Weed Control

Understanding Weeds and Weed Control

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Weeds are essentially plants growing in the wrong place. All of our gardens are potentially full of them and even if at some point we succeed in eradicating every weed from our plot, they will reappear as if from nowhere. Light seeds fly in on the wind (thistles and rosebay willowherb), birds drop seeds from berries they have eaten (bramble and elder), and perennials like bindweed, ground elder, brambles, and ivy creep insidiously through boundaries from neighboring gardens and fields. Weeds can even hitch a lift with new plants—many a garden has been infested with bittercress whose seeds and seedlings were inadvertently planted along with a new shrub or herbaceous perennial. This annual weed matures rapidly and soon fires its seed out of taut pods, colonizing around new plants.

Keeping our gardens as clear of weeds as we can is important not just from an aesthetic point of view, but also because weeds tangle themselves up with our cultivated plants, competing for space, light, air, water, and nutrients. Their eradication and control may seem like a chore, but weeding can be surprisingly satisfying and is best tackled little and often. Clearing an area of weeds also brings us into close proximity with our plants. Enjoying the peppery fragrance of lupins, the textural buds on moss roses and the mouthwatering aromas from aniseed-scented agastache or rosemary are some of the side-benefits of weeding.
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Even if we can’t prevent weeds appearing, there are plenty j of ways to control them and make life as difficult as possible for them