I don't want to use Roundup because I want to stay organic. On the positive side, I think the glyphosphate in Roundup binds to the soil, and doesn't travel far from the application spots like 2,4-D does, but glyphosphate isn't considered an organic way to control weeds like white distilled vinegar, is it? No Round Up is not considered an organic product. As to binding to the soil is a bit of an overstatement. It degrade in just a few days. Round is systemic ((contact) herbicide and is absorbed through the leaves and stems of plants. To mu knowledge there is no organic methods other than mechanical to control Bermuda. Well boiling water will kill what is above the ground, but not what is below the surface. Not sure about using vinegar, it may get the top growth like boiling water, but will not touch the Rhizomes unless you drench the ground which I think would kill the soil along with the plant.

I grow the Silver Ponyfoot- on purpose. It is a lovely plant, and not at all like it's green cousin. We call it 'dollarweed'. I rip that thing out, too! I use the ponyfoot as a ground cover and in pots as a trailing element. It doesn't naturalize here, so it does require some attention. Why can it not be as easy to grow as the green pest? Janie

:) I'd totally go with a mix of sedums...they're easy to start from trimming, they take a great deal of abuse, and will survive anything the utilities can hand them. you can buy a single pot of 'autumn joy' at any garden shop, and there will be a dozen or so stems coming off the crown. break half of them off, snap off the leaves from the bottom 1/3 of the stem, and stick the stems in a tray of damp soil. set in the shade for a week, watering lightly if the soil dries out, and they will root. you now have 8 or so plants, plus the 'mother'. around here, you could go door to door, and have people HAND you plants they have come to find invasive- daylilies, artemesias, stachys (lamb's ear) and three or four kinds of low-growing sedums (also called stonecrop) which you could root in that area, and let the best plants win. I'm sure there are similar 'bullies' in your neighbors gardens. the ultimate bully, in my opinion, is a plant called 'yellow archangel' of the false lamium family. it's a pretty plant, invasive and fast spreading- takes sun, takes shade, takes an act of god to kill it, and you can abuse it, taboot. this isn't the time of year to be mailing plants to you- but I'd be more than happy to share some archangel with you once the weather breaks :)

hi. I had st. augustine for years.. it will grow in the shade better than bermuda..but it does need some sun. I liked it because it grows from runners and does not make seed. But it won't grow in a deep, dark shade. When the ficus trees in the front yard got huge and made dark shade, the st. augustine died, I splurged and bought some artificial grass.. put some in front and some in the back. it was lovely. I was very happy with it. Until the dogs had time to pee on it numerous times.. I bought the deoderizer the grass store sells, I bought simple green. I soaked it, I scrubbed it with a long handled brush.. hubby power washed it... in the end I called myself names for extravagance and had hubby haul it to the dump.. that was the stinkingest stuff I ever smelled.. almost a thousand bucks .. artificial grass is very expensive..its very hot, and when its hot it smells like hot plastic.. enough... and my dogs are all under 10 lbs.. 3 of them.... JOAnn