Ground cover/weed suppressant

[Bal]

We have a 30 meter shred drive, with a hawthorn hedge along it. There is about a meter width of border that I have just weeded and tidied up. I planted some ajuga plants , and will be putting in some Lilly of the valley, as soon as they are ready. In the meantime, there's are vast expanses of bare earth, which I am weeding constantly. Can any one advise something quick growing that I can sow or plant to keep the weeds at bay it's proving almost a full time job,

[Scarlet]

When will the other plants be ready? Perhaps you could just put down a wood chip mulch while you are waiting

[Bal]

Why didn't I think of that however, I will still need to plant something. The drive gets some sun during the day so apart from actually under the hedge it is quite a good spot. Is there anything I could sow directly into the ground this year. I was also thinking of maybe putting in a green manure clover, but not harvesting it. Would it look ok with the other plants do you think?

[WPG]

A green manure would be a good idea Bal. One of the quickest growing ones that I've found is phacelia, which also looks really nice, and is pretty easy to pull out if needed (and it'll die back in the winter). However for a driveway it might look a bit bushy maybe, and it can get a bit straggly after flowering. Clovers would also be good and are more compact, though I've found they tend to germinate and grow a bit slower than my weeds for the first couple of months.
Alternatively, what about just sowing some fast growing annual flowers - virginian stock, limanthes etc?

[Two_Sheds]

In the meantime, there's are vast expanses of bare earth, which I am weeding constantly.

yes, it will be.


You could sow a quick growing, annual green manure. Don't worry about the variety so long as it's not a deep rooting perennial like alfalfa.

Limnanthes is fab ground cover, easy to pull up when you don't want it.

When I weed, I chop all the weeds up and leave them on the soil as a weed-suppressing mulch (and feed). It may look "untidy" to the untrained eye, but the alternative is constant weeding. The mulch is soon covered by foliage as the other plants grow.

Pics in FB link below if you're interested

[Two_Sheds]

you could just put down a wood chip mulch while you are waiting

or the cheap option, wet newspapers.

it'll look "untidy" until the plants get going, but it does a fab job of keeping the weeds down. It breaks down gradually and improves the soil ~ any large lumps remaining can go in the compost heap

[shushkin!]

I use sheets of cardboard (flattened boxes) as it blocks out the light and eventually breaks down (usually takes a year or two). Its not pretty but it does the job for me.