Friends are always telling me how they spent hours weeding their gardens. Say what? It takes me about half an hour a year, spread over a year, if that. I garden on the no space no weeds principle. I don't dig. I don't hoe. Bare soil is just asking for it. If I pull up a weed that is not likely to be a problem, I just drop it straight back onto the ground. If it is anything likely to be invasive, or make seeds which stick to my Ragdoll cat, Alfie, like Galium aparine (commonly called sticky willy - unfortunate name!), it is taken away and murdered elsewhere.
 |
| No space no weeds in a sunny border |
So my border plants have room for their roots, are fed growmore twice a year (when I remember) and kept watered. They are happy enough to spread their leaves a little bit, linking up with their neighbours to form a canopy and keep weed seeds out.
 |
| North-facing border which receives afternoon sun |
I allow some perennials, like aquilegias, to set seed and create new plants in any spaces they can find. When the seedheads rattle, I cut the stems, give them a good shake here and there, and let nature do the rest. This year I planted scented stocks (Matthiola incana), dotting them around in any space I could find. They have blended in well.
I don't spray chemicals either. I did at one time but slowly I have stopped that and any plant prone to disease is removed and destroyed. There is an exception, I have had to use chemical warware on the vine weevil, but it is watered into the containers of hostas and ferns (and not into the garden soil where vine weevil is not problematic). If aphids are becoming a serious problem with no sight of their predators doing the job, like ladybird larvae, or hoverfly larvae, (YouTube link of hoverfly larvae eating aphids) then I squish them with my fingers, or blast them with my hose pipe.