I Keep Weeding

Eventually it is bound to make a difference.

I have been targeting the slope below the scenic byway in my weeding forays now and then. This is where I have planted a number of shrubberies to give the garden becoming more textural and winter interest and a modicum of privacy from the byway.

I have found three, possibly four species of ferns on this slope that are being left. Four if this red stemmed one which looks different from the others is a distinct species. Also being left are Jack in the Pulpits, native hydrangea and Meadow Rue. I have seeded Ramps and False Solomon's Seal. I want these shade lovers to be the filler between the shrubberies. All I have to do is get rid of the thugs.

The culvert that goes under the byway exits here. It was a waterfall in the last big rain. I have never seen that much water come through. I'll re-rock it. Then the bottom needs some redirection to make it flow left instead of right. Much like an alluvial fan, the left side has built up from sediment deposits and sent the flow off to the right.

When they aren't encased by the wild thugs, the baby shrubberies actually have a chance to do some growing. The Oakleaf Hydrangea and Fargesia Bamboo are starting to put on some size. I have also planted Doublefile Viburnum, Rhododendron and Calycanthus on this slope.

I can picture in my mind walking down a shaded path lined with interesting blooming shrubs in many textures, the ground softened by a carpet of native ferns and woodland perennials. I am weeding, seeding and planting my way there.

Out in the blazing sunshine, Daylily Hill is in full bloom. The daylilies might get weeded every other year or so. The Lush always creeps back in.

It looks more natural that way in this setting. You have to learn to love it - live with it. I don't have enough time to do manicured weeding in my own much too expansive gardens.

That is why it is important to have the weeds you want or at the least eliminate the thugs.

So the way things work around here, good weeds are added and bad weeds are edited out. The final results are often out of our hands.

These gardens are a joy when looked at up close at the multitude of individual plants and flowers or in the big picture looking over the large spaces filled with blooming things of all kinds. When you break it down into smaller bed size sections and start looking, there are always weeds that need pulling.

I'll keep weeding and for the sake of my sanity I concentrate mainly on half a dozen thugs and ignore the rest.