[chirp]

Bought a house.

Oh the dreams of gardening delights abounded. I even had a name for my garden which I was going to whittle onto a piece of extra wood while watching the fruits and veggies and perennial wildflowers grow.

Naivete. All of it.

Here it is, April, and I'm still ripping up Ivy and raking leaves and losing hope that I'll get anything growing this season.

The house sat vacant for a year...and it's right off some woods....so you can imagine the jungle I'm cleaning up.

But if I can get this Ivy up this year...I know some of it will be back next year. Not as much...hopefully I'll be able to get my garden going next season? Yes?

Please tell me someone has won their battle with this crazy, strong, fast growing destructor!

 

[jocelyndale]

I can only wish I was dealing with ivy.

I have winter creeper. It makes ivy seem compliant. In fact, when I hit an impasse with the creeper, I go rip out some ivy and feel productive.

I wait for rain. When it rains, I pull. And pull. And pull some more.

I have a pile of (mostly) creeper that is eight feet long, four feet wide, and up to my neck. It's what I've ripped out from less than 25 square feet. It is the bane of my existence.

Vinca is harder to pull out, but less destructive. And it can be mown and beaten into submission. Doesn't mean I like it, but I pick my battles. This year, it's winter creeper. Every year, it's winter creeper.

 

[MamaMonica]

Ugh- I hate ivy. If you pull as many roots as you can get, most will be gone. Then pull again when you see the tiniest green leaf and put it in the trash- it will regrow it touches dirt!

I won the battle- I pulled up the ivy from a planter and put in herbs and perennials. I put the new garden in the same year I removed the ivy. I put down black plastic first for a couple of months, then planted.