the tree look like it is fairly well branched and still short. I would do 4-5 grafts on the existing scaffolds and leader. all one variety, or one for the scaffolds and something else for the leader, all different is pretty tough to manage unequal vigor. whip grafts if the size works close to the trunk, cleft if the branches are too thick. any crab watersprouts will be easy to clean out. I think it will look cleaner sooner and takes advantage of the structure that's there already. But a cleft near the base will heal pretty fast and grow with a lot of vigor and less work for a single variety tree.

I just yank or cut the tops off and feed it to my chickens, they love it. I like the fact that it comes back so fast so I always have a handful or bucket full to toss in their cage. They get nice greens to eat all year long, you should hear them cackle with excitement as I walk up to them with handfuls. It doesn't seem to bother any plant I have growing in the pot so the pot is serving a dual purpose. I've had to keep the chickens caged up lately because a hawk has killed a few of my free ranging chickens. Lou

I don't live in SW VA, but if your area is anywhere like MD, I would guess you're seeing old multiflora and wichurana ramblers. They're once-bloomers, and most of them bloom around now (later than other roses). They usually grow alongside roads where the fences of old homesteads or farms used to be. The two most common ones I've seen around here are Dorothy Perkins (pink) and Excelsa (reddish). They were very popular around the turn of the (19th)century, and are also very easy to propagate. Usually, you can just dig up a sucker from the original rose and watch it take off. Some caveats: The original multiflora species (usually white and single, but sometimes pinkish) often carries rose rosette disease, which can infect and kill all your other roses. And many of the ramblers get mildew like crazy - Dorothy Perkins is especially prone to this. For more info, check with the folks on the Antique Rose Forum. They're very helpful.

What a beautiful setting, though. It looks so inviting and peaceful. love the terraced stone walls. Have you tried smothering the plants? We have what is referred to in Massachusetts as "picker bushes", brambles or briers to the rest, and I cut them to the ground on our hillside and them covered them with cardboard, black tarps, or anything else that wouldn't let light through and weighed it down with rocks. It took a while to kill them but they didn't come back. I think that you could smother the ivy and pachysandra this way and the multiflora rose if you cut it down first. Quite a chore but unless you use some kind of chemical to kill it this is probably the only way to rid this chemical free. If the leaves are deprived of sunlight the plant can't perform photosynthesis and the plant will eventually die. You can kill any unwanted lawn using the same technique. It just takes a while. Another option to kill lawn under new flower beds is tio cover it with a thick layer of newspapers then put your soil and mulch right on top, cutting through the newspaper for your planting holes. Or plant first and then fit damp newspaper around the plants like a jigsaw puzzle, tearing where necessary and then covering with a top layer of soil and mulch. This also helps to keep the weeds under control. Straight bleach works extremely well as a weed killer but I don't know of the toxicity or lasting effects on the environment and couldn't find any info via google search. It usually requires only one application though. It kills poison ivy, "picker bushes", wild plantain, burdock and other plants effectively. If you spray it at high sun on dry foliage it works best. Sharon