A question of weeds

[Carlie Wolf]

So, my garden is now quite weedy. It's annoying me as it does every year. One thing I've never resolved in all my years of gardening is.....what's weeds and what are some of my newly sprouted perennials)? Every year I lose some of my favorite ones because they are pulled out amid the weeds :-( Last year I replanted some of the favorites I had lost. I thought maybe at the end of the year if I stuck a popsicle stick there then I'd know where they were this Spring. Nope.....the sticks didn't hold up through the winter. Grrrrrr. What do you do to keep yourself from inadvertently digging up those little spring starters while cleaning up your Spring garden????? Any suggestions?

[Granny Fran]

When we still had a large garden (now in a condo) I made a little map of the yard and where I planted things. As things progressed I also added little stone or concrete creatures ( frogs, crickets, etc) nearby. They seemed to hold up over the winter without moving much when we had snow or ice. They added interest in the winter and surprises to the garden when things were grown up.

[chelea]

I mulch heavily once I've cleaned out the beds and keep up with it all summer long. Usually all I have to contend with is grass creeping in from the edges.

[toggpine]

Depending on what it is, I leave the support cages in the ground to mark the herbs like the tarragon.
For the other plants, I have made plant labels from old silverware and the Fimo/Sculpy polymer clay. (I saw some in a gift shop made with embossed glass.) I stick them in the ground next to the plants, and they stay in fairly well. Even if the ground heaves from freezes, they weigh enough to stay in the space where I expect the plants to be.
I bought forks and knives from the thrift store since I didn't want to give up any of mine. I made sure they were textured enough to help hold the E6000 glue and the clay together.
I will see if I can get a photo today between the rain sprinkles.
Ok, I know, but his plant is NOT oregano, but it was handy and didn't object to holding the fork.

image.jpeg

[Hulamoon]

How about some painted rocks?

Found these too
https://www.kinsmangarden.com/produc...eid=c858446057

[grammaterry]

I feel your anguish. Every year as I begin weeding the beds I am careful and sure of myself. By the time I get all the way around, I realize that the invasive wild garlic looks just like new little daffodiles but doesn't stink. ha ha. I pull up stuff that I would call hogweed and realize it looks just like new ajuga. Sometimes I think I have a dalia coming up and let it go and it turns out to be the biggest darn weed I've ever seen/ So...go figure.

[oldmanquilts]

Weeds are a funny thing. Actually most flowering weeds are quite beautiful in their own right. If weren't for the likes of Lily-Miller, telling us we need to buy their chemicals to control the weeds, then giving us a list on the jug, we might just look at some weeds in a different light. When I really cared, I was selective and left some weeds for their beauty. Otherwise if I'm not sure I'll let everything mature to the point that I can really tell the difference.

My dad didn't like to mow grass much so his favorite flower was the dandelion. After I got old enough to mow that half acre front yard he didn't like dandelions anymore.

[MHG Winnower]

I had a dear friend who always used plastic forks for marking. Believe it or not, a good ole graphic pencil was what she used to identify the plan. Stuck the fork in tines down! May not be attractive, but it works and is inexpensive.

[Carlie Wolf]

Weeds are a funny thing. Actually most flowering weeds are quite beautiful in their own right. If weren't for the likes of Lily-Miller, telling us we need to buy their chemicals to control the weeds, then giving us a list on the jug, we might just look at some weeds in a different light. When I really cared, I was selective and left some weeds for their beauty. Otherwise if I'm not sure I'll let everything mature to the point that I can really tell the difference.

My dad didn't like to mow grass much so his favorite flower was the dandelion. After I got old enough to mow that half acre front yard he didn't like dandelions anymore.

I'd say 95% of my perennials have medicinal properties that I use each year. Last year I lost my yarrow (aspirin effects) and Echinacea (cold, flu, pain, inflammation, migraines). I was really ticked. I also have tumeric, St John's Wort, elderberry among other things). So and the lawn guy wacked down my Winterberry (pain) and it doesn't look like that is coming back :-( I've found over the years that these cause me no problems like a lot of the over the counter drugs do. The first year I moved here I let everything grow because I didn't want to remove anything that would medicinally benefit me. :-)

[Carlie Wolf]

I had a dear friend who always used plastic forks for marking. Believe it or not, a good ole graphic pencil was what she used to identify the plan. Stuck the fork in tines down! May not be attractive, but it works and is inexpensive.

I think this is what I'll do for next fall. I do have a lot of silverware around.