Need advice, don't even know where to begin with my weed issue

7 years ago

Sorry this is so long, but I am in desperate need of advice and completely clueless when it comes to gardening. We bought our first house almost 3 years ago as a flip. We are in the suburbs of Chicago, so zone 5. We learned from neighbors that the previous owners didn’t maintain the landscape at all. When we moved in, we tore out a bunch of huge shrubs and trees that engulfed the house and created a bed of new smaller shrubs, annuals, and perennials in the front in the empty space. We didn’t do anything with the space in the back where the shrubs were other than adding some new topsoil (we ran out of money).

The first year the bed in the front did well despite our complete lack of knowledge. I read some books, but neither my husband nor I know the first thing about landscaping or gardening. I’m in school and work full time so my time is very limited. I could not keep up with the weed growth this year and I admit to getting frustrated and just letting it go. Now I have a huge mess on my hands and I have no idea how to start dealing with it. Plus I still don’t have much time. I am so embarrassed for how I have let it go.

Where do I even begin getting this under control for next year so we can start fresh? Here is what I’m dealing with.

Along the walkway, there are hostas and some other perennial flower that the flippers planted. We want to move these. Should we even bother trying to since the weeds are growing up through them or would we just transplant weeds with them? I’m thinking we should just rip all of this out, put weed killer down, and leave it until next year when we can plant again and mulch early in the season.

This is the stuff we put in the first spring. The weeds are just taking over now and I don’t have time to maintain it. I’m thinking we should just remove the part in front of the stones next year and put grass there so there will be much less to maintain.

This area I want to keep as part of the bed next year. It was dirt but now the grass has now started to grow there. Do we put weed killer on that or just dig it up and put top soil? Also those tall skinny blades of grass everywhere (coming up through the flowers and shrubs). Are they weeds or actual blades of grass?

This is the back where we removed the shrubs. We want to just put grass here next year but I’m afraid the weeds will just keep coming. Should we just spray the heck out of it with weed killer and cover it until next year?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

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Comments (4)

lisanti07028
7 years ago
Your weeds are out of control - welcome to the club. This happens to ALL of us at one point, sometimes many points.

First, don't move anything you want to keep right now - we are coming to the hottest part of the year, which is not a good time for transplanting.

Second, triage what you've got. If the front is most important, spend what time you've got there. Start weeding! Pull out the weed(s) and either compost them, if you have room for a bin, or put them in the garbage. It looks like you mulched the front, so after you weed, put more mulch down - you need at least a couple of inches to make a difference with the weeds.

For the hosta bed, weed there, and put in an edge of some kind to keep the grass out; it should go down a couple of inches, as grass roots will spread. That applies to all the beds - metal edging, landscape timbers, something like that - where the beds meet grass.

For the former shrub bed, if all that's there is weeds, then just mow it until you have time to deal with it, or think about it. Same goes for the part you plan to expand into next year. If you have the time, pitchfork it over, pull out the worst weeds, and cover it thickly with newspaper, and mulch on top of that - that smothering will work on most annual weeds, and you'll have easier digging when you're ready.

I can't see the particular weeds closely enough to identify; if there is something that is giving you fits, post a closer picture of it here and you will get help.

You have the bones of a nice garden shaping up there. Maintenance is a pain in the neck, but is part of gardening, I'm afraid. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
donna_in_sask
7 years ago
My former neighbours redid their landscaping when they moved in. Realizing they couldn't keep up with the huge garden that the previous owners had left, they decided to bring in huge amounts of crushed rock for mulching their flower beds. That look may not be for everyone, but they made it a low maintenance yard...weeds were easy to pull up from that rock.

You have your work cut out for you if you've allowed the weeds to go to seed...you might want to whack back the worst of it and put thick layers of cardboard and /or newspapers to kill and suppress the existing weeds. Don't put down that flimsy weed fabric under your mulch - you will have a different problem on your hands. Good luck...don't be discouraged, do what you can and you'll get there eventually.
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tete_a_tete
7 years ago
I think these days people tend to not have enough plants in their gardens, which would help to compete with weeds.

Perhaps you could first remove the biggest weeds that are about to go to seed. This will reduce the potential of a huge load of weed seed. Then plant out more plants to compete with the weeds.

I think your garden looks nice and 'cottagey'. I like a natural look.

And that's terrific advice above, to not use weed mat. Weed mat is the worst biggest pest ever. There is a thread here about it not far away.
kimmq
7 years ago
Kentucky Blue Grass growing in the wrong place is a "weed". A rose growing in the wrong place is a "weed". "Weed" killer is not what will kill grass and in that bed you plant on renovating next year I see crab grass and a couple other types that can pretty easily be suppressed with newspaper or cardboard and a material to hold those in place, no need for plant poisons.

The other area to be allowed to grow into grass can be just kept mowed to keep the unwanted plants somewhat under control until there is more time to properly address the underlying issues.

"Weeds" are a fact of life in any yard. Seeds from unwanted plants are spread on the wind, by birds, by other animals and they grow and some people obsess about them and get illnesses over them. When you see an unwanted plant growing somewhere pull it out if you do not want it there. Plant poisons are harmful to both you and the environment. Those neat, "weedless" lawns are unnatural and an environmental disaster area kept that way by lots of poisons that adversely affect our health.

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Need advice, don't even know where to begin with my weed issue

Comments (4)

lisanti07028

donna_in_sask

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