Read what Kimmsr wrote again. It's right on the mark. "The best mulch material to use is that which you can get at the least cost..." Check things out around you. It's amazing sometimes what you will see and find and get if you ask. All my leaves get blown away in the fall, but a mile down the road my neighbours will gladly give me their leaves. One neighbour has a nice stand of pine trees. He used to rake underneath them and throw out all the needles until I asked him for them. All I do is supply the garbage bags for them and go get the bags. My neighbours on the opposite side of the road use to complain about the seaweed washing up on their beaches but now they don't since I go get it for mulching particular beds and for my compost. I collect used coffee grounds on the way home every day. The owner of the establishment where I get them from cut his organic pick-up fee by 1/2 and is most pleased to see me. The following is mulch which I created with used coffee grounds (UCGs), pine needles, and shredded leaves. The following is a photo of the gardens where it was applied. I never had to weed this area the whole season. :O) Mind you, I weeded before placing the mulch and I don't do the newpaper things to snuff any weed seeds, but placing a good 3 inches of this mulch works well. If the plants were further apart or I was not introducing new plants to the gardens all the time, then I might be inclined to put newspaper down. I must agree with those who speak negatively of landscape/weed fabric. One experience in my parents' gardens showed me that it can be more of a pain than anything else. It provides no food value to the soil and will permit rhizomaceous weeds to creep underneath until they see a way out and by that time your problem is more than you'd like.

Maybe Senecio vulgaris, common groundsel??? If so, pretty early for bloom although it is a spring bloomer. Can be tough to control as it has developed resistance to many products. Contact your local extension service for the right treatment. hortster Here is a link that might be useful: common groundsel

Quack grass is a very invasive grass that spreads by both seed and rhizomes. There is some indication that Quack grass has become immune to the glyphosates. The only method of control I have found effective is to dig out all of the rhizomes and place good barriers between where that grass is and where I don't want it to be. Janet Macunovich, in her book Caring For Perennials, suggests using that plastic carpet runner as a barrier, Many other plants we call "weeds" seed in quite prolifically and will need constant attention no matter what we do. Mulches help some, but are not the complete answer some seem to make it appear, since many of those unwanted plants will germinate and grow in the best mulch. Recognize what the unwanted plant looks like quite early in its growth and get rid of it then, but constant attention is necessary to keep these plants under control.

schoolhouse - great to 'see' you again :-) Spring has been cooler - and drier! - than normal here. We had about half our average April rainfall and May is shaping up to be the same or lower! So weeds have not been too bad here. But about a year ago we had started using garden helpers to work with us for spring and fall clean-up. With the shutdown here re the virus, they were not allowed to operate until this month. So we had to do most of the spring clean-up ourselves. We left the last bit - digging out shrubs in the south alley - until last week when the garden help folk could come to do that - younger, stronger backs were required.... I'm a few years younger than you but 2 hrs. is about my limit too! DH is a bit older than me and healthier - but needs supervision :-) Last year I started the process of simplifying the garden as much as possible in preparation for aging-in-place as long as we can. Hence the digging out of shrubs in the south alley - replaced with 'Biokovo' perennial geraniums to be a groundcover next to the house. We need to remove a redbud tree that has started to fall over - but will wait until after it blooms. By that time hopefully the ash tree will have started to leaf out so we can assess whether to treat it again or just have it taken down. Removing the ash would eliminate a lot of the fall clean-up work! Have you made any changes relating to keeping the garden a viable activity while aging?