Planting advise, garden a bit bare......?

Question

I have recently added some perrenials into my garden over the last 3 months. They have taken quite well, but i have gaps/spaces in between plants, can anyone advise what i can plant in the spaces?? I have only just started getting interested in gardening and also have problems with weeds popping up in between and have placed a layer of mulch around plants but little weeds keep popping up, can you help me with that as well ? Thank you in advance for any advice :0)

Answer 1

Patience, my dear, patience. Those perennials will eventually fill in those little gaps you talk about, so don't go filling them in just yet. Now, if you want to, you can plant bulbs in those bare areas, then when summer rolls around, the bulbs will have died back and you will have tied up all their lovely green leaves into little "shocks" (like corn plants) so that you have little green spires in between you perennials

As for the weeds, well, you're just going to have to keep at them. They are pesky little buggers, but will eventually die out when you add 6 more inches of good mulch to your beds. Not only will it help keep weeds out, it will also help keep water in. And any bulb that you plant will come right up through it in the spring.

Answer 2

Perennials are a good choice, you will enjoy them year after year. You may look into planting some kind of shrub, this will give you some greenery in the cold months, and plant around and between them. There are many plants to choose from, daylillies are nice, impatients for the shade, heather, begonias, the list could go on and on. The encore azaleas are nice, they will give you blooms three times a year. There are many shrubs to choose, check the net or the nursery. As for the weeds mulching is good, there is a product you can get just about any where that will kill the weeds in your garden, try Wal Mart. It is a granular, I don't need to use it, but I know people who have. Good luck with your gardening and enjoy. Gardening can be good therapy and very rewarding.

Answer 3

> It depends which perennials you have planted, but they will soon grow to fill most of the gaps.
>IN the meantime fill the gaps with bedding plants. These will provide short term ground coverage while the perennials are growing and also provide colour through the season.
Use - Impatiens, pansies, primulas, bellis, aubretia, etc. Take these out as the perennials fill the gaps.
> Could also use ground-covering (low growing) perennials, such as Stachys lanata 'Silver Carpet' (Lambs ears) - or S. l. 'Aurea' - (a golden version); Epimediums; Hellebores; maybe ivy (depending on size of gaps).
> Another alternative is to plant bulbs in the gaps. Plant spring flowering bulbs in the autumn.
> Another alternative is to spread a mulch on the ground between the plants. This will help keep down the weeds whilst your perennials grow. (Chipped bark is an example) This also helps retain moisture in the soil for the plants.
> Keep everything well fed and watered for a healthy border.

Answer 4

Increase the depth of the mulch some, and/or grow an annual "cover crop" between the perennials until they fill in. One of my favorites for this purpose is sweet alyssum. In agronomy, this practice is called "canopy closure", and is the first defence against weeds.

Weeding is something that goes along with gardening, however-- a few minutes of weeding every week will keep things down to a dull roar, and it's much easier than waiting till you've got huge weeds with roots to China!

Answer 5

You should put down some weed block,it comes on a roll and looks like black fabric,or you can even use newspaper, before putting down the mulch.Weeds still manage to come through but not as many.Then plant some annual flowers between your perennials. Depends if your garden is in full sun or shade to suggest annuals but anywhere you buy your plants should be helpful in giving you some choices.

Answer 6

Sorry but the best way to keep the weeds down in my opinion is to pull them, as for the planting you should give it a little time to let your plants fill out, at least until spring. Plant some daffodils, snowdrops crocus e.c.t, plant tulips as well in November. The mulch should be at least 4 inch thick.
Good luck

Answer 7

Are you a freecycler? Join your local yahoo freecycle group and ask for any unwanted plants. Most of my plants have been obtained this way. I'm pretty new to gardening and I've found it's a cheap (well free actually) way to find things that grow well in your garden and there's no guilt if they die or you just don't like them.

Answer 8

The answer would appear to be---wood chippings, or gravel