A bit of carpentry with cheap stuff might be a good trellis for strong, fragrant vines :)

I would try to find a nice native bush(s). I planted a choke cherry bush about 3 years ago and I wish I bought more then 1. It's awsome looking in all 4 seasons and it's only 6' tall. Judging by your picture it looks like you could get bushes and flowers along that line.

My first reaction to this post was to suggest looking into mailorder firms that provide liners or transplants to populate this bed in order to stay in budget.

But I think that a simple green composite edging laid along the property line will form an inconspicous weed barrier. This will meet your short term need (prevent spreading weeds) and buy time for developing a pro-active comprehensive plan for the front instead of being in a reactive design mode.

Don't forget that if this narrow hedge bed is installed, the issue of the neighbors grass encroachment still needs to be addressed and encroachment of your grass into the bed must be dealt with. Grass is as invasive and persistent as any other weed.

If you want roses, try some Knockout roses. How long is the strip? You would need to look at recommended planting distance for those to figure what you need.

I'm sorry, I can't tell whose lawn is weeds and whose isn't...they look the same in this photo (perfectly respectable). However, what about a small picket fence? In the long run it will be cheaper and easier to maintain. $100.00 will barely cover the cost of mulch for this strip. And you'll have to remulch and re-edge every year.

Alternatively you could mix low juniper and knock-out roses, in a well mulched and edged bed. Both are very low maintenance and look nice together.

We are not able to put any "structures," so fences and trellises would be out.

The actual budget is $200, but mulch is going to be about $100, so that only leaves $100 for the plants. The weed barrier looks ugly, and her stuff is making it over to our side anyway, so it is time to do something. Will the composite barrier be any more effective than the black fabric or less blatant?

The barrier doesn't bother the other neighbors, but it bothers us. They like the message it sends, but that isn't our intention- we just want to have a nice looking lawn.

We cut our lawn longer because it is better for the blue grass, but that just makes the invaded areas look worse. Their weeds were just mown with the deck all the way down when the picture was taken. It only takes about 2 days for them to get out of control again.

I'll see how much knock out roses are in my area. I might be able to get clippings from my grandmother's. I was never impressed by knockout roses because hers only get 1 or 2 sad blooms a year, but the pictures online are pretty. They are in a full shade area at her house, so they may fare better here.

$100 to spend on plants is not very much. I would suggest that you put in some dwarf indian hawthorns, and barberries (there are some beautiful red and yellow ones), maybe even a dwarf holly or two - something that will get big and take up quite a bit of space over time, interplant with some roses that you want (not neccessarily knockouts). Sometimes you can find these at walmart or other places for cheap. (don't tell the rose forum I advised you to do this! lol) Then add in some petunias or lantanas - something that is not expensive but gives a lot of punch over a long period of time. You will then have some evergreens for winter interest, the roses you want, and enough interest to last through the year. You can continue to add shrubs and/or flowers as your budget and knowledge increase. When planting, put them in groupings, not as a row of evenly spaced shrubs. Place them all out before you plant. Be sure you leave enough room for their eventual height/width. Good luck!

Gardeners are wonderfully generous, and it's pretty easy, in my experience, to get flowering perennials for nothing or next to nothing, as long as you don't have to have them all at once.

Those of us who grow bearded iris, daylilies, black-eyed susans, coneflowers, shasta daisies, yarrow, etc. have to divide plants often, digging up with clumps we'd rather give away than throw away. If you don't know enough gardeners with extras, you can post on your local Freecycle or Craigslist websites and you might be surprised at the response you get.

You can also score shrubs the same way-- We just moved into a new house this winter, and I don't have the same gardening taste as previous homeowners...so far I've given away four large rose bushes, four barberry shrubs, and an entire 22 foot long hedge of variegated shrubs, all using Freecycle.

Another way to save is to wait until late summer, early fall. Prices drop dramatically at retailers at that time of year, and it's a great time to plant.

Off Topic:

I love freecycle! I've gotten all sorts of ground cover, hosta, daylilies, and other things that way. But leafy, wow, you've done really well.

The first thing I'd install would be metal edging low into the ground to prevent encroaching roots, and then invest in a pre-emergent to prevent wind blown seeds from sprouting.

I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother's Knock Out roses. I've never seen one with only one or two blooms, but you may be right, it may be the shade.

I have two that I TOTALLY ignored for the better part of last year (in pots on my concrete patio, some filtered shade) and finally planted them. I cut them way back, fertilized them (later in the summer), they bloomed some in the fall,and just let them do their thing over the winter. They are looking really good now. (In full sun).

One warning. If you buy roses, buy them on their "own roots" so they don't start sending out suckers (that you forgot to cut off) from their parent root. I've got several disappointments in my yard that have turned back to Dr. Huey (crimson) from their original lovely pink and apricot colors. This was due to several years of neglect on my part, so I take responsibility. But, they are all coming up this year.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't KO's all "own root"?

Great to know about getting plants (and giving plants) on Craig's List and Freecycle. Thanks for sharing!

I'm not sure you need to spend so much on mulch - get the chippings from a treecutter, and you'll be home free.

I'd also be sure to put in a sunken-in edging, be it metal, brick, what have you. You need blockage at ground level for root/creeping weeds including their grass. The plants will just serve the purpose of maybe stopping weed seeds from blowing over.

Roses are hard to work around.

KarinL