Thanks for all the input! Unfortunately, the source of the seeds probably come by the birds and groundsquirrels which are everywhere, and just behind where I stood to take that picture is the woods we live on the edge of...where I'm sure lots of seeds stray from. I'm not at all opposed to using round up! If I use the stuff, how soon after can I try to plant something within the cracks? I found some creeping phlox on sale and bought some. I love it...cascading down other peoples' walls...may take awhile, but I'd love to have that effect myself. I am not sure if the ground squirrels will mess with any plantings....our yard is overrun with them (rock walls especially), but I'd like to try. Thank you for all the suggestions! I am going to read them all more thoroughly and take some notes. I saw a rock wall belonging to a neighbor of a friend of mine on Thursday. They have phlox on the top of theirs...it actually grows into my neighbors yard. Perhaps that might even keep the weeds off the top of the rock walls as well? To the person who suggested inserting smaller rocks in the larger spaces...I've actually started doing that, on another wall, the largest on our property. If interested, I have a photo album that contains pictures of most of our yard...and I believe all but one of the rock walls... you can see them on the link below. yes, I know my whole yard needs a lot of work. Some of you have seen some of these photos before. Here is a link that might be useful: yard album

Thank you for your reply, I apologize for my delay in responding. I just finished this area and it was a massive 4 week project. I ended up digging a wedge shaped hole 2 - 3 feet deep, 6' wide at the point and maybe 15' wide at the bottom. I filled this with the gravel/soil mixture, then brought in 5 yards of topsoil to fill two planters and cover the other areas. This was combined with roughly 1200 lbs of cow manure compost. In the spring we will continue with planting. This new gravel "wedge" is a low point in the yard and testing drainage with a garden hose it seemed to work well.

No, dena, it isn't poison ivy, not even close. John, I think blackberries are one of the plants that will tip root, so if you put a pot of nice soil where you can bury the tip of the stem or place the stem tip under a rock on the surface, you may get roots growing into the pot that can then be transplanted. You won't know the berry quality until it actually produces - they can vary from good to almost entirely seeds, so it's a bit of a gamble.

The most important consideration is what's happening with your foundation and drainage. How is water being diverted away from the house? You sure don't want it collecting on top of impervious plastic, and being retained by rocks. Make sure the ground slopes AWAY from the house, and drains quickly and well. Plants should not be too close so they keep the house damp, but they can help absorb groundwater. My first step in your shoes would be to collect samples of the insects you find there and have them id'd by your local cooperative extension office (ants and termites look very similar at some points in their life cycles). Do a thorough investigation of how water is being channeled. After you understand all of this you can worry about weeds.