Tamelask, I'll try to get a better shot today, the conditions are a little better for photography. Maybe I can get a clearer pic for you. Alicia, thanks for your input, I do have a lot of butterflies here. I see them contstantly. John, LOL not bare dirt. The picture is taken where there is a backdrop of two areas I didn't seed on purpose for a bed and patio area.The area is at the edge of the lawn. I put in Bermuda which is only starting to come out of dormancy now. Considering the conditions this poor lawn has endured since it was planted, I'm not too disapointed in it. I completed my house Feb. 07. put in the seed in 4-07 and had to fight with drought and water restrictions all year. I didn't put any winter Rye in because of the water it needs and because of the new Bermuda. From my research, I understand it's not great to put Winter Rye in on a brand new Bermuda lawn. I'll upload a series of pics from last year and the planting/growing process if you wish to see them. I know the grass will eventually out compete, however I want to make sure I don't have something starting that is exceptionally tough. Right now this stuff is everywhere!! This is one of the reasons I chose Bermuda for it's ablity to "choke out" weeds. :-)

The development of lawn moss is typically the result of a combination of factors: low soil fertility, compaction (and resulting poor drainage), excessive shade and moisture, too acidic a soil and finally, unhealthy or sparse turf. To conquer lawn moss successfully, you need to correct any and all factors :-) Get a soil test to determine the pH of the soil underlying the lawn and if below around 6.3, apply lime as directed. In addition to the annual aeration - which should lessen compaction - dethatch as well. Dethatching will remove a lot of the moss. After aeration, apply a thin layer of screened compost. And don't rake up the plugs - allow them to breakdown naturally. Increasing the organic matter that gets down past the lawn roots will also reduce compaction. And increase fertility. Address any drainage issues. Lawns that ooze when you walk over them after a hard rain have drainage problems. There's not much you can do about shade. Overseed with a shade tolerant seed blend or if too severe, consider replacing the lawn with a shade tolerant groundcover. Keep the lawn as healthy as possible. Addressing all of the above is a start, but you may need to fertilize to increase or maintain soil fertility. A mulching mower and practicing 'grasscycling' will reduce the need for supplemental fertilizing and thatch buildup. Mow often and high, keeping the grass at about 2.5-3 inches. And practice careful watering - not too much, not too little. Too little watering in summer can also encourage the development of lawn mosses.

Why not kill the vine with kindness? Fill jars with dilute Roundup solution (3 parts water, I part Roundup), place ends of vines in the jars through holes in the lids and seal the jars by twisting the jar, not the lid. The jars can be hidden by shrubs or other vegetation. The vines will gladly take up the Roundup/water solution and be grateful for the additional water. Top off the solution in the jars as needed with additional solution as the vines take in the water and transport the roundup into their roots. Next year, the vines will be very unhealthy if they even survive the winter. Repeat the second year if necessary. All the roots are probably interconnected, so all parts of the vine in your yard and the neighborâÂÂs yard will eventually die. Commiserate with the neighbors when they express sadness over the unexplained death of their beloved vine.

Esh, You make such good points! After reading your post, I wondered over to a conservation area which is in back of our woods---filled with the horrible weed!!! So even though we do not let the part in our yard go to seed, we still will get seeds. The group who owns the conservation lands has a "do not touch" policy, so I would not legally be able to pull up or weed wack the stilt grass there. Their phiosophy is that nature ultimately does the right thing. What do you think about this kind of policy? In my opinion, nature always does the right thing when we stay out of its way...However my town kills the natural preditors of the deer...So, in intervening to protect the deer, we are putting at risk all of the little creatures who depend on the native plants which the deer eat. We still have tons of frogs, but we are seeing fewer of the birds who depended on the native plants. For example, if you look at the bloom time of the Cardinal Flowers and the migration of the hummingbirds, you will be in awe of how it all fits together. However, since the deer have been eating the Cardinal Flowers, what are the hummers to do? I am upset at the moment because I put in some replacement Cardinal Flowers for the hummers the deer ate---and last night the deer ate the replacements. Do you think that in favoring one species over all others (deer), we may be throwing our whole enviornment out of wack?