LL, From hort business standpoint and consumer law side ( been in business on both levels): Sorry to say, but suppose the "buyer beware" legal clause may be in effect here, unless you can substantiate that there is something in the black mulch specifically causing the problem. Although the cause and effect seems clear, if the mulch guy didn't spread it, he may have limited liability as a supplier of a consumer good. Normally they do not have to cover damages caused beyond their control. If you know the company that sold it and can speak with them, you and he might gain from the discussions about any compensation. Bruce

Since this is such an old post, I'm not sure how much of the above is relevant. However, I can attest with some certainty that English ivy is very difficult to control with most herbicides, as the waxy leaf cuticle resists penetration. You either need to add an adjutant that will facilitate this or cut off all the top growth and treat with a brush killer applied to the cut stems. And it will take multiple applications. Organic herbicides, like the vinegar - orange oil added or not - will have virtually NO effect!! They only serve to dessicate the foliage and seldom are transported to the root system. Dessication of ivy will hardly have any impact on the plant - you absolutely need to kill off the root system - so save your vinegar for salad dressing! FWIW, most sources will confirm that the best way to be rid of English ivy (Hedera helix) is to remove it manually, roots and all.

Note that the current plants are all set along the back of the bed, on the parking lot side. While your end result doesn't need to be quite so far set back from the road, it does need to consider sight lines exiting the parking lot, and so anything that isn't short needs to set well back so that traffic on the road and in the driveway of the parking lot are clearly visible. It looks like a large area. Are you considering trying to plant the whole area? If not, consider how the bed will be edged to keep the grass out. Plan on using quite a bit of mulch, so be sure that the town will supply it, since otherwise the budget has to accommodate that along with plants. Will you and the rest of the group be willing to get together for periodic maintenance, perhaps once each in spring and fall and once a month in between? Or could you find a service group such as scouts that could work with supervision or even plan to supervise a day with a town crew? I just don't see this as successful if there isn't a commitment from someone to do more maintenance than just mowing. I know there is a group that plants and maintains the mixed shrub/perennial beds in public parks in Peterborough, NH, so it can be done that way. There are a few traffic triangles in my area planted and maintained by garden clubs, but I see folks out there working on them periodically. I just have a vision of dead leaves, spent flower stalks, and encroaching weeds if there isn't a commitment from someone to do maintenance beyond mowing. Like Woody, I see the rocks as an issue of maintenance. Do you want to have the beds in the center and completely surrounding the rocks and the sign, or in the back half of the area, or what? Whatever you plant, I would plan on creating large blocks of the same plant for effectiveness, and choose plants that look good all season regardless of blooms, so nothing with foliage that dies back, for instance, unless it will be well covered by another plant such as some spring bulbs. At least some of it might be low growing shrubs that are fairly bulletproof such as low Hydrangea paniculata varieties, perhaps some gold foliaged Spiraea, etc., depending on what does well in your area. I would check out issues of snow placement in winter and find out if associated salt will need to be considered. Does the block walkway get snow blown off it and salt added, and is the parking lot salted? I feel like I am providing only negative comments, but I do want you to go into this with your eyes wide open. Poorly maintained plantings in municipal settings are to my eye less appealing than mown grass, and I am not a fan of mown grass. If you can figure out the maintenance issues to suit whatever you choose for plants, then it could be lovely, with plants that are beautiful to the eye but also provide a little slice of habitat for pollinators. As for what does well, you might focus on prairie plants since they often will have deep enough roots and general resilience to weather the ups and downs of temperature and moisture fluctuations. Regardless of what you plant, it will need water the first year unless perhaps if you plant in the fall and have good rain the following spring. Something like a pickup truck with a 50 gallon tank might do the trick.

Yardvaark, thank you for your continued help on this. Now that you put it that way, no, I don't want to see my neighbor's trailer. We plan to sell in a few years, and new buyers likely won't want to look at it either. I agree plants/shrubs don't need much space as their roots can go to town in most any environment. Given that the slope is a good 6 feet below the "horizon" (though I would probably plant in the middle and be only 3 feet below the "horizon") I need something at least 9-10 feet tall to be of use, does that sound accurate? A locally available, native dogwood shrub that I have in mind grows to 10x10 feet. I'll still have to deal with my neighbor's honey locust (I think that is what it is) dropping literally hundreds of pods each containing at least 7 seeds, all over my slope and perennial garden and entire back yard. We took a 4x4x6 trailer full of pods to the compost this season alone. Point being, those pods will drop into the dogwood shrubs, and probably any shrub and unless I hand pick them (which I try but it's treacherous terrain) I'll still have what feels like a billion tree babies every year. A friend suggested a leaf blower which I have not tried, but I suspect it would blow mulch too, if I get wood mulch (rock mulch might be too expensive for our budget). This website (link at bottom of post) says the dogwood mature height is 8' but in my experience in my yard, they get taller. I'm open to other plants, this is just one idea. I like anything that the wildlife also like - birds etc. (with the exception of deer, I prefer to not feed them but they are not an issue in my yard-only seen deer in my yard twice in 12 years). So having said that, would you mulch? Might the dogwood work or do you have a better suggestion? Red Osier Dogwood