Effective plants for natural weed control in your garden

When it comes to weed management in the garden, focusing on prevention will save you from hours spent pulling weeds. Some plants can be used to cover weeds and reduce the amount of sunlight reaching weed seeds. When selecting plants for prevention, look for those with dense leaves that provide shade.

Five picks that will keep pesky weeds out of your garden

Creeping phlox

Creeping phlox produces a tight mass of green leaves that give way to shades of pink, purple, and white star-shaped flowers. The phlox forms a mat that grows just a few inches tall but spreads a large area in your garden, covering the soil with a dense mosslike carpet of evergreen leaves. The creeping phlox plants are great for erosion control on slope gardens.

Hardy plumbago

An aggressive ground-cover for sun to part shade, hardy plumbago adapts well to a variety of growing conditions, making it a wonderful ground-cover for stopping weeds. It blooms in blue flowers and beautiful burgundy-red leaves in the autumn season. They provide an eye for your garden.

Bugleweed

Bugleweed plants form a perfect dense mat that makes it difficult for weeds to push through. This evergreen ground cover contributes to drawing pollinators to your garden. With their lavender flower spikes that contrast against rich, dark leaves, they provide some much-needed benefits to your yard.

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Clematis

There are many varieties of clematis, but the sapphire indigo clematis is the common and ideal for suppressing weeds. Perfect for sprawling across the garden and choking out weeds, the clematis is a true breakthrough. The non-climbing clematis flowers can grow and mature into a low-growing shrub. Clematis also have stunning flowers that will help fill your landscape with interest all summer long.

Hosta

With their broad leaves and dense clumping habit, hosta plants help provide plenty of competition against weeds. The broad leaves grow in varying sizes depending on the gardener. Their big, showy leaves provide the shade needed to deprive weeds of sunlight.