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I have a sloppy backyard and we don't use it much, but we get lots of weeds and cleaning them is a pain....so wondering if i can plant large tall perenials (with pretty flowers of course , not roses) so they will not provide sunlight to the weeds....any thoughts...
We had a Rose of Sharon in NY, they attract a LOT of bees. Not sure if that's a concern for you or not. I seem to remember it being a tree that needed to be planted in shade, too.
What kind of weeds do you have now? I have a very shady yard (so shady there's no grass) and still seem to find plenty of weeds. I doubt a Rose of Sharon is going to eliminate the need for yard work, but they're nice bushes if you want to plant one. We have a white one.
Althea is beautiful, but I doubt it'll shade things enough to choke out weeds. Sounds like what you need is a groundcover. We have some pachysandra that's doing fairly well, and some Persian ivy that's pretty much taken over the whole side yard. It took about three years, but now it's so thick nothing can grow through it. Both need partial shade.
If you are looking for a ground cover Ajuga and is another option. I have read it can invade your lawn, but it does not sound like that is a concern in your situation. You could combine it with some Hosta, they also like shade.
Do you live near a Garden store or Nursery? I find the staff at Garden supply very knowledgeable. You do not need to buy all your plants there, as they can be pricy but they are great for suggestions and then you comparison shop for the best price.
my old house had a large sloped area that was a PITA to take care of - this is what we did.
took out the grass, put down landscaping fabric, planted some shrubs for erosion control, and covered the area with pine straw mulch.
i don't actually like pine straw, but my landscaping guy recommended it because the sticky-pointy-ness of it helps it stay in place better than any other mulch - and it did stay in place except for one extremely bad storm.
i put knockout roses in as the shrubs - they grow very well while being mostly ignored and you don't have to dead-head the spent blooms like traditional roses. they do attract some bees, but at the edge of your yard that shouldn't be a problem.
azaleas would also be good, since they are a native shrub - it just depends on the lighting you get there. if it's not a sunny area, you could even put in hydrangeas. full sun - knockouts are a great pick.
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