Perhaps the title is a little optimistic since a completely weed free garden is a virtual impossibility, but there are steps you can take to reduce the effort required to keep them under control. Even if you just garden in containers weeds manage to emerge. As Thomas Fuller said “Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there”. This article by Andy McIndoe which I found on the Learning With Experts website lists his ten tips for dealing with these “many things”.

As we head into a new gardening year, I thought it was a good time to consider how we can reduce the amount weeding we do, ideally to allow more time for the gardening we enjoy. Let?s face it few gardens are weed free, even if most of you garden in pots and raised beds, somehow those weed seeds find their way in. We all know how successful those unwanted plants are at establishing themselves. Whether your main problem is annual weeds that spread easily from seed, or perennial weeds that have invasive roots, here are my top ten tips for a weed free garden.

Some annual and perennial weeds, such as hairy bittercress, seed prolifically. The secret of success is to remove them before they seed and proliferate throughout your garden. This is easier said than done, but if you keep a hoe handy, and carry it around the garden with you, you can hoe off emerging seedlings as you spot them.

2. Always have a suitable bag or bucket available to collect weeds as you notice them in the border. That may sound a bit basic, but it really makes a difference. Pull up annual weeds and leave them in a pile on the ground and you may find that they seed and spread before you get round to collecting them.

3. Create a dense cover in the border using perennials such as alchemilla, eryngium, aster and achillea, and low growing shrubs such as hebe, Euonymus fortunei, and Cotonester dammeri. These leave little or no room for emerging weeds.

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