skip to main content

New to Gardening Garden Clinic Great Lakes Gardening

Purple patch in yard. What do I do with it?

Victoria Myrice

2 years ago

Hello all!I am brand new to the group. My husband and I have just recently purchased our first home and I'm trying to figure out what to do with our yard this spring! My Nana says to let your yard show you what it's got the first year after moving in. I sent her pics of a very large purple spot in our front yard (there are 3 of them). We think it is Ajuga or Bugleweed. I am aware that this is a nuisance/weed for most people, but I've read that it's a great pollinator, and the flowers they grow when left alone are actually pretty. I'm thinking about building a bird bath in the middle of the patch and letting it bloom in the spring and just cutting the grass around it. Has anyone left this alone in their yard, did it look nice, any benefits, advice, anything? Lol. Thanks in advance!!

Comments (4)

Victoria Myrice
Original Author
2 years ago
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
"I am aware that this is a nuisance/weed for most people,"

Actually, it is a common and very popular groundcover and is many times planted very intentionally. Like any good groundcover, it spreads........that's what it is supposed to do :-) However, I'd avoid planting close to a lawn as it will continue to creep and is difficult to remove once established in a lawn.

I don't find the purple or chocolate colored forms bloom as heavily as those with the green leaves and the bloom season is not all that long anyway.
Related Discussions
What do I have growing in on my yard?
Q
Comments (1)
Could be fungus, i had the same because of all the rain this summer. Mine managed to disappear once the sun came out and dried it out.
...See More
What do you think I should do with my front yard?
Q
Comments (9)
What a nice space for a garden. I like the rock wall. What kind of light does this area get? Dappled sun and shade all year like in the photo, or either more sun or more shade during the growing season? What is your soil like? I find it difficult to tell how large the area is, so a ballpark estimate would help to tell what there is space for. I'd start with removing any non-garden plants growing here and then mulch (cardboard with cut-outs for the hosta with an organic mulch like chopped leaves or wood chips on top) and weed a lot the first year so that when you add plants your weeding and maintenance will be minimal. Since this area will be visible as folks go in and out of the door, having plants with year-round interest and/or some ornament such as sculpture or a birdbath will be important in making this area appealing. I think I would try to plant mostly lower growing items in the front part of the garden, or at least airy plants so that the stone wall is a visible feature. If some of these are evergreen/gold/red, they will provide interest in the winter. In the upper part behind the stone wall, if there is room I'd add background plants with year round interest such as a colored foliage evergreen, and /or variegated red-twigged dogwood, ones that would stand out well against the light walls. With any woody plants, check the ultimate size and be sure you have room to paint or do maintenance behind it if it isn't a plant like the dogwoods which don't mind being cut to the ground. If there is enough light, a pretty trellis with a clematis that gets cut back in the winter (type 3 pruning) would feature the clematis in the growing season and the trellis in the winter. I would probably put a row of low-growing or easily pruned evergreens such as one of the smaller boxwood varieties under the window to provide winter interest and then plant the rest of the area with perennials to give you more interest in the growing season. Particularly in a smaller garden such as this that is in such a prominent place, thinking about varying the foliage color and texture (as you are doing in thinking about adding coral bells) will help add interest to the garden when there aren't many blooms. In addition to the library as a resource, Pennsylvania has public gardens that might give you inspiration, both for plants and for design. Here is a link that might be useful: Pennsylvania public gardens
...See More
HELP!! How do I fix this bright green grass patches?
Q
Comments (4)
I was thinking Poa A or T... Nutsedge in my yard grows straighter & more upright & the color difference isn't that obvious. Tough to tell though.
...See More
Front Yard Needs Help (What do I do with this open space?)
Q
Comments (7)
It looks to me like you could stand to have the driveway widened a little, creating better access to the front entrance and getting rid of the patio pavers in gravel. Whether it's a simple widening or a drive re-do, it your choice. The former would work as an interim solution. It would be good to reconfigure the walk to the stoop to make it more useful and attractive. It could be standalone or part of a drive widening project. The logical place to create seating for impromptu gatherings is under the overhang at the right of the stoop. Because of the overhang, it's not a good area for growing foundation plants. If you park or drive at left of driveway, it looks like you may need to extend the driveway with a permanent driveway material. That would solve the packed mud problem. In general, you need a landscape plan for the front yard that includes both hardscape and planting. The speed with which you implement it, and whether it was in pieces or in total, would be up to you. As far as giving you specific solutions, the pictures are too small, fuzzy, dark & partial.
...See More
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
i suspect a tree was removed.. and this was either growing around it.. or was throw in the bare spot as an easy fix ...

