Weed Cloth

Doesn't this just sound like the best thing to happen to weeds? Just cover them up with some landscaping fabric and voila! A weed free garden.
Ok then, maybe not such a great idea. Here we go with that personal experience stuff. Along the back of the yard runs a flower bed that was
initially a weed bed. We cleared it out, got poison ivy, got rid of the poison ivy (better living through pharmycology) and invested in a very large
load of landscaping fabric that was specially made to keep the weeds away. Spent the whole weekend putting it down around the
hydrangeas, hostas and autumn ferns, pinning down the fabric, covering the fabric with pine straw and finally finishing the project. We won the
war of the weeds! Fast forward 2 years. The hydrangeas and hostas are making me look bad - they just aren't growing. I spend more time
bonding with them - watering, fertilizing. One of the hydrangeas just dries up. WTH?? I pulled back the weed cloth we had put around the plant
to find that it was trying to grow new shoots underneath the fabric. As I pulled back more fabric, I found this same problem with all of my
extended family. The plants did not have enough room to grow, even though I thought the holes were plenty big. So up came all of the fabric.
That was last year. This year, what a difference! The plants have almost doubled in size. As I take my coffee for a walk around the yard, I
swear I see the hostas and hydrangeas do the wave at me, thanking me for their freedom.

So what about the weeds? We doubled up on the pine straw in the front of the bed, where it's visible and further back we use our grass
clippings to cover up the weeds. I've read that this is not a good idea, that the grass will sprout. Folks, I have not seen any new grass growth.
And, in the fall, we do have to get physical with the weeds, pulling and clipping and staying away from the poison ivy.

Let's say that you have an island that is exceptionally talented at growing weeds. And that is the only talent the neighbors see. You keep hacking
and pulling but the weeds keep winning, and there is no chance of planting anything until you win the war of the weeds. Here, my favorite
reader, is where the landscaping fabric is your hero. Cut back everything in the island to the ground - mow, pull, weedwacker, whatever! Cover
with fabric, cover with mulch of choice and wait out the season. The fabric will kill the root system of all the weeds. Next year, take up the
fabric, amend the soil and add plants. Mulch heavily to keep the weeds back. If you decide to leave it as an island with just mulch, leave the
fabric alone. But, you may get grass or weeds growing along the edges. Happened to me.

The silver lining in all this? Getting rid of the weed cloth, we are getting more exercise and I'm that much closer to getting into that little black
dress I have hanging in the back of my closet. Still has the tags on it..

Find some fun, make some memories!