In my weeds class decades ago we were taught the effect of diligent tillage on bindweed, a nasty agriculture problem if left unchecked. Specifically, research was conducted to determine what had to be done to kill the whole plant. What was discovered was that if one never allows the above ground growth to get more than 8" long before removing it at ground level or deeper and continuing this for 2 straight years, the whole plant would use up it's reserves in that deep root and die. Letting the top grow more than 8" lets the plant send reserves back into the root system so you have to never let that happen. Years ago when we bought this place the north garden plot was a bindweed pit!!! I spent 2 years with the wheel hoe assaulting the bindweed as was suggested in the research and can confirm that it works extremely well. Didn't even try to grow anything in that plot those 2 years to make it easy to nail all bindweed mercilessly. Of course, those were just crucial battles, the war isn't over as there is bindweed in areas surrounding that plot that tries it's best to creep in and must be stopped at the borders.

Thanks for all the responses, folks! Actually, I want to start another thread of most hated and best liked weeds. Jackie, I'm tempted to take issue with that word 'perfectionism'. To me the absolutely manicured garden suggests not a desire for beauty, but a desire for control. As you point out, allowing Nature to become a collaborator in one's garden design can bring lovely results, and to me what is most lovely is most perfect. Maniacally maintained gardens aren't necessarily the most beautiful ones around. I am a perfectionist in my own way, meaning that I always try to create the most beautiful garden I can, even if I almost invariably fail. All of which opens the way to a discussion of different ideas of beauty. Lori, you do list some ugly weeds. About the lawn: with our dry summers and for various considerations, I've never tried to have a lawn and never watered what grass struggled into existence. (Italians, by the way, go mad for what they call 'English lawns', a smooth close-clipped expanse of emerald green maintained at huge expense of water, fertilizer, and poison.) Perversely enough, we are coming to have a lawn. We've always had annual grasses that make a good show in spring and then die during the summer drought; but there's a perennial native grass that makes quite a decent lawn grass that has been expanding its territory, so that in time I think we'll actually have a permanent grass covering. Moral of the story is, I think, that you need to find adapted grass species for your lawn, that can handle periods of drought. Also, do you dislike non-grass species in your lawn? I've always enjoyed clover and English daisies and so on in my grass (I even rather like dandelions, but I know that's extreme); could you bring yourself to like them? As you point out, having something--ANYTHING--growing brings advantages with it. Some perennial grass species do go brown in periods of drought but without dying; could you live with that? Here in the summer for green I rely on the wisteria pergola, on the trees and shrubs and on the potted plants, but not on the grass. Hoovb, nice work if you can get it!! I have the highest opinion of thick blankets of mulch. However, we have a very large garden; it's too steep for anything but a tractor to get in--wheelbarrows are really difficult; I have no convenient source of mulch. For all these reasons I began to ask myself why on earth I was pulling annual grasses out of the beds, since they are simply Nature's mulch, grown in place and at no cost to myself. Certainly I mulch all I can, but the self-sown wild herbaceous plants help. Suzy, I hate mallows too, but fortunately they're not one of my major problem plants. I do pull them wherever I find them. Your comments about butterflies made me wonder about our bee and butterfly population this summer. It seems to me we haven't had many honeybees at all, and, now that you bring them up, I haven't seen many butterflies either--fewer than in other years. Note that we use no pesticides, and I doubt our farmer neighbors do either, as they grow crops for cattle feed; and we're otherwise surrounded by woods. The wasp and bumblebee populations appear healthy enough. Melissa

I do have flagstone pavers and steps running through my alpines and the alpines do enjoy the protection over their roots, especially on a hill side. To control your weeds, you may try layers of newspaper tacked down under black garbage bags or tarps to smother out the weeds. Usually this is done in the fall and left over winter but you could try it early this spring. Emerging perennial weeds and sprouting seedlings will all smother under this cover. Even 3 months of it (April - June) should help. Always try to remove any weeds that survive before they set seed. Good luck!!

Jan- Trish is right on. Black plastic mulch is the best way to get rid of grass and bindweed. I have 3 acres with plastic on it right now and another 2 that will have it this spring. Another benefit is that the ground warms up faster, uses less water, and saves hundreds of hours on weeding. I weeded 1 1/2 acre in less than 1 hour a week all last year. I can send you the pics of how I use it if you need. I use 40' X 100" 6 mil, over lap the edges by 18" or so. I use the soil from around the edges to hold it down. Perennials are on a 2' X 2' and annuals 18" X 18". If you prepare your beds in the fall you will be hours ahead. I failed to take out the 1,000 purple majesty millet last fall and I am not looking forward to that but the rest should be easy. I put down the plastic, cut the holes, use two drills with bulb auggers, my youngest son lays out the 6 packs, usually we have 5 people planting and can do 400 plants a hour. Call around to all the farm and construction places for your plastic. I paid $120 a roll last year. What else is there to do? Watch the snow fly, order seed and bulbs, fill the flats with soil. Oh 1 other thing to do if you are planning on selling wholesale is to call on your customers and talk to them. Yesterday I was informed by one that she is buying all my veronica red fox, all my white sorghum, 1/2 of my hylander and tapestry millet and 1/4 or so of the celosia. Another wholesaler already had a standing order of 500 purple millet a week. I need to fill out my FM applications too. That does not include cutting all the curly and pussywillow and preparing to give a presentation at our ag conference. Good luck. Bryan