Help! Large flower bed just full of weeds

[Janefx40]

I’m not a gardener and don’t know what to do. My garden is small and mostly taken up by a huge flower bed…it’s roughly 8 metres by 3. I have planted a few things over the years. A rose, herbs, some other flowering shrubs and other bits but there is still lots of spare earth that is obviously just full of weeds. Currently one whole area is turning into grass.

i weed it periodically but because i don’t have enough plants to cover the space, weeds return. Add to that the garden behind is running wild so I’m in a constant battle to stop brambles taking hold and I now have extensive bindweed.

I can’t afford to fill it with plants. I periodically go and spent £100+ on plants and it barely touches the surface in such a large bed.

So help!!! What do I do? I will take out the worst weeds but they will just come back.

At this point I’m not even looking for it to be beautiful…just not chaos.

Oh and DP doesn’t want me to mulch with wood chip etc as it is raised and still in a slope and he thinks (quite rightly) it will just end up on the lawn.

Oh, that could be stunning! I'd definitely look at bare root shrubs as pps have suggested, put bear the middle and back. Rosemary is a great idea. And you can also buy bare root wallflowers really cheaply this time of year, I'd plant lots along the front edge, they'll spread out a bit and look and smell incredible.

Also, if you stick with quite tough and shrubby things put some round stepping stones amongst it and your little one will love having it as a trail/hide and seek area. Our children are missing out not having shrubbery type areas in gardens like there were in the 70s and 80s... they're just as much fun for kids as any garden toys .

That would be a great spot for a swing set and raised sand pit :)

Hi OP, we have exactly the same problem! I tried the wildflower route but, it is now just a load of weird wild grass :(
I've been thinking we should rotavate it to get it back to basics before starting over.
Would anyone more experienced recommend that?

As @napody said, stepping stones through it would break up the bed and split it into smaller, more manageable, areas

Bark chips. We have it all over our garden (no lawn). We do get the odd weed which is easy to pull out but the majority is weed free. You need to put a decent thickness on to stop anything coming through.

@SleepingisanArtthanks but DP has vetoed bark chips especially as they will end up falling off all over the lawn. It may not be clear from the pic but it is actually quite sloped

If I can get my little one to sleep I will go out now and have a weed. Also just bought lots of bulbs so I can at least have something nice in Spring

Just get geraniums and salvias, they are cheap perennials that grow practically anywhere and cover the ground to suppress weeds. Unfortunately until they invent a self weeding garden, weeding is one of the regular privileges of having outdoor space

Layer it with taller shrubs and plants at the back and and low growing plants including some herbs for easy access at the front. If you scatter some hollyhock seeds along the back, nature will take its course and starting in 2028 you’ll have beautiful tall hollyhocks every year (they are biannual but self seed prolifically). You will get short ones next year but be patient!
I would mix in some evergreen shrubs so it’s not bare in winter and at least 2 of each type so it doesn’t just look like a random hotchpotch. Again, tall ones at the back eg Fatsia japonica looks lovely all year round with large fresh green leaves. Medium in the middle, maybe Skimmia, ragged robin, a rosemary bush near the steps end so you can reach it easily. Hebes would be ideal as they form low evergreen domes which block the light from reaching anything underneath. And a selection of herbs near the front - chives look wonderful and self seed easily, as long as you don’t mind the smell of onions! Thyme is low growing and attracts bees. If you like cooking with herbs, think about which ones and dot them around in patches in empty spaces near the front. The annuals eg parsley, coriander will probably have to wait until spring though.

Do you have a hoe? It helps turn over weeds from the soil without crouching down to get at them all then you could also add bark to keep them down a bit.

Honestly, I'd go for low-growing shrubs to use as ground cover. You can also get low-growing rosemary as well. Look for plants that have 'prostratus' somewhere in their latin name.

Also maybe some aubrieta at the front to flop over the wall and some fleabane. That appears to be indestructible and flowers for months.

Thanks. How do I know which weeds I can hoe and which I need to dig out roots etc?

Anyway today I finally weeded inspired by you all and I stuck in loads of bulbs for spring! Next I need to get rid of some shrubs I dislike and plant some ground cover!

Oh fab- you're going to garden! Bulbs will be such a joy in spring and because the area is raised you'll get to enjoy them more at eye level! With that much space to fill I'd honestly keep most shrubs - I know they're not the most exciting but they'll set off any planting you do around them adding height and interest. Just bulbs and ground cover will look very flat. There are lots of great planting suggestions above but if you want more focused ones it's great to know what the soil is like and how much sun it gets. It'll probably be well drained being raised which means two things: 1. Autumn is the best time to plant perennials, and 2. You will need to water next year whilst things get established, so get a water butt!