SO WE are into spring already.
Actually spurts of new growth have already started and, as always, the first vigorous plants to appear on the scene are weeds.
There are countless numbers of them and many are ferociously competitive, especially some long, rank grass weeds.
When grass and other weeds grow close to deciduous plants not yet in full leaf, especially fruit trees, they cause serious stunting.
That's because the weeds are first in the queue to seize most of the available water and nutrients long before the trees come into active growth.
We buy a lot of newspapers and magazines, causing stacks of old newsprint to mount up every few weeks.
I've long stopped carting them away for recycling because I'd much sooner do that job in our own garden.
Old newspapers make a superb, weed-suppressing mulch around fruit trees if used properly.
I first sprinkle the grass and weeds with manure mixed with Blood and Bone fertiliser.
Straight on top go thick, overlapping layers of newsprint, weighed down with more manure.
A good wetting with the hose to thoroughly stabilise the lot, then a deep mulch of straw or old, spoilt hay is laid over the top.
The manure accelerates the speed by which the newsprint layers decompose, the earthworms go berserk and in no time at all this useful newsprint goes back into the soil where it belongs and from where it came.
Even better, the process is just long enough for even the most aggressive weeds and grasses to be totally suffocated, so they too are converted back into soil.
Luckily the thick straw layer rots down more slowly.
If paper-based mulching is carried out in early spring, the straw layers will still be in place during the hottest parts of summer.
That means less moisture loss, no harmfully overheated soil and better, healthier and more productive trees.
I also use ground-covering plants to control weeds. They don't all have to grow flat over the ground, as long as foliage and branches are low enough to stop light from getting to the surface of the soil.
No light means little if any weed growth; it's as simple as that.
One of the most beautiful and successful ground-covering, weed suppressing trees in our garden is a Cootamundra wattle.
I've retained all lower branches but occasionally cut off the top part of the canopy.
As a result it has spread widely and foliage close to the ground is so dense that nothing can grow beneath it. And when in flower it is a truly astonishing and beautiful sight.
I've also been using dome-shaped shrubs as effective weed controllers.
Many grevilleas, particularly some of the poorinda hybrids are amazingly effective for this purpose and look magnificent all year round without any watering or feeding.
In small gardens there are many herbs that make highly-attractive and very edible ground covers, particularly some of the numerous, ground-hugging thymes, prostrate rosemary, pot marigold, marjoram, basil, parsley, oregano, lemon balm and salad burnet.
Large herbal plants such as lavender and sweet bay can be kept clipped and under control.
If trained and encouraged to hug the ground, these dense herbal shrubs are excellent for controlling even strong-growing weeds and grasses.
