blumz: Thanks for commiserating! Get it now; don't wait 12 years. I have a hard time imagining how to attack those roots mechanically and still get them all so they don't lie dormant for a while and pop up later. That's what led me to posting this in the first place. So far, I've put down THREE applications of RoundUp, each one week apart, and the little boogers,as you politely name them, still show signs of some life. Comatose maybe, but I cannot yet pronounce them dead. Everything else was totally dead after the second application. I've found a product called Ortho Poison Ivy and Tough Brush Killer that contains 8% Triclopyr. Haven't tried it yet, but I understand that it would be comparable to killing a gnat with a sledge hammer. Also I would need to wait a month or two before planting the grass, as opposed to several days for RoundUp, but I'd be willing to wait. As for what has already encroached into your "good plants", I don't have much to offer. One approach, however, might be to zap them all in order to get the BSC, then start anew. I think the military calls it "collateral damage". Hopefully, someone else can offer some useful suggestions.

Thanks Maureen, I think I'll just wait until next spring and buy more plants, and then divide them up (rather than disturbing the root systems already in place between the stones). Thanks again for your reply. Janet

The honeysuckle is an excellent suggestion - makes a very good privacy screen compared to Virginia creeper or trumpet vine, both of which are deciduous and naked half the year. AFA English ivy is concerned, take the comments about the invasive qualities of the previous two vines and multiply by 10. Not an option that should be considered.

Sandra, did you read any of the previous responses? They should have successfully answered your question. VC or any other very vigorous vine, if allowed to grow up into the tree canopy, can shade out the growth to the extent that it will not be able to photosynthesize and heavily affected branches can die off. It happens here in my area with English ivy!! As Tom noted, the vine doesn't actually strangle the tree but just deprives it of necessary light. If a very dense patch of vine, like the ivy is typically found here, it can also compete with the tree for moisture and nutrients. And if allowed to grow unchecked, the vine can also make the tree top heavy and more prone to wind damage. It is best to cut and remove.