I'm glad to read all these reports; they're interesting! Thanks to everyone who's written in. Rosemeadowgardener: I don't recognize any of the weeds you list; are they Australian natives, or exotic: do you know their botanical names? Thank God we don't have one of the worst curses of North America here: no poison ivy, oak, sumac. How interesting to read Marianne's weed list from the other end of the European temperate zone and discover that I have all the nasty weeds she does, and several of the nice ones. Galium aperine is an unpleasant plant, sticky and climbing, but there are a number of other Galium species that grow locally that are rather nice. Sweet woodruff is Galium odoratum. Our native primrose is Primula vulgaris; and we too have anemones, hepaticas, wild geraniums--harebells I think not. Connie speaks of the huge weed population of her property, which is an old farm. We too garden on a former farm and downhill from a current one, and I agree with what her post suggests, that agricultural properties present particular weed problems. Ongoing plowing leaves ground permanently disturbed, given weeds fertile ground to grow; grazing animals can trample ground, and the hay brought in to feed them can bring weed seeds from other areas. The year after the shade garden was flooded with manure from a cattle enclosure above, the weed population there was amazing. And we get great numbers of weeds, some of them highly obnoxious, along the drainage ditches that descend from our neighbors' plowed fields through our own land. Then, if fields and pastures are abandoned, they begin to go to brush, and you get brambles and other colonizing species--Connie's plant list is different from mine, but the process is the same. What the heck is Creeping Charlie? A couple of you have mentioned it. The various posts have covered quite a bit of territory, not only in the literal sense, on the topic of weeds. Paula took up the issue of invasive exotics that push out native species on undomesticated land (as well as the native but obnoxious Poison Oak). This is a problem all over the world, of course. I read in that interesting book 'Ecological Imperialism' about how many plants flourished in Europe along with the development of agriculture and became weeds, then traveled all over the world with European colonizers and established themselves in temperate zones everywhere, often at considerable cost to native species. We too have our exotic invasive species--one standout here in the hills is black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, originally from North America--but I wonder what the effect has been on our native flora of a few thousand years of tolerably intensive agriculture. Were there species that went extinct because they were useless to humans and occupied land that could be used for farming and other useful activities? Some plant populations exist in part as a result of human activities: we have a rich population of native orchids many of which grow in pasture land and are now threatened because grazing is disappearing and the land is turning to brushland and then to woods. But perhaps three thousand years ago the orchids that grew were those adapted to woodlands? Lavender lass: do you know the species name of your artemisia? We have one ugly native artemisia, A. vulgaris, but a couple of nice ones. Another pleasant weed I remembered is lemon balm, Melissa officinalis--what a fine plant to share a name with. It's too invasive to plant, but grows wild at the edges of beds, is fragrant, and has fresh green leaves that are pretty in spring. I feel better every time I see it. I like mulleins too. We have a woolly species similar to what erasmus describes which makes a fine ornamental; the problem is that it seems to need a somewhat lighter soil than is present in most of our garden; otherwise it's not fussy. Melissa

Here are a few tips about weeds which have helped me to at least feel like I'm ahead: 1. Don't water them. Of course, you can't control when Ma Nature does it, but you don't have to help her. Since I've started switching from sprinklers and soaker hoses to plant-by-plant drip irrigation, I've noticed far fewer weeds in un-irrigated sections of the garden. The same goes for feeding. If you broadcast fertilizer, in any way, you're feeding weeds as well as plants. You only need fertilizer in the rootzone of the plants you want. Be very careful with foliar feeding, and only use it when you can be sure you're restricting it to the leaves of good plants, and not hitting weeds as well. 2. Don't compost the weeds you pull. A couple of years ago, I Started collecting this stuff in large plastic bags, and putting it out as yard waste, which is picked up and hauled away by the town. Lacking that service, I'd probably burn them. Unless your compost is really hot, viable parts of weeds, including seeds and rhizome sections will reappear in the compost, and wherever you use the compost. 3. Hoes are great tools, and I use a few regularly; a scuffle hoe and both a long and short-handled circle hoe. However, I only use them as a stop-gap, to halt the growth of weeds until I can collect them up and dispose of them. If you leave the hoe-cut weed parts in the garden, they'll grow back in short order. I cut them down with the hoe, and then rake up the debris, including the soil they were in, and toss it all. Apart from all that, I weed all day, every day. I stop and pull weeds everywhere I go in the garden. I have little piles of weeds in one corner of each bed, which I gather up a few times a week. I do the same thing with rocks. My native soil is full of rocks, in sizes from Pea to Potato. As I dig and plant and till, I pick up any rock larger than a marble, and stash it in another corner of the bed. Once a week, I schlep a 5-gallon bucket around and gather up all of these little piles. Eventually, I'll have enough to mulch my entire succulent bed.

Re the surfactant in my triclopyr- a bit of research told me that triclopyr is what I need for wild violets. I went to Lowe's and read labels until I found a "consumer product" containing such, so I would presume a surfactant is included. I cannot recall exactly what I bought (the jug is out in the shed and I am snuggly in bed) but it was a poison ivy/brush killer type product. I did notice however when I was applying it that it tended to run off rapidly and it ran through my mind at the time that I needed to add some dish soap. I will do that next time I spray them. And Ken, I don't know what to tell you but I definitely have weeds that sprout in mulch and grow through thick mulch. We spread our fourth truckload of hardwood mulch today and we do it after I painstakingly pull each weed (I'm one with no day job, LOL). I did throw some Preen around a few areas but cannot use it everywhere. And as far as controlling violets in the lawn- not gonna happen. I have dogs and will not be using herbicides where they walk. As these violets also seed I guess they will continue to be an issue for me where Preen is not an option. The only areas I am using my triclopyr is in my front beds where at least my dogs do not have access. Neighborhood critters are on their own. Thanks everyone for your comments. I do love looking at pretty pictures but I also love hearing you discuss the nuts and bolts of getting the gardens so picture worthy. Ten years of work for one snapshot, LOL.

I also have the headache of having Creeping Charlie and Henbit in my gardens. It came in with a load of composted topsoil that I used for everything. I was just about to give up because nothing I did for almost two years slowed it down. I'm an organic gardener so conventional chemicals were out. This year I came across a product called EcoBlend Organic Grass and Weed killer, and I can tell you it saved my gardens! It HATES Creeping Charlie and Henbit. I sprayed it on several areas 6 weeks ago and waited for the weed to come back... It's gone! Toast! I did a test with lettuce that re-seeded in my perennial border, and sprayed 6 inches from the lettuce and the EcoBland had no effect on the health of the lettuce. I sprayed directly up to some perennials that were completely covered with the weed and they survived but Charlie is gone. The other great thing; the spray is food based so it turns back into a nutrient for the soil. If you do try this don't start with areas directly around sensitive plants. Experiment with how far you can spray. As far as grass is concerned it will brown but not kill the grass (in my experience) in your yard. I would use it in small areas at a time until the weed is gone that way you won't have wilted grass everywhere. If you want to kill grass it takes 2-3 applications. EcoBlend is available online. Good luck I know how horrible this weed can be. To those who think it's pretty, I agree it is, but unfortunately it loves your gardens a lot more.