We have a long driveway garden at present planted in shrubs which is a pain in the proverbial to keep tidy. It is approx 1m wide and roughly 30m long. I have not done a bark garden for many years, so I'm uncertain what is best now. Originally black plastic was used, then this seemed to sour the ground. Would some gardeners please give advice. Capricorngirl
crazynana,
Apr 23, 11:33am
Maybe put down weedmat then your bark (the water still goes through). We have parts of the garden that was done like this before we came here though ours had the weedmat then shingle on top. The weeds don't come through (well the odd one does but easy to pull out) and it stays tidy. I am no gardener however. can kill anything except oxalis.
jenny188,
Apr 23, 12:12pm
Weedmat and then at least 100 mm of bark on top. Sadly over the years the bark slowly rots down and makes topsoil so eventually weeds start growing again.
mlarkin,
Apr 23, 12:15pm
Many thanks for the replies - its getting too much to keep this area tidy. I tried various ground covers with limited success, so biting bullet and will gradually bark the whole driveway. Capricorngirl
flier3,
Apr 23, 12:26pm
I am in the process of doing the same. There are a few exisiting shrubs there and I have been laying cardboard and newspaper very thickly, then putting bark over the top. Very pleased with the result so far. Not looking forward to doing the next 'new' garden - have to eradicate the blimmin onion weed before I can do anything. Fortunately one of my trees had to be removed (storm damaged) and the resulting mulch/chips are ready for me - probably next year at the rate I'm going. I will repeat the same process on that garden and plant out shrubs as I go. Good luck to you!
Edited to add: I found the cardboard much easier to put down around the existing plants than the thought of fighting any weedmat around them - just sayin .
4rdfan4eva,
Apr 23, 12:56pm
Bark can be quite messy with birds digging around in it. Bark does look nicer but I have done river stone here and I’m really happy with it.
lythande1,
Apr 23, 12:59pm
Bark is hideous, makes weeding harder, doesn't stop it. Mulch, leaves are good, and it makes the soil nice when it does finally rot down.
mlarkin,
Apr 23, 1:40pm
Already tried mulch - again without success in this area. Have used it elsewhere. This driveway area is a problem with overhanging trees from neighbours as well. Capricorngirl
dibble35,
Apr 23, 5:45pm
If its done properly then it can certainly make life (garden maintenance) easier. Be prepared for birds to flick out the bark as they dig around looking for worms. If you do decide to use news paper or cardboard under the bark then do a really thick layer of bark as the birds can start to scratch up the paper as well, soon starts to look messy. Try and do a weedspray before you lay down the weedmat etc. Make sure any Kaikuyu is well and truly dead as this can grow up thru the weedmat quite easily. I've used pine chip around my front gardens and it looks pretty good. Just have to sweep the chips back in several times a week from the birds flicking it out. Certainly stops the majority of the weeds, the only occasional ones that make it thru are some big leaved oxalis and a few onion weeds which are becoming less and less of a problem as I keep on top of weeding them as soon as they sprout.
jan2242,
Apr 24, 11:09am
Do cardboard not weedmat as it kills the soil. If you do bark remember the birds will love it and fling it everywhere. Might not last long.
flier3,
Apr 24, 11:27am
I have put a garden edging down before laying cardboard/newspapers, which contains the bark really well. Pleased how well my garden is looking. On to the next one shortly.
macandrosie,
Nov 17, 11:17am
Even old carpet could go down first. It will take a long time to break down.
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