Newspaper as weed control mat and cold weather friends

Some pretty flowers coming up and blooming.

I've heard from several sources that you can use newspaper as weed-control mat. That has not been my experience. For me, it's just like littering that was more controlled in its location. I offer these photos as evidence. Maybe they need to be secured somehow, but I couldn't figure out an eco-friendly way to do it.

The daylillies are coming up, whether I want them to or not. We were overrun with daylillies when we first moved in. I've been slowly moving them to other places in the yard, but yowza, there were a LOT.

And the Michigan transplant Rhubarb looks like it's coming back! Yay! I wasn't sure it would, but it looks like it's going to make it. And a bit more organized with the direct sowing of seeds than I was last year. I need to get some popsicle sticks to use, but the plastic things were handy from last year. I sowed broccoli and half of the spinach, because they like cold weather better (or so says the seed package).