The side-yard is almost cleared! This is the largest section of ivy I planned on attacking this year. What I thought would take 2 weekends has taken much longer, but it's almost finished - there's just one section in the corner left. YAY! My original plan was to pull all of the ivy by hand, so I could be sure that I got the roots. Unfortunately, pulling the ivy around the rock wall by hand has caused some of the rocks to become dislodged ....and they are too heavy for me to put back on my own. The last of the ivy in the side-yard is pretty dense around the rock wall, so Plan B is Vinegar, and Plan C is Round-Up. I hate to use the chemicals, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
During my battle with the ivy, I have discovered a ton of moss, and my goal is to let it grow and spread into a glorious evergreen, never needs to be mowed, splendor. A moss yard is on my dream home wish list, so in addition to pulling ivy out, I have cleared the small clumps of grass from the side-yard, and am working on the patio garden as well. I've left the vinca, and a little bit of the grass, because I like the flowers in the spring, and don't want the soil to wash away as my fantastic moss takes over.
 |
| Look, no ivy! |
 |
| Prepping this bed for fall planting |
I've raked a mixture of grass and pine needles up to the rock wall with the plan of keeping the ivy out and prepping the soil to plant bulbs this fall. This is an area that I have found gets 'early spring sun' but only afternoon sun after the trees fill in. I'm thinking a nice mix of hyacinths, daffodils, tulips and day lilies would be much nicer than the ivy.
 |
| After |
 |
| Before |
If you're keeping score, here is my record with the ivy:
- Rock Garden: Emily
- Back Boxwoods: Emily
- Patio Bird Garden: draw...I just can't get motivated to finish this project
- Sideyard: Emily
What's next as the battle continues:
- Front beds: These need to be cleared and mulched
- Kitchen Garden: Not a ton of ivy, so it shouldn't be as bad as the front beds.
- Garage Woodlands: I wasn't planning on tackling this space this year, but my grandmother has other plans and lets face it, she gets what she wants.
-PS if you missed my Garden Bloggers Bloom Day Post yesterday, and want to see what is blooming in my yard you can click here.
It does sound like you're winning - and ivy is a tough fighter! In fact, it sounds like you've almost completed the job. And you will be so happy when it's done!
ReplyDeleteI will be very, very happy when it's done! The worst of it is over :)
DeleteIt's so nice to get things in shape! I hope your moss takes over quickly! Moss is so pretty and will look so great with the rocks!
ReplyDelete