If you have a cool season grass looks KBG, tall fescue, or rye, the best time to plant is late summer/early fall when the summer heat breaks (which could be right now depending in where you are). If large sections are swallowed up in crabgrass and your desired grass is not there anymore, the best thing is to kill the crabgrass with glysophate and replant your seed. Spray, wait for the kill to take effect, then mow low, and sow your seed, and water, water, water (read up on proper watering for seed). Generally it's best to use glysophate, then water to encourage any weed seeds to grow, then spray glysophate again to kill the new weeds, but you may not have time for that, depending on where you live and what kind of seed you're planting. Definitely use a pre-emergent next spring. I used Dimension and had good results but I imagine other pre-emergents work also. You will not be able to use a crabgrass pre-emergent and plant seed at the same time so if you need to seed, do it now.

Solanum dulcamara? The roots have to come out. They are not that deep, but there are miles of them.

sujiwan- I have some of that grass from hell, it's very hard to deal with. A black plastic barrier or weed fabric might suppress it over time, or it might find chinks to grow through. I think killing it out would be your best bet. A gc I have that is tougher than grass is ground cover Comfrey, Symphytum grandiflorum. I haven't tried it under roses, just under fruit trees. It gets around 6-12" tall. Vinca major once established is tougher than most grasses, though some can seed into it. It gets rather tall, though. Most of my other good gc lets grass grow up through it, so it's really hard to get rid of the grass- Vinca minor, Rubus calycinoides, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, etc. Mulching really deeply to partially smother the grass and partially make it easier to pull out might help.

Hello! We have a border!! Where the pines once stood, there are now 9 rhododendrons ranging from 15 tall down to about 6.5 some staggered and finishing in a gentle curve embracing the house. All were planted about 5 ft. away from the pine line. What a story. About three weeks ago, a fellow from the CT chapter of the American Rhododendron Society sent me an email and recommended I contact Carol Yee in Ashford, CT. She is a rhody propagator by trade (soon retiring) but she runs a little business on her property called Carols Collectibles. (website is: http:/www.carolscollectibles.com ) Long story made short, I visited with her for several hours one Friday and finally I told her what I really wanted was all the mature rhody maximums that were growing next to one of her hoop houses. She said she was thinking of removing them to gain more sunlight for the hoop house and within a minute we had a deal. Sold all 6 of them. They are similar in variety to the maximums I had on the corner. I had brought a bracket of leaves from my rhodys so she could compare them. A very close match. Blooms are that pinky/lilac colorummspoken like a true expert. On Monday morning, March 31st, one landscaper arrived in the rain and hand dug my 3 tall rhodys on the corner. One was in place by afternoon. Boy, those guys really had to wrestle with the top heavy plants in gusty winds. The 80 border where the pines once lived had been cleared of debris and many roots. Tuesday morning at 6:45a.m., 18 yards of new soil arrived. At 8 a.m., another landscaper with a trailer and 3 men, followed me to Ashford to dig up Carols rhodys. It took 2 hours to hand dig them, tarp them up (home made B&B), load them and secure them for the trip. Winds were up to 40mph and it was raining. By 3:30p.m on Tuesday, the first landscaper had the 15 tall plants from the corner lined up on the new border, planted and completely staked (triangular form) and the six new rhodys from Carols were in place and staked. They were only out of the ground for 6 hours. It was still raining. Two hundred feet of soaker hose was set up the next morning and the stretch of 9 rhodys was completely covered with pine mulch. In one 24 hour period we went from nothing to everything. The area outside the sculptured bed I seeded with grass yesterday, as well as the front lawn that went wonky through the winter and tree work. Going into the backyard there is a hole already dug to take a flowering crabapple, malus "prairifire". It will reach about 20 high and wide and has persistent smaller than usual fruit into winter. Cedar waxwings love them, so Ive read, and I based the tree selection on its bright maroon blooming buds that supposedly mature into "hot mama" dark pink. Under that tree will be another island of smaller-growing rhodys that like some dappled shade. It was incredible luck to find Carols Collectibles and be able to come home with a border. She has a truly interesting place that literally she runs by herself and her dog, Little Bit, and a chicken named Peeps. Gosh, she has so many interesting plants and shrubs. This place is worth the ride, but call first to make sure shes there. Should be gorgeous when her hundreds of rhodys bloom. Many are field grown. Ive ordered Beddleia davidii "peacock" (small English var. of butterfly bush), Daphne tangutica, Deutzia gracilis, Strawberry Fields, and a few other things to help out with smaller garden areas. In back of the deck where I swore I would never plant another thing, the bed has now been expanded by 10 in length and 3 in width. Beginning to feel like I should attend a Gardners Anonymous meeting for my addiction. The newly transplanted rhodys are not showing any signs of stress after 3 days in their new home. Of course, its raining again. Fingers are crossed! Hoping for blooms, (and before and after pictures to pop into this message) Jane