And the weeds (grass) takes over!I am always being asked, "isn't it hard to keep the weeds out of that?"
They are talking about the creeping phlox.
And yes, thank you for your concern, it certainly is!
When I get a big patch of grass like this one, I use a shovel to dig down under the roots and pop up the whole shovel full.
I then use my hands to loosen the soil underneath by pulling and shaking (I could not photograph that as I had no free hand for the camera).
Once the soil is good and lose, I turn it back over and grab the grass close to the soil level and just pull it out.
It works quite well to get most of the grass roots without doing too much damage to the phlox.
Notice the gloves I am wearing? They are very thin latex gloves (used mainly for handling food). I like to use them because it helps to be able to feel more than is possible with regular gardening gloves. Of course, bare hands would be even better, but I try to protect my nails as much as possible.
Here is the same area with the grass freshly removed.
I don't think it looks too bad considering all the trauma I just subjected it to.
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I was just doing the very same thing with my phlox this morning. It's the old dig-and-pull technique. (I just made the name up now.):-)
ReplyDeleteZoey - have you tried using a digging fork instead of a shovel? I think you may get the same result without actually disturbing the soil or the roots so much. I don't mean a little hand fork; a four-pronged fork with a handle about waist height.
ReplyDeleteGood idea for pulling out the grass. I've got an area of vinca where I might try this.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard work getting out every root, but harder if you don't do it... sigh
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about the bottle trees. I used to see a lot of them growing up, but then they disappeared in the late 70's into the 80's. I'm very glad to see that they seem to have enjoyed a comeback.
A lot of the old bottle trees had blue bottles on them. Some were the milk of magnesia bottles, but I think a lot of the bottles started out clear and turned blue. There is/was something about older glass bottles that seemed to make this happen.
Nothing worse! Weeding in plants like that is a real bummer.
ReplyDeleteEmpress, I like that name -- the dig and pull technique. LOL
ReplyDeleteSandy, it's a pain in the posterior, that's for sure!