Hi Guys, I'd seen the reference to Picea glauca around the Sam's Point/Ice Caves preserve previously, but it might be erroneous. Here's one mention below. The idea is that the ridgetop caves hold snow and ice well into the spring, creating a cool microclimate. Wikipedia says Picea mariana (more believeable). So Picea glauca may be either naturalized or misidentified... -James http://nynjctbotany.org/whudson/nyicecaves.html "PLANT LIST: Dr. Robert Zaremba, Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, Dr. William F. Standaert, others dates = plants found in bloom on dates of field trips or visits Trees: Acer pensylvanicum (goose-foot maple) Acer rubrum (red maple) 4/22/97 Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven) Amelanchier arborea (shadbush) 4/22/97 5/21/97 Amelanchier laevis (smooth shadbush) Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch) Betula lenta (black birch) Betula papyrifera (paper birch) Betula populifolia (gray birch) Castanea dentata (American chestnut) Crataegus sp. (hawthorn) 6/06/97 Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo) Picea glauca (white spruce) Pinus rigida (pitch pine) Pinus strobus (white pine) Populus alba (white poplar) Populus grandidentata (big-toothed aspen) Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) Prunus avium (sweet cherry) 4/22/97 6/06/97 Prunus pensylvanica (fire cherry) 5/21/97 6/06/97 Prunus serotina (black cherry) 6/14/97 Pyrus malus (apple tree) 6/06/97 Quercus alba (white oak) Quercus prinus (chestnut oak) Quercus rubra (red oak) Quercus velutina (black oak) Salix sp. (willow) 5/21/97 Sassafras albidum (sassafras) 5/21/97 Sorbus americana (mountain ash) Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)"

A little late to reply but hopefully you're still keeping track. I planted some last spring to fill in a small area that I wanted to break up and couldn't think of anything to do with. I also put in gaura siskiyou pink and the combo is great. The raspberry spreads readily and roots onto the ground but is so easily managed. It grows up to the edge of the landscape and stops where the edge is with regular lawn upkeep (mowing and weedeating, edging). The rest of it is growing along the ground in the perennial bed and not choking anything out. Looks great with everything.

Very interesting post, everyone ~ Thank You. We've come to the same conclusion in Ontario, Canada. The back yard is luscious and green in any drought condition. We also like the smell. The entire back yard is surrounded by patio or garden. The creeper will grow in runners over top the stone and mulch. Two or three times a year, we simply pull it out, from the perimiter of the lawn, to maintain the edge and prevent spreading. Grass still grows around the creeper, throughout the yard, so the lawn is beautiful. We've slowly come to the conclusion that dandelions aren't growning in the back yard... No other weeds, but creeper and grass. The front yard, on the other hand, is a different story. We live beside a park, and the city maintenance crews and snow plows make a mess of the first 8 feet in... Plus, the city maintained park does not use herbicides, so the dandelions, and other weeds we can't even identify, are rampant. Not to mention people walking their dogs that think it's acceptable to let their pets use the lawn as a toilet. This morning, we thought of the brilliant idea to transplant creeper along the edge of the front yard, and let it go.... "Can't be any worse than what we're already looking at..." So, after searching the web, and finding hundreds of sites detailing how to control it (instead of enjoy it), we finally found you! (Now we know we're not crazy.) So, the plan is to pull out some runners, and simply place them on fresh, black earth, raked into the ruts at the edge of the lawn... We'll try a couple of shallow shovel fulls of creeper, too... We'll keep you posted.

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw Beautiful picture, thanks for sharing. What rose is that with the alyssum? I like the way Alyssum seems to stay low and stays white, to help contrast and enhance any colors around it. Looks beautiful. I actually read about Alyssum a while ago and added it to my rose notes: Alyssum is the best companion for roses. They attract beneficial bugs especially Stratiolaelaps predatory mites. Others include: oregano, dill, bachelor buttons, verbena, yarrow, zinnias, daisies. Interestingly enough, I also had a lot of purslane but it seemed to go away after I added Coast of Maine oyster shell compost around the roses, similar to Straw's manure with oyster shells I guess. @strawchicago z5 I love your photos, so beautiful to see the snapdragons playing with the roses. I love snapdragons. They have such a unique form to their flowers and come in such bright colors which I like. How tall do both your alyssums tend to get? If I put them on the hillside around the roses to cut back on weeds coming up (hopefully), I'd probably want them to stay somewhat short so they don't grow up into the roses or compete with them too much. The purpleish pink is really pretty too and would be a nice contrast to roses.