I went on a tirade and did some clearing up in the woods. All I have to do now is figure out what to replace the under growth with that I got rid of. (Virgina creeper, green brier, poison oak, and copper head snakes, may they rest in pieces!)
I cleared about an acre and will do another acre next year. I have a total of about 3 acres in all.
I started with this.
And I ended up with this.
This message was edited May 23, 2008 9:01 AM
Of course I couldn't have done it with out the meanest little lawn tractor in North Texas!
Wow a MySpace attack!!!!!
So I ended up with this!!!!!
hello snipe, I can see you have been busy. I have been doing similar chore. I have large area I need to clear of poison ivy. before I can get in there. Hubby don't want me to spray roundup and kill grass what do you suggest? Your area looks great. I have pulled poison ivy on another area and still have some coming up not to mention have rash to prove it, no matter how careful I am I still get it. Bought tecnu to wash off the oils but miss some occasionally.
One of the reasons I cleared the woods is because my granddaughter is allergic to poison oak. I found this on the net and it works.
http://ivyblock.com/ivyblock.php
As for getting rid of the poison ivy you can do it two ways. One is to keep it mowed, this will kill it, the second is to put brush b gone in a can with a brush applicator and paint the leaves or the stub. But you need to make sure you keep it mowