Buy one get one free

As any gardener knows at this time of year weeding is a never ending task but not  one to just switch off when it becomes a slog.Being so hot and dry this week I can make huge inroads into the weeds with a dutch hoe.Each winter I put huge amounts of our own compost over the herbaceous borders.We are on heavy clay and if I did not do this, apart from the nutritional benefits, the ground would be like concrete and impossible to sustain the less robust plants.I do try to keep the compost free from weeds by covering each layer with grass clippings and hope the ensuing heat will kill off the weed seeds but this is only partially successful.When I first came here there were no compost heaps (terrible I know) and most of the plants were straggly and poor due to a lack of feeding.It is not that the soil is poor but it is so heavy it does not release any of it nutrients.I managed to get a huge supply of horse manure which cured the problem but introduced another - couch grass which nine years later I have only just managed to eradicate.I made the same mistake years ago on another garden and introduced bindweed which is so difficult to get rid of completely.Anyway back to the hoeing.Before I start I carefully check over the area for any useful seedlings that have appeared.Under our beautiful tree peony as you will see from the photograph I found two peony seedlings which I will carefully pot up.In other parts of the garden I check for calendula seedlings which I leave insitu as they always flower better and longer than ones we have planted.In the compost I often dig up and move to a more suitable location,nicotiana and California poppies - all for free.I have a little area near the greenhouse of seedlings I have potted up as I'm not sure what they are,mostly these get thrown away but occasionally a gem surfaces.This is where I found a buddleia alternifolia which now has star billing in one of the horseshoe borders.  This also breaks up the monotony of hoeing - or at least that is my excuse.