From the cramped confines of a Hong Kong apartment the thought of lying in a hammock in a green and peaceful garden was a wonderful incentive to return home. My thoughts didn’t however involve white tailed spiders and weeds, two things Autumn has brought in abundance.
It’s two and a half years and two gardens since my return and I have learnt a lot about gardening and weeds. I spent one year diligently digging up wild ginger after finding out how destructive it is to native bush. With the self-righteous zeal of the born again gardener, I bored friends with my anti ginger campaign until a visiting gardener pointed out that I was exterminating canna lilies.
Undeterred I have spent the last few weeks in a new garden chopping the heads of Agapanthus, raked up Wandering willy and hacking down wild ginger. Last weekend while lying in my hammock, I leant over to get my glass and noticed a triffid type growth on the path. I clambered down and pulled at the stem, which snaked up out of the grass to a length of about a metre.
Unable to find mention of it in my gardening guide, I called Chris Dearsley of Kings Gardening Service. He explained that it was Kikuyu, an invasive South African grass that has a habit of forming mats and smothering any other low-growing species. He added that although it is a weed its hardiness makes it popular in coastal gardens and as a pasture grass.
It is odd to think that while some people spend their time fighting weeds others are busy planting them. Garden escapees cause mayhem in New Zealand. Wild ginger and vines like ivy, jasmine and the Chilean flame creeper invade the bush eventually taking over. The notorious pest Old man's beard can climb at a rate of 10 metres per season, killing supporting plants and preventing regeneration. The perennial herb purple loosestrife invades wetlands while wandering willie and kikuyyu cover the ground smothering seedlings.
But back to the Kikuyu, the Weedbusters website recommends spraying it with Gallant 60ml/10L + crop oil, or for small areas using a weed mat for a few months. A blogger on an organic gardening site recommended two applications of day old urine over a 48hour period.
It is becoming clear that if I want a garden and lawn then battling weeds, the flora equivalent of cockroaches is going to require persistence and an open mind. However I am optimistic about my lawn and determined to keep it especially since finding out that lawns act like air conditioners. Once I have destroyed the kikuyu I know that next summer I will have a cool lush oasis, rather than a patch of scorching concrete.
For more information on weeds click here
By Jo Buchan
anon3046 - 17 years ago
Hi Sandra,
Just been reading this article and thought i would send it to you, don’t know if will help you in anyway but might give you some insperation on the suject see you soon to help with the digging out Ginger. have you decided yey what week you want us there.