is so much like my garden. When I was married, my ex. would do the heavy work and I could do the finessing. Now that I am alone, my garden gets progressively wilder every year. I’ve never been one for “the perfect lawn”; I enjoy varied plant life too much. But now I’m struggling with Virginia creepers and bittersweet vines and burdocks and wild roses and butternut trees that shoot up like rockets. And a raspberry patch that needs serious work, as well. If I was a rational person I’d admit defeat and sell the place and get something simpler but I’m not a rational person.
Hi there! (I’m a lurker, drawn originally by knitting and hooked by the giant orange cat-person). It can be so daunting to start in on a heavily weeded area, but I find hacking into them oddly satisfying. Muttering under my breath and occasionally swearing at them helps me get through the weeds as well.
*sigh* My task for the last three weeks has been to get out in the yard, stake my beans and tomatoes, control the pumpkins, and get rid of the weeds growing between all…
I’m going to do it today. Really!!
I found you a gutweed soup recipe if you’re interested!
Gardening is 30% putting in and 70% pulling out…
I was only gone one week and can’t believe how many weeds have taken over my waterfall garden.
It’s almost August. All I would do is whack off any seed heads, then plan for next year. Maybe “lasagna gardening” would suit you?
I don’t know anyone who has had any luck at all with landscape cloth against weeds. I have heard tell (and may try this myself, I’m so desperate) that you can lay down black plastic bags–the heavy contractor bags that you can get in a roll–and the summer sun will bake the weeds and kill them. You’d have to either pull the weeds first or at least cut them down to the ground before covering with the plastic. Then in the spring you pull up the plastic and theoretically no more weeds. You may have waited too late to do this for this year, but keep it in mind. You could try it, and if weeds come back next spring, cover early and bake for the whole summer. Actually, it’s a good way to avoid yard work!
Ya, the thing about have any kind of yard is that you have to get out into it on a regular basis and do stuff. I would maybe move to a condo or something if I were you — all that snow and ice business in the winter that got the better of you; now the weeds. Next thing you know you’ll have to wash your windows or something and then what will you do??
I’m glad I’m not alone in being overwhelmed by gardening! I feel better now.
Abby – what’s lasagna gardening?
Ellen – that’s what I liked about the landscape fabric last year – it bought me time!
Susan – welcome, and thanks for delurking! I’ll check out your blog.
XUP – you know me too well.
I did it! I went out, and weeded, and found my garden, and made my children pull out some weeds on the patio! 3 hours, and 2 cranky hot kids later, it looks 80% less crappy!! 😉
Yeah, I’ve been thinking on this one. With all the rain we’ve had, you’re getting more growth than usual. I just pulled out a bucketful of weeds, just from between my patio stones. What gardeners do is plan during the Winter so maybe just whack at the weeds until then and start over in the Spring. Spring will give you a fairly clean slate but you must get the jump on it asap. That’s where the Winter planning will come in. You might want to consider paving some areas with bricks or those concrete interlocking things the Italians like but if you do, hire someone who knows how to lay them properly.
Ha ha ha ha ha Julia – you’d never know it to look at it, but my garden IS paved.
But that’s a great idea about the winter planning – I like that.