Actually it is a mint called Ground Ivy (not Germander Speedwell)

flowerbug

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i checked it out the other day and saw none of the tell-tale vines or leaves in the entire area where i had been after it most of the early and into the mid-summer. i know it will probably be back sometime this winter or spring in parts, but i know i made a huge dent in what is out there.

the biggest dent is in the seed bank in the area and what was spreading into the surrounding gardens. i don't see any of it anyplace and when i do i get after it immediately.

just have to keep an eye on it - like everything else... haha! :)
 

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i noticed some new leaves last week when i walked through the area. this is a good day for me to spend a bit of time going through the area and getting any leaves and vines removed again - the rest of the gardens that i need to work in are all so muddy i can give them another day to dry out. an hour of weeding will be plenty enough. :)
 

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I've been avoiding this but I will make a partial confession ...

There has been creeping charlie on the west side of the backsteps for what must be like 10 years +. I'm so glad that I didn't smugly mention that when this thread started. It has never been a problem and I have watched it 👀.

Charlie has tried to creep under the steps. It's too dark under there for most plants, reach under - pull it out. Charlie has tried to creep in front of the concrete at the base of the steps, hit it with the trimmer, poke it with the weeder when pulling the odd dandelion that likes that location. No problems.

Until 2021. I don't really think that my lawncare has changed. It may be that the extreme heat has been hard on the Kentucky bluegrass. Other "weeds" have really experienced some growth in the backyard lawn. Dutch clover used to occupy a 6' circle. It now covers about a 15' circle - comfortably sharing the space with the lawngrass.

The alpine strawberries might require some kind of control measures! There have been a few of them for years. Those strawberry plants have hardly been noticeable. They really squeezed the grass growing with them in 2021! They are no longer unnoticeable.

Charlie headed off in 3 directions. The shade under the steps still restricts his access but not so in other directions. I guess that I could soak the ground good out there and go after him with a weeder. Oh joy!

Steve
 

flowerbug

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haha! @digitS' you won't like it if those plants get in the lawn itself.

i was out there for about 15 minutes and glad to say that there were no signs of woody vines like i was finding before so these bits i was pulling out were coming from from deeper roots or seeds and the stems were thin and not much to them so whatever i could remove should help getting them under further control for the next time i get out there.

it wasn't supposed to rain at all today, but it was misting when i went out. just did it anyways since i didn't think i would be out there that long. good call. got it done and will check it all again in a week or two.

i do admit it was really nice that it went dormant for a while. :)
 

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this weed has not returned in the grassy place where it started out and spread around. so i did successfully eradicate it from that area. what i did not know was that another patch was starting under the north hedge.

until today...

went out to do some trimming and weeding in there (and to check on the poison ivy and wild grape vine situation since i don't want it to get out of control in there) today and checked the back part and removed a tree and then went to the front part where Mom said she saw some bedstraw that she couldn't get at through the fence. so i expected to have to pull that and throw it away. i didn't find that but instead about a 2meter by 2meter patch of ground ivy just humming right along undisturbed. it was thriving in the shade and understory with very little competition.

so i had to remove it all and am sure i didn't get it all the first time around, but the roots were not really well established like the roots of the plants in the lawn and it came up pretty easily.

later on when Mom got home i asked her to show me where the bedstraw was because i really don't want that one to get even more established than it already is... so, yes, it was there, i just didn't see it because there were two fences and i could only see the part of the one fence and not the other, so tomorrow i get to play with the bedstraw infestation...
 

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