Border heroes
I don’t know what keeps weeds out of your garden, but there are two border plants in mine on which I’ve come to rely. Look for them at this weekend’s plant sales.
Basket-of-gold (Aurinia saxatilis) blooms neon yellow, then fades back to a low, round, sage-green mat of foliage. It’s not supposed to like heavy clay, preferring better drained soils, but it’s tolerated my clay for years, occasionally self-seeding in new locations. Bindweed constantly threatens to overrun my entire yard, but I never find it in the patch I’ve devoted to basket-of-gold. Plus you can set your tulip clock by its bloom time, so interplant it with contrasting bulbs for a color-packed display.
Turkish veronica, a.k.a. Turkish speedwell (Veronica liwanensis) spreads its low, tiny, nearly evergreen foliage wide. It crowds out bullying bindweed (though not necessarily dandelions). Buy multiple small plants; they’ll gradually join to form a single, flowing mat, coated with tiny blue flowers in spring. Interplant with wildflower tulips or crocuses before the plants fill in.
