Buckland Nurseries

Buckland Nurseries was established as a family run garden centre business over 150 years ago. 

The business was founded by Thomas Hogg in 1865 and has continued through six generations of the Hogg family into the hands of David and Linda Hogg (pictured alongside). 

Buckland Nurseries stocks a wide range of perennials, trees, shrubs, bedding plants, roses, herbs, garden sundries, tools, turf, seeds, paving and gravels and the friendly team looks forward to giving you a lovely welcome when you next visit their traditional Garden Centre. 

March in the garden – dealing with weeds

As buds start to burst into life and the miracle of fresh spring growth appears, we have to start dealing with weeds. A good definition is “any wild plant that grows in an unwanted place, especially in a garden or field where it prevents the cultivated plants from growing freely”.

Now is the time to plan ahead to reduce the impact from any unwanted plants. Just a few ideas depending on location and type of weed.

• There are plenty of ground-covering plants which will, over time, simply crowd out the vast majority of weeds. Vinca and pachysandra will grow almost anywhere and provide an ultimate carpet in most conditions, as will ivy. Evergreen herbs such as creeping thyme are ideal in sunny areas, as are trailing conifers which are ground-hugging and will guard against all but the most persistent weeds.
• Generally having a full bed of shrubs, herbaceous plants, bulbs and annuals with few gaps will help. Mass planting not only gives great impact, but with good foliage coverage there will be less opportunity for both annual and perennial weeds to take hold.
• Mulch! A good covering of compost and bark will weaken weeds beneath. Also, porous weed-proof membrane works well in areas which are unplanted. For new plants, simply cut crosses in the membrane, fold back the flaps and dig in. Gravel or slate chippings will provide a good finishing touch. It all helps to retain valuable moisture in the soil as well.
• Weeding manually, especially as they emerge in March, is instant and satisfying. Perennial weeds should ideally be dug out from the roots as they will simply re-emerge if they are cut a ground level. Annual weeds can be hoed out of loose soil and removed or left to wither on the surface in sunny weather.
• As a last resort, or in an especially large or difficult area, use a spray weedkiller: use on a dry and breeze-free day. Most will take around a week to take effect, but it can be a useful method for long-established weeds.

Click Buckland Nurseries to access additional useful gardening information.

David Hogg
Buckland Nurseries