Making Quick Work of Weeds

One way to make quick work of weeds is to identify and target problem areas and ignore the rest (they will become the problem on another day.)

That is what I did yesterday while pruning the wildflower bed that lines the fence at the edge of my property.  I clipped stalks and took note of unruly plants that might be trouble in the bed.

Another step in making quick work of weeding, especially if you have limited experience like myself, is to verify that what you see is what you think it is.  Which is also something I did yesterday.  I clipped with my shears and snapped pics with my phone.  And later when I had a few minutes, I sent the pictures off to Seattle Tilth's garden hotline.

And they got back to me.

Nothing I photographed was actually a weed.  My weeding project over and done without a minute in the garden.  

And now I can look forward to the following lovelies blooming over the next few weeks:

Arabis is a spring bloomer and a common plant in rockeries.  I was worried it would overtake my daisies but it turns out Arabis could be an ally instead.

Forget-me-knot is a weed to some, an wildflower to others.  If it gets too aggressive, I can pull it before it goes to seed to make room for other plants.

Columbine is a wildflower -- the reason I planted the bed.  I mistook it for a geranium and worried over whether it was the good or bad kind.  The smothering kind grows in my strawberries -- I will have to take a closer look so I can distinguish the two.  I can look forward to it blooming this spring and summer.