Conquering Weeds
How Team GreenSpace conquers and prevents weeds in our client’s gardens with determination and sustainable methods.
Team GreenSpace to the rescue!
You probably know by now that something gets done in only a couple of ways: do it yourself or hire someone to do it.
When we do something ourselves, we save money and gain satisfaction. We also spend a lot of time and energy on a project that often takes a long time to complete.
When we hire out a project, people who specialize in the work get it done! It’s money worth spending for a feeling of satisfaction and relief.
This GreenSpace garden care client enjoys gardening but was overwhelmed by the volume of work required to remove and manage the weeds and tend the numerous perennials. Never fear – Team GreenSpace is here!
Methods for removing & preventing weeds
After we eliminated the weeds and tree saplings, we spread newspaper on the cleared soil.
The newspaper will prohibit weed seeds from germinating and will decompose into the soil over time. Mulch was spread on top of the newspaper to hold the paper in place, retain moisture, and provide the garden with a finished look.
Now our client can spend a reasonable amount of time enjoying tending her garden! Take a look at the transformation from a weed-choked mess to a neat and tidy garden where plants can thrive.
Almost every plant you see in this photo appears to be a ground cover but is actually a weed.
Most of these plants are weeds, including the menace Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolate).
Newspaper placed on top of weeded gardens serves to prevent weeds and weed seeds from growing.
Mulch is placed over the newspaper to keep the paper in place, retain moisture, and provide a pleasing, finished look to the gardens.
GreenSpace offers a range of garden care services from seasonal clean-up to ongoing maintenance. Visit our SERVICES page to learn more.
Woodland Garden Wonders
Native plants in a woodland garden that stopped us in our boots this spring!
Plants that stopped us in our tracks this Spring
Sometimes we just have to stop in awe to observe for a moment the wonders of Nature. We’re privileged to be tending the native plant garden shown here for the fourteenth year! The garden changes – from year to year, season to season, and week to week.
This spring we were stopped in our boots by the bounty of woodland plants we observed. Notice the whorls of Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) flanked by a stately stand of Meadow Rue (Thalictrum).
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) provides shade for violets (Viola sororia), Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum), and other shade-loving woodland plants.
A Wrap on Spring Cleanup: Clearing, Tending, and Preparing the Gardens for a New Growing Season
The GreenSpace Team in action with spring garden cleanup.
Getting Started, Safely
We began the 2025 season on April 10 with glee, anticipation, and reminders about safety. A fully stocked first-aid kit is always with us in the pick-up truck and work van.
For “extra credit,” we learned how to check the oil in the van.
It’s All About Timing for Spring Garden Cleanup
The timing for doing spring clean-ups is a balancing act. We make sure soil is dry enough so our footprints don’t compact our clients’ lawns. And we wait to remove leaves with a light touch of a wire rake to avoid disturbing perennials that are beginning to sprout.
One job we can always do in early spring is to take apart the decorative arrangements we created last fall!
We’re always on the look-out for our wildlife friends. Here, a woolly bear caterpillar (Isabella tiger moth—Pyrrharctia isabella) makes its way toward a clay pot in a client’s yard.
Native Garden Cleanup Without Feeling the Burn
By pruning and digging non-native plants, our work is an alternative to a controlled burn in this native plant garden.
This is year 14 for Green Space to tend this native plant garden whose focal point is this magnificent old Bur oak tree (Quercus macrocarpa).
Spring Cleaning Feels Good Inside AND Out!
Spring is a good time to prune stalks from perennials and to remove dead branches from shrubs while shaping them. As we remove last year’s stalks and overgrowth, we see the results stacking up.
We literally did a load of good work today!
From native plant gardens to urban oases, we love the variety of locations, tasks, plant types, tools, and challenges inherent in all of our work. We wrap up spring cleaning with the satisfaction that comes from tending gardens well and the anticipation of new designs and growth to come!
Purple Invaders (aka "The Devil Plant")
There is one plant that surpasses all others in terms of its ability to survive: Campanula rapunculoides or Invasive Bellflower.
There is one plant that surpasses all others in its ability to survive: Campanula rapunculoides, or Invasive Bellflower. With its attractive, bell-shaped purple flower and persistent blooms, the plant is appealing to many but behind those pretty blossoms lies a challenging invasive plant that can take over a garden.
How does this happen? Rhizomatous and tap roots, as well as hundreds of seeds, give this plant staying power like no other. At GreenSpace we refer to this plant not-so-fondly as “The Devil Plant” as even one’s best digging efforts can be insufficient in removing this stubborn plant. Because of its aggressive undesirable social behaviors, it’s important to be persistent in removal efforts AND educate our neighbors about the Bellflower’s true nature!
More information on Campanula rapunculoides: https://northerngardener.org/creeping-bellflower/
To Clean or Not To Clean? Spring Cleanup & Spring Beauty
How far should we go in spring cleaning our gardens? The answer to this question varies between gardens and the personal taste of the gardener!
The GreenSpace team using a light touch during spring garden clean-up.
How far should we go in spring cleaning our gardens? The answer to this question varies between gardens and the personal taste of the gardener!
If one asks Nature, a light touch is best. Leaving dry leaves and stem debris in the spring garden provides protection for our pollinators including the 70% of bees that nest in the ground. The genius behind this method is that leaving the organic material in place also helps the health of our soils long-term and, in the short-term, saves time and energy so you can enjoy other spring activities!
More information about the benefits of minimal spring garden cleanup:
https://xerces.org/blog/dont-spring-into-garden-cleanup-too-soon
Protecting Our Tree and Shrub Investments
Don’t let the bunnies and deer eat away at your tree and shrub investments! Here are some of the protective measures we use at GreenSpace to protect young plants for our garden care clients.
Don’t let the bunnies and deer eat away at your tree and shrub investments! Here are some of the measures we use at GreenSpace to protect young plants for some of our garden care clients.
Fencing is one way to deter wildlife that may be interested in new and tender plants.
Each fall, we encircle vulnerable trees and shrubs with chicken wire to protect them from destructive chewing. We return in the spring to remove and roll up the chicken wire to reuse.
Another way we protect slim, young trees is to install white plastic corrugated tree guards. The guards fit tightly to keep out hungry critters and be used for multiple seasons. Careful installation is required to protect the tree’s bark.
Photos by GreenSpace team member Sue Filbin.