Covering Ground

“Why didn’t anyone ever tell me”, she asked soberly yet emphatically with a whiff of accusation, like a best friend who knew the spouse with cheating on her with the dog groomer but kept it a secret. I was her horticulture instructor at the time at Edmonds Community College, so I apprehensively waited for clarification. ‘Groundcovers’ she continued. “All of these decades of weeding. I never realized”

Solar Sterilization with Kobashi during the summer of 2024 after the Armageddon Freeze earlier in January. This area as been the least problematic in terms of weeds this spring after the commencement of replanting. Photo 8/10/24

Peggy was well into her early 70’s when she began taking my classes. And now, in my early 70’s, and the daunting rehabilitation of my garden at Windcliff underway, there hardly exists an hour of the day that her pointed question does not ping while gardening and listening to the latest prolonged ad-ridden Dateline Murder Mystery with my ear buds. (btw, the murderers virtually ALWAYS get caught, so don’t do it without talking to me first)

The same area as pictured above precisely 10 months later. After neatly covering the ground with a dense mound of finely fretted, dark green foliage throughout winter, Ligusticum lucidum erupts into a froth of white umbels in June. (note spires of both Echium pinniana as well as Eremerus ‘Romance’) Photo 6/10/25

With the associated soil disturbance of replanting along with fertile grounds for germination and a seed bank the size of lower Manhattan on the perimeters of the garden, the sheer number of weeds emerging per square foot this spring has been unfathomable. The offenders, mostly, come from the steep, uncontrollable bluff edge of our property; Buddleia davidii (evil), Hedera helix (bastardly) and the worst of all- we are talking Pam Bondi here – Clematis apiifolia, dubbed Traveler’s Joy by 17th century herbalist John Gerrard for it’s ‘goodly shew’ in autumn along the lanes of Elderly England. ( I have a ‘shew’ aimed directly at Gerrard’s backside.) We all have our enemies that we love to hate. I happen to have more than most.

A single strain of the annual Opium Poppy, Papaver somniferum, has been allowed to self sow during the renovation; these will be cut at the soil line directly after flowering to prevent overt self-sowing while adding substance and air space to the soil profile. (Only a few capsules are allowed to mature each year) Photo 6/10/25

It is not simply preventing the mass germination of weed seed each spring that a densely planted covering of the ground becomes profoundly important to the garden and gardener. Soils develop a more tilthy texture and become less compacted from winter rains. Most importantly, it has been shown that the microbial activity leading to more exuberant plant growth increases dramatically with not only dense planting but increases incrementally yet again with diversity of planting. The bottom line is that our garden soils would actually be much healthier if you simply left every weed alone and let it be. Don’t do that. We are gardening. Ground gone fallow is not the endpoint of our game until the game is over.

Whereas I am relying heavily this spring on annuals and biennials as placeholders until my permanent plantings take flight, already existing in the garden are more than a few durable, highly ornamental and long lived perennials that do rather well at the subject at hand (outside of the usual suspects, i.e. Epimedium, Pachysandra, Disporopsis, et al). As my body continue to age, they will all be given greater roles to play in the acts yet written.

Erigeron glaucus ‘Wayne Roderick’ produces low, dense, near-evergreen mats of felted foliage with nonstop flowering throughout the summer. (with Elschotzia california var. mexicana) Photo, 7/25/24

The spreading, non-woody species of Phlomis, in particular P. samia(above) and P. russeliana, provide high value ground cover, summer flowers and winter structure from spent fruiting stems. Thuggish you say? Bring it on! Photo 7/4/24

The garden at Windcliff is 50% sun, 25% shade and 25% as annoyingly indecisive as posers of tariffs. Those areas in the latter category are the hardest to conquer; requiring plants needing brightness to shine to the degree they should and protection from the Chernobyl months of mid-June through mid-August. Its a tall order. More than a few fit the bill and remain sufficiently dense- we like to say Hegseth Dense – to discourage any chance of alien invasion.

Appearing somewhat Hosta-like, yet fully slug and rabbit resistant, is Trachystemon orientalis ‘Kiwi Sun’, given to me years ago by New Zealand’s extraordinary Bev McConnell. Along our drive, it competes admirably with the roots of the Grand Fir under which it grows, only politely self sows and tolerates both intense sun and shade. Photo 6/10/25

Though hardiness, handsomeness, pollinator-coziness and seasonality remain important considerations, the bottom line is bulk and substance. Over the years I have discovered there is nothing more annoying than a ground cover that-despite its height or girth- does not have the guts it takes to prevent germination of seed on the lobby floor. Actually, there are other things MUCH more annoying, but we will save him for another post.

Though far from what we have conceived to be the endpoint (“endpoint?”, you laugh ), the early summer blitz is in full swing at Windcliff. We invite you to visit this Saturday, 7/14/25, without an appointment or fee, to study our progress, take a whiff of Philadelphus maderense and shop the nursery. 10-3pm. 10345 NE Shore Drive, Indianola, WA. Consider making it a two-fer by visiting Heronswood on the same day, only 9 miles from us as the crow flies. (Heronswood admission applies)

p.s. The Indianola Country Store makes a great sandwich.

DJH 6/10/25