@Plasko20, thank you for the link. Really does seem it will take a lot of work to be rid of the Bishops weed. I had no idea that if any bit of the rhizome breaks off it produces a new plant. I break a lot of rhizomes and think I have removed the plant permanently but, obviously, I didn't get them all. I will never use any herbicide in the garden though so I will just keep digging them out and mowing them down. 😠.

Loretta, that parallels my experience with lupins here. The wild ones flourish in some cottage country locations where the soil is poor.

Actually, I'm now feeling rather guilty for complaining about a perennial that regularly dies on me. Immediately above, mention of several invasive perennials that most gardeners only want to see the back of.

Good luck, Tiger. BW defeated me in OH. BUT I wasn't as experienced at smothering then. Now I have sheet metal if needed but I still try an organic smother first.

oh the nasty BW--extended from the neighbors under the fence and the underground barricade I tried. Can't do anything about the neighbors motherlode of the stuff, but it's just not possible to garden next to it I pulled out some of my so called more valuable plants last year and just gonna leave some monster roses to fight with it...

CalPolygardener said: Houtoynia cordata - Chamaeleon Plant. Creeps and crawls everywhere and any bit of rhizome sprouts more plants. Dwarf Leadwort - Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is almost as bad. Worst grass ever is Japanese Bloodgrass - Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra' for the same reasons. All are pretty and tough, but all need careful placement and supervision.

Funny, I planted Dwarf Leadwort - Ceratostigma plumbaginoides in an area on the edge of a woodland where I wanted it to spread because it is deer resistant. It didn't come back the second year, let alone spread!

Orion, the single thing I've found reading through this thread is that what some folks love, other folks hate! For example, someone on this thread thinks daylilies are a nuisance and ugly, but I adore daylilies! My husband likes the periwinkle and was not pleased when I dug it out. But then, he is not the gardener; he mows the majority of our grass with our lawn tractor and I take care of everything else so I get to make the garden decisions. Some of our periwinkle ended up alongside our stream when I dumped some debris in a low area and is growing and spreading nicely. I'm quite happy with it living there! It's the location of the rest of it, the fact that it doesn't really keep the weeds down and there's so bloody much of it that it's boring!!! Eventually I will eliminate most of it and plant other kinds of perennials. Your photos of the other vincas are pretty; think if we had some of the variegated type I might be able to live with it.

purpleinopp said: I've always used an organic smother, which enhances the soil while it kills unwanted plants.

I realized this isn't 100% accurate. I have used sheet metal to smother before. That may be necessary to smother the dollar weed.

I think next time I need to smother something I will try cardboard, maybe with grass on top.

I think you'll appreciate it but will need more than grass. I would put the cardboard, then the grass, then at least 4" of mulch, but not treated or painted or bark chips (will float away when it rains) or any of the crud that is in bags @ a BBS. You should be able to find plain shredded hardwood in OH. A place like "Mr. Mulch" will deliver enough for a small bed or giant one. I wish there was something like that around here.

@purpleinopp - here is a bit of Ohio trivia for you. I used to babysit for the guy (as a child) who started Mr. Mulch. First he started by cutting grass in the neighborhood, then bought a trailer and a lawn mower and started his own little grass cutting business. And then he started Mr. Mulch, which really took off. At some point he sold the company - not sure what he he is doing now.

How fun is that?! And a great success story. : ) I loved that place - all my fav non-plant garden stuff, mulch, bricks, rocks.

Speaking of cardboard. I have been using a lot of it to expand the garden. Front project view from last fall. I used shredded leaves with grass clippings and top soil. Top it off with mulch.

Wonderful!!

I've adopted Mike's idea and have been using cardboard in my newest garden bed to smother the grass and weeds prior to, and after, planting. I use a layer of cardboard, layer of soil and then a layer of pine straw. I can't use shredded mulch - dogs eat it - and so I use soil under the layer of pine straw to stabilize the cardboard, keep the dogs from digging in it and prevent it from being too slippery (pine straw is slippery stuff).

Fantastic! Any organic matter that is heavy enough to keep the cardboard in place and help make it impossible for existing roots or new sprouts from seeds under the cardboard to get into the light can be added, leaves, kitchen scraps, small tree or shrub trimmings. As it all decomposes, it will turn into a layer of compost on the soil surface.

Anywhere I've ever tried to garden without doing that first has been a weedy disappointment, way too much bending, pulling, digging, cussing.

Re Donna's comment after her reviewing tastes expressed by different gardeners on this thread: I'm definitely on the side of the daylilies. There are so many and varied, well-behaved, potentially just about labour-free, cultivars. Personally, I perennial garden primarily for colour. Consequently, I love all of the very many daylily cultivars which I've planted, including the smaller ones like 'Lacy Doily', below. Re the "potentially": said as an inveterate daylily flower deadheader, who just wants them to look their best.


Mike, impressive work preparing the pathway. Your pictures reflect on a picture being better than a thousand words.