I begin this post with the very real thought that I need to shut up and not teach my granny to suck eggs, but please be assured that even though this post LOOKS like I’m trying to tell you how to pull a plant that you don’t like out of the soil, it’s really NOT about that at all. Instead, I want to share the way I weed, because it has make things so much more manageable for me, and is therefore, I feel, worth setting out in writing.

Let’s begin with the obvious; a weed being any plant that we don’t want in our space, usually because it is stealing light and nutrients and space from other more beloved specimens. Some weeds are easy to remove (chickweed can just be pulled out with a slight tug) and some are very much more challenging (dandelions or need digging out carefully in order to extract that amazing taproot..couch grass is a similar thing but you must chase it all over the place before removing it). Before you weed with impunity though, it’s worth having a quick word with yourself about your motivations. Are you weeding it out because the RECEIVED wisdom is that it shouldn’t be there because someone, somewhere LABELLED it as a weed? Herb robert is a great example of this - a beautiful thing and perfect ground cover, easy to remove when it gets too much and often just ripped out willy nilly when it could just be left to beautify your space. Do check out Jack Wallinton’s wonderful book ‘Wild About Weeds’ for more mind-changing stuff on the subject.

So once you’re sure you’ll be a discerning weeder, it’s time to get going.

My method is really really simple, but you may not have thought of doing it before, because it’s easy to be distracted (and overwhelmed) by the entire garden. My kit is always the same:

1. A kneeler

2. A widger

3. A pair of secataurs

4. A wide shallow plastic tray

5. A trug

6. Gardening gloves

7. My favourite podcast

First: Instead of looking at your whole space then, just pick one small area, no bigger than a metre square. If you need to, put a couple of bamboo canes down horizontally, or use a child’s hula-hoop to give you some boundaries.

Next: Start weeding within your hoop or square and - crucially - DO NOT LOOK OUTSIDE THOSE BOUNDARIES. Weed with care and love and attention until every inch of the small patch in front of you is clear of anything you don’t want. This might also mean that you get out your secateurs and chop away dead stuff, or prune out things you don’t want, depending on the time of year. The point is that you are WEEDING OUT the rubbish and putting it all in the same place. I use a wide shallow plastic tray and a basket. In the tray I put anything that can be composted (most of what I remove) and anything which I don’t want to put in the compost (perennial weeds or seed heads) I put in the basket for the bin or burning.

Then: Once I’ve finished the area in front of me and it’s perfect and gorgeous, I move on to the next square metre. In this way I can work systematically without getting distracted by the enormity of the job at hand, and enjoy myself in the process.

I always start weeding not wanting to do it, and thinking I’ll just do five minutes. I also ALWAYS do more than I thought I would achieve, and I put this success down to not being distracted by the rest of the garden.

I hope that was helpful - it certainly helps me!

x Laetitia