nana is wise ... listen to her ..

but by mid summer... you should have a good handle on whats going on ... and you might want to start building garden beds for fall or spring planting ...

most important in what when said.. was that you will find out if you have any bulbs that will flower in later spring .. which you can see now ...

there is a very active NAME THAT PLANT FORUM ....

and you can get a lot of ideas and help in the shrub.. and perennial forums when you want to start planning ...

start a new post .. or 10 ... include big city location.. and pix of the front of the house.. if you want to generate some ideas ... though nana suggests you wait and see.. planning never hurts ...

and my best lesson from buying my first house ... just get rid of all the prior owners mistakes.. asap ... dont fall for this.. i gotta live with a nightmare.. because its part of the history of the house ... i wasted 5 years dealing with such.. do what i say.. not what i did ....

ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
What do I do with it?

===>>

actually didnt answer your title question ...

that is a couple hundred dollars of stock plants ... i would leave it alone until you decide your eventual plan ... and if you might have a future use for it ...

this stuff is famous for growing where other plants wont .. like under maple trees ...

perhaps you will have a use for it in some backyard space where nothing else will grow ..

as to mowing.. just raise the lawnmower and mow right over it ... perhaps not mowing when its in bloom ... you can walk on it.. mow over it.. you arent going to kill it ..

but if you decide you have no use for it.. get rid of it.. its real weird in the middle of the lawn ...

someone needs to decide if they are going to be a lawn warrior ... i wouldnt go as far as trying to put weed and feed on it ... but it would thrive a bit better with a little more water ... and a well tended lawn.. would be cut higher.. and that would be better than scalping the plant you might want repeatedly ..

ken

Sign Up to Comment

Related Stories

LIFE You Said It: ‘Just Because I’m Tiny Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Go Big’

By Becky Harris

Changing things up with space, color and paint dominated the design conversations this week

PETS Protecting Your Pet From Your Yard and Your Yard From Your Pet

By Gwendolyn Purdom

Check out these tricks from vets and landscape designers for keeping your pets and plantings safe in the backyard

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Yard of the Week: Underused Side Yard Now a Shady Retreat

By Annie Thornton

Pollinator-attracting plants, custom art pieces and clever screening solutions turn a grassy yard into a leafy oasis

FUN HOUZZ Everything I Need to Know About Decorating I Learned from Downton Abbey

Mind your manors with these 10 decorating tips from the PBS series, returning on January 5

FLOWERS Why You Should Give Hydrangeas a Place in Your Yard

By Laura Gaskill

The exuberant mop-headed beauties evoke dreams of an endless summer by the sea

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Lilac Vine for a Purple Profusion in Winter

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Grow this pretty, hardy vine on a fence or as a ground cover for blooms throughout the colder months

COLOR 21 Reasons to Decorate With Purple

Whatever shade you choose — lilac, plum, mauve or aubergine — purple makes a statement

GARDENING GUIDES 20 Purple Flowers to Beautify Your Garden

By Annie Thornton

If you like Pantone’s 2018 Color of the Year, try some of these purple-flowering plants suited to U.S. gardens

URBAN GARDENS In London, a Crowded Patch of Grass Becomes a Patio for Entertaining

A chic combo of wood siding, clever plantings and lots of elegant sandstone transforms a plain garden into a stylish space

GARDENING GUIDES Garden Color: How to Landscape With Purple

By LuAnn Brandsen

Abloom with just violets and plums or with energetic contrasting accents, a garden swathed in purple is a sight to behold

Sponsored

RTS Home Solutions

3 Reviews

BIA of Central Ohio Award Winning Contractor

More Discussions

Best privacy shrub for shade

5

Graduation project survey

2