[KT]

I've been trying to sort out my mother in law's garden she's quite elderly so i have been making it very low maintinance just something i can go and week for her when ever i visit.

In the back she as a massive long thin stone trough its about 1ft wide and 2 foot high. Im tried planting alsorts in it but i've found it gets very dry and most things struggle to survive.

However the one thing that seems to manage find is grass. everytime i visist its full of blade of grass,,, i don t mind weeding but weeking single blades of grass is a massive headache because to never get it all so it always looks scruffy and it takes hours to get what i can.

Any idea's of how to solve the grass problem?? I was thinking perhaps some sort to drought hardy perennial?? that was a week smotherer? would philox be any good for this?

Or would putting something like woodchips down prevent the grass growing though? Also could this help keep the moisture in? 

[snowdrops]

what about a wild flower meadow in the trough,then the grass could be left to grow until you cut it all down once the flower seeds have set.Either that or clear the soil out & replace with a suitable alpine soil, plenty of drainage topped off by alpine plants.In the border have you used a weed membrane finished off with either bark chips or stones.

[mumofstig]

I was just going to say weed membrane, covered with gravel, and plant rockery plants such as sedums through it

[sion01]

What about some London Pride in the trough it seem's to be quite drought resistant here and would spread to cover the whole thing.Mind your own business (the plant) can look good in a trough too .Mumof stig will know the latin name but it is a * if it get's loose on the garden as is alchemilla mollis/Lady's Mantle which is very hardy/tough but will seed itself freely if you dont dead head it.There is an alpine form alchemilla alpina which might be a bit better behaved but I have never grown it so can't be 100%.

If it is in a sunny position there are quite a lot of herbs that would thrive in dry conditions.Thyme,lavender,hyssop,marjoram/oregano,basil,Tanacetum'Golden Moss',Box,Wild Strawberry,Vinca major and minor,Aloe Vera,Artemisia,Sempervivum tectorum.Creeping Rosemary(prostatus group) might do well there too as the dry conditions would help it survive the winter.There are many sages that like a dry site too as would foxgloves.Haveing said that most plants would need watering until they are established and able to fend for themselves

[sunshineband]

Lots of ideas here that should help 


Just wanted to add that grass would grow through woodchip in a flash, unless there is membrane under it (see Mumofstig's post).

You might want to empty the whole trough and refill it with well draining compst with plenty of grit before replanting, to ensure you have no grass at all. Just a thought 

[KT]

It's not so much a trough as a 20 foot long raised bed made of drystone walling. I did try and partially empty it when i started trying to sort if out but it took some much effort to get even 1/4 of the way down it was a nightmare.

It does currently have some primeroses planted in it and some summer bulbs.

What would be the best way of laying a membrane? and what sort can i use that would still allow the bulbs to grow though. Or would i need to dig them up and re-plant?  

[sion01]

Being a raised bed type construction I would keep clear of the mind your'e own business or you might be weeding it out of the garden for years.I don't know if membrane works with bulbs I suppose it would with a large clump of something like crocosomia but with something smaller I would imagine it would be very fiddly and close to impossible as anything bulbs would grow through grass/weeds would quite easily manage too.

I might be totally wrong but it sounds as if the grass has had a long time to establish and so would be really difficult to get rid of.One option you could have is to lift what plants you have and spray with a glyphosate weed killer(roundup) and after the weeds have died down apply a thick mulch.The organic option is to remove the plants and cover the area with carpet/cardboard for atleast a year to kill off all plant life and then plant and mulch.

If the grass is in the wall itself like it is in my boundary stone wall then the only option you have is to weed and weed and weed.When I first came to live her I though it was a grassy bank with some stones sticking out of it but after a lot of clearing found out it was actually a dry stone wall at some point.

I sprayed it with weedkiller but grass still came back,I took most of it down and rebuilt it but grass still came back.I have since learn't to relax and just weed it once a week to stop it getting too much and let the foxgloves seedlings and pennywort grow to make it look pretty.If anybody does tell you of a way to stop grass growing on a wall i'll be very interested