I don't mean to be disagreeable, but I first learned about Jimsonweed through an article in the Reader's Digest, around 1980. A whole family had become violently ill after eating garden tomatoes for dinner. An investigation revealed that Jimsonweed growing in the garden had crossbred with the tomatoes. Their fruit was highly poisonous! I am here this evening because my husband asked me about a large weed that had sprung up on the edge of our tomato patch and, Googling it, I found it to be Jimsonweed! I will assume that, as it is the first specimen to grow in my garden, it has not had an opportunity to cross-pollinate or graft, but I will call the cooperative extension tomorrow, just to be on the safe side. Cowthree, I see that this post is at several years old. Did you ever have any further issues?

I am a bit confused. how big is 'large'? what is your definition of 'tidy'? do you want something with multiple seasons of interest, including winter? is the gout weed green or variegated? is the area a backdrop for the rest of your garden or something way off in the distance? is it raised or at ground level?

I'd read this post earier without any ideas to help, and then received a post about comfrey on a pastured poultry group I'm in. Posted herein is the email -- hope it helps (do you or anyone you know have any chickens, or, even better, turkeys?) "Comfrey is very high in protein, minerals and vitamins, especially B vits and calcium. I'm not sure if donkeys care for comfrey, but all of my poultry dearly love it... chickens, ducks, and especially turkeys. "My first year with turkeys, they ate down the plants so much the 10-ft square stand of comfrey nearly died, so I fenced the comfrey. The turkeys then flew over the fence and decimated the stand again, then screamed to be let out, so I fenced the turkeys, lol. Chickens and ducks are nearly as bad. "Now I have comfrey planted around the poultry yard and birds peck their fill of leaves through the wires. Pastured birds love chopped comfrey. "Rabbits will eat it, but goats are put off by the leaf hairs though they sometimes will eat dried comfrey."

I'm trying the newspaper layers (6-8 pages thick) topped with a thick layer of the free wood chippings I get from our city compost site. This is a SW corner of my yard where arborists cleared some trash trees/shrubs out between the lilac hedge and a small grove of conifers. There was a leggy honeysuckle and even leggier spirea left in the gap both of which I hard pruned to hopefully rejuvenate them. And I'd like to eventually get a couple of other things in there to flesh it out. I've always liked weeding - especially where the weeds are big and having them gone is really noticeable. I use a short handled spade, dig down and lever out the weeds. It is labor intensive, but once into it, you'd be suprised how much ground you can clear. Once I got out the major weeds in this corner, I scuffle hoed up the little weedlings and will see if the newspaper and wood chips suppress them for good. It looks nice anyway! I would think for layering to be successful, you should at least cut down the big weeds as close to ground level as possible - good green additions to a compost pile.