Weed Control in Los Angeles
With so many spectacular flowers that you could be enjoying in your Los Angeles garden, the last thing you want to see are weeds.
Weeds are not always considered bad. In fact, a Harvard-trained horticulturist named Peter Del Tredici once said that weeds are one of the best forms of vegetation you'll find in an urban environment. This might be true in an unused vacant lot, but certainly not in your backyard! Whether you want to tackle the job yourself or hire a professional to help, weeding is essential for the health of your garden. Once your garden is in top shape, you can find some quality native plants to make it look beautiful. Visiting the city's lovely botanical gardens will give you some inspiration.
Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden
This garden is operated by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It covers seven acres of land on the southeastern corner of the campus. The garden includes a research facility, a living outdoor classroom and a large garden with plants from all over the world. The garden features several smaller sections, including bromeliads, species from ancient forests, conifers, and a desert garden showcasing hardy succulents, many of which thrive in the warm Southern California climate. What's perhaps most appealing is that there is no admission fee to enter the garden.
The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens is in part a property with a beautiful garden and in part an art gallery. There is also an institution on the grounds dedicated to research and education. The library and botanical gardens feature both permanent and temporary art exhibits. It also has many gardens, including a Chinese garden, a rose garden, and a California garden displaying more than 50,000 species native to the state. This garden, which covers about 6.5 acres, will surely give you some beautiful ideas for your own backyard garden. The gardens feature plant-themed events throughout the year.
Virginia Robinson Gardens
The Virginia Robinson Gardens are located on the grounds of a historic estate. This garden features six acres' worth of plants and flowers, including both the exotic and the familiar. Here you'll notice that there are no weeds in sight, thanks to the meticulous, constant landscaping involved and the groundskeepers' dedication to keeping the lawn in top health. Appointments are required to tour the gardens, and there are periodic events that take place at the mansion.
Descanso Gardens
This is another beautiful place to visit to see native plants and trees. The Descanso Gardens cover 150 acres. Cool oak forests and botanical gardens are the main attractions of this property. As with other places, the gardens are divided into themed sections. This includes a five-acre rose garden with over 1,600 roses, a Japanese garden highlighting species native to Japan, and a California natives garden that has expanded to eight acres in size since its opening in 1959. The garden showcases the state's native flora. While spring and summer are the best seasons for witnessing incredible blooms, a visit to the garden in any season gives you an idea of the species that grow during different times of the year. In turn, you'll get year-round inspiration for your own garden.
South Coast Botanic Garden
The South Coast Botanic Garden might be the closest thing to escape from it all in Los Angeles. This garden, which covers almost 90 acres, includes tranquil gardens and a koi pond. Within the garden are flowers, trees, and shrubs that grow throughout the year. This includes fruit trees, which are the basis of a springtime celebration to see their short-lived flowering stage. Highlights include a Ficus collection, a display greenhouse, a children's garden, and a desert garden with species from the US, South America, Africa, and Mexico. There is also a garden here dedicated to native plants of California. The species in this garden are carefully selected for their pollination capacity, their colorful flower displays, and their adaptability to the Los Angeles environment.
Planting Your Own Garden
Once you've had a chance to see some of LA's top botanical gardens, you're probably ready to start your own. Fortunately, there are many great plants to consider. A few that are easy to grow are manzanita, narrow leaf milkweed, California sagebrush, clematis, mountain mahogany, and buckwheat. For a pop of color, consider the bright Spunky Monkeyflower, which produces beautiful, deep, bell-shaped blooms, and the bright red penstemon. Many of these plants, primarily milkweed, are also excellent choice if you want to attract butterflies and bees. The hardy California sagebrush, which grows in desert climates throughout the Southwest, is a good choice if you want a hardy plant that requires little care. With its white blooms, clematis adds a nice neutral tone to a garden. It starts flowering in the springtime and blossoms through the summer. Golden yarrow, which has bright yellow flowers, belongs to the sunflower family. It is native to California, and therefore a perfect choice for your Los Angeles garden.
Caring for Your Plants
Once you've selected plants (or ideally, before you plant them) be sure that no pesky weeds are growing in your garden. A general rule of thumb is that a healthy lawn or garden is a weed's worst enemy. By keeping your garden watered and filled with nutritious soil, you can easily prevent the build-up of weeds. Some of the most common weeds are dandelion, spotted surge, clover, Bermuda grass, and annual bluegrass. Managing grass-type weeds is often a bit trickier, as you might naturally have them growing in your yard. To keep these intruders out of your garden, it's best to build a barrier, such as a rock wall or wooden perimeter, around your garden to separate the species. Once these grasses get into a garden, they can be tough to remove.
With its warm, sunny climate, Los Angeles is one of the best places to have a garden. With so many beautiful native species available to choose from, the options for a stunning garden are infinite. But nothing will ruin a garden faster than weeds. Therefore, it's essential to keep your garden healthy and maintained. If you aren't sure how to get started with weeding, contact Lawn Love for help.
