On occasion, I wonder what harm might come if the several types of ground hugging weeds were allowed to grow in areas of bare ground in the lower rear garden. Certainly, they are a nuisance to pull, and of course, as weeds are well adapted to persistence, the entirety of the root is rarely removed. If the renewed growth of the weed following its supposed removal was well documented, I have little doubt the futility of the effort would be obvious.

Instead of relentless labor, my long-term plan has always been to plant densely enough that weeds are crowded out, or at least more difficult to see. In most areas of the garden, this effort has been successful, but the lower rear garden is a more recent work in progress.

A nutgrass filled lawn covered much of this space until a few years ago, when the grass and weeds were dug, turned over, and mounded to improve drainage. A swath of lawn was left between a granite paver path, but I knew at the time that this was likely to be temporary. The grass would be removed at some point after the new plantings were established, and earlier this year, the continued weediness convinced me to dig it out. A patch of Mazus reptans that invades a larger area in the upper lawn was left, though it is now invaded by scattered clumps of a variety of wispy grasses.

I’ll attempt to manage the grasses, but the time has begun to fill the spaces between pavers and the drainage swale that has proved to be exceptionally fertile for the low growing weeds. The selection of plants to fill the swale is easy, but finding proper plants to tolerate the damp soil that will also grow between the stone pavers is more troubling.

An easy answer is to transplant Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’, above) and strawberry begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera, below) that flourish in upper parts of the rear garden and undoubtedly would do the same in the damper soil of the lower garden. No doubt, some ground will be covered this way, but both can be a bit too vigorous in growing over pavers, and it’s perhaps too much of a good thing.