I'm with Robert. That cemetery pic is beautiful. Last year, after much deliberation and discussion, I went ahead and underplanted two mature roses (Aloha and Cardinal de Richelieu, in the same bed) with vinca minor. My reasoning was like this. I had tried ferns (both upright and trailing), violas, and hardy geraniums in that spot, but none could establish with those nutrient and water sucking monster roses (along with two rampantly growing, mature clematis - Princess Diana and H.F. Young) present. The house I live in was my childhood home, and vinca minor used to flourish in that semi-shaded spot for many years, until heavy oak leaf cover steadily and efficiently eliminated it. So I know it's not impossible to eradicate vinca - just completely cover it with a heavy mulch for a few seasons. The bed in question is in the partially shaded root zone of a massive black oak. Additionally, I have several roses planted in an old mint bed along with - yes, I know I'm crazy - morning glories, honeysuckle, and a mulberry tree. It has been interesting to watch the progress of these roses. A one-year, own-root ZD fought it's way through four seasons to achieve mature size - now we'll see in it's fifth season if it's sparse bloom will improve. Another ZD, gallon-size from J & P, grew rather quickly and bloomed respectably in its first season. Out of four minis nestled down into that jungle of mint, only one did poorly (declined), two have held their own, putting on slow growth while blooming well, and one (red Parade mini) has grown and bloomed like a champ. Surprisingly, the honeysuckle has actually faced the greatest challenges in this bed (other than a lot of Gk oregano and specialty mints that just couldn't compete). I find myself inexorably drawn to the so-called invasives, for one simple reason - they can be counted on to flourish and provide quick, guaranteed fill. The only two I just cannot abide are trumpet vine and Sweet Autumn clematis because they always get way ahead of me and my plants, and resist all my attempts at eradication. But most others can be used judiciously with good results. The key, IMO, is to carefully evaluate the unique circumstances you're creating. Different plants are more rapacious at different life stages and different parts of the season. You can also strategically "handicap" supervigorous species in various ways - repeated hacking and pairing them with other monsters are my favorite ways. I have my kids wreak mad havoc on the mint patch at least once a year. And they are always free to pick as much as they want. I should add that this is a totally unamended bed, except for the holes where the roses are put in. I have come to view roses as extremely tough, persistent, and sometimes rapacious monsters themselves. The time not to challenge them is when they are band-sized or lacking in vigor. So far my vinca is coming along slowly, but looks very pretty. Good luck, and don't be afraid to experiment if you are so inclined.

a couple that do well for me in similar conditons are strawberry begonia and asarums and hexastylis, especially h. splendens (chinese showy ginger). the strawberry begonia is neither a strawberry nor a begonia but is saxifraga stolonifera. it is just beginning to flower at my house and the flowers are a nice addition to the pretty foliage. for what it's worth, i am still eradicating vinca in my woods after planting it many years ago (if nicole and i are thinking of the same plants, the perennial vinca major and minor). i regret the day i dug a piece and introduced it to my garden. hexastylis splendens you can see some of the strawberry begonia at the base of the concrete planter in this photo.

Ok, so the annual is typically referred to as "Periwinkle", rather than "Vinca"? This is where my confusion is coming in. I have had experience with trying to help eradicate Vinca major and minor. It was a multi-year battle in all cases. That stuff is just as bad to get rid of (worse, in some cases) as boston/english/etc. ivy. Not fun stuff.

Most of what I'm doing is not exactly eradication, it's more trying to control rampant growth. I'm trying to limit Virginia creeper and meadow phlox to a reasonable section of the garden. Virginia creeper is fine in the woodier areas, but not everywhere where it can trip unwary passersby (and me) and smother other plants. Meadow phlox too is wonderful in bloom and the hummingbirds love it but the roots become deep and broad and woe to other more modest plants in its vicinity. A byproduct of this selective removal came yesterday when I started pulling out the meadow phlox under a rose where I was trying to establish some new daylilies. Mixed in with the phlox were were some plants with tiny white flowers that I'd never seen before. I left them there thinking they were native but I checked the Connecticut Botanical Society's Wildflower site and I think they were the very invasive Garlic Mustard which I've never seen before. I say were because I watered them this morning and then carefully pulled them all out along with their roots. I put them in a bag along with the poison ivy seedling I found the day before. Like PM2 I use the pooper-scooper technique of grabbing the poison ivy plant with the plastic bag on the hand and then inverting the bag to cover the plant, which gets inserted in another bag and sent to the trash. Claire