Saltcedar, ding! ding! ding!, that's it! I've searched and searched on the web and couldn't come up with a name for this weed. It sure helps to know what you're dealing with when it comes to trying to rid yourself of the problem. You're a good egg, Saltcedar! Thanks so much. Bon

The reasons could be soil related: is your soil adequate for the things you planted? Did you research them prior to planting? I know my soil composition and tend to plant things I know will thrive in it. Second, does the sun/shade pattern give the plants optimum growing conditions? It's certainly a factor along with moisture levels. Be patient and focus on improving your soil. Mulching with overlapped layers of corrugated cardboard will attract worms which will improve your soil. Healthy soil = healthy perennials. Just a suggestion but if you're serious about gardening, do a shade study, close to the Summer Solstice, and mark where your garden areas get full-/part-sun as well as full/ part shade. Then stretch your imagination to plant things that adapt to multiple conditions. I have many things growing in part shade & part sun beds that are generally related to either shade or sun. In healthy soil, they've done well wherever they're planted. I have a patch of garden in my yard that nothing has grown in for years That statement suggests poor soil where even weeds don't grow, which also suggests there aren't enough worms thriving in it to enrich the soil. Worms = worm poop which = worm poop in the soil which = healthy soil along with healthy plants. Last comment is gardening means having patience for plants to do what they do naturally. You aren't in control and fertilizers won't change that. Ma Nature calls the shots and as a gardener, your job is to wait until she's ready. Your job is to plant the right things in healthy soil where they've a chance to survive/thrive. They'll take it from there...

All my thyme is flowering and are all about 6-8 inches tall. These were started from seeds indoors last spring. They have survived a winter, so they are now a permenent plant. Just leaning over to pluck some stems gives you a big burst of aroma. Once you trim, remove the leaves from the stems and dry it. Once the flowers are gone past growth, it will drop seeds and spread.

Hey Karen: I started the creeping thyme for our herb garden from seeds. It took the tiny plants forever to get large enough to transplant, but eventually they where ready to go. Germination wasn't a problem, just tiny plants that take a while to get going. Now -- a couple of years later -- the creeping thyme has more than completely blanketed the area we intended it to cover (like the flagstone isn't even visible anymore and its even intruding into my beautiful crab grass lawn). Just got through pulling, cutting, yanking and uprooting what I bet was two bushels of thyme to get it contained back to its intended area. While starting with seeds takes a little while, I'd suggest giving that a try. Too bad you're not nearby -- I'd have gladly given you all the plants you could possibly use if you'd just pull them up. JPool