<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><md>@Sheila - that's funny! I was thinking why would someone hate something so easy to do and beneficial? Seriously though, mulch is easy. It does not have to be just one kind of mulch though. What kind of mulch does your husband hate? I understand if it's the red mulch, I detest that one too. But I'm fine with brown or black shredded mulch. Then I also like the larger fancy wood chips. Some people like rock mulch, etc. The other option is to clear out the excess weeds & stay on top of it daily. Roses and plants do like to have bit of clear space around them and many ground covers are very competitive. I suggest you enlist your husband to maintain and weed the bed for a while that may make him change his tune on mulch

Love Dh and lucky to have him so no mulch it is :) He does a ton in the yard

I'm struggling with weeds too. I guess we all need a garden personal assistant for these tasks.

I'd try a ground cover-what about dwarf clover? That, being a lecume-type,should even add nitrogen to the soil...

How about just spending 20 min a week pulling the weeds? There's really no substitute for pulling weeds, especially with no mulch.

I'm not a huge fan of mulch either, in small beds with perennials (I love it for larger areas and under shrubs!).

To make weeding easier, you could do a really good weed, then cultivate the soil once a week with a hand cultivator.

Vettin - I have no idea what climate you garden in - that would be helpful to know. In my zone9 Mediterranean climate in Northern Calif, I use vinca minor and some sort of South African daisy as ground cover around roses. We plant the roses in raised beds made of those tree surround cement things you can get at nurseries. This makes enough of a barrier so that we can keep the vinca/daisies away from the base of the roses. We really do have both planted in the beds in the below pic - the daisies like sun, and the vinca like more shade, so they sort of grow and retreat, depending on the amount of sun the beds are getting. Both persist happily in any event, and both smother any weeds.

Sorry - Houzz is still not letting me post any pics.

Sorry , Jackie, it is not letting you post any pics.

I agree with BART .

I bought a huge bag of clovers seeds so far I have no luck growing from seeds so I am waiting to plant more seeds if not I am buying actual plants.

Look up green manure and there are videos about farmers doing green manure. It smother weeds . I like flowers type so I am hoping to keep some and the rest chop and drop for nitrogen and other benefits to soil. Leave the roots as it helps to penetrate deep and basically loosen the soil.

Jackie, I bet daisies will look beautiful. Why didn't I think of that ?

jin

I forgot to mention, we have seasonal clover all through the large beds which have the vinca and ground cover daisies - there was not any for the first 15 years, but then it appeared. Now I will think of it as marvelous nitrogen fixing thing, and GOOD!

Jackie

Seasonal clover? Are you sure that's not Oxalis?

Yes. We have oxalis too, and it is clover. The clover comes up and blooms madly in the Spring, but by mid Summer it has disappeared. (or maybe the daisies or the vinca ate it?). I probably used the wrong term, but that's what I meant.

Jackie

I am not a rosarian so take my brief experience for what it’s worth but I surrounded my roses with nepeta, which sprawl enough to be far enough away from the roses while still acting as a groundcover. In another area with roses I’ve done the same with broadly spreading hostas. I’ll be interested to hear from experts if this is a poor idea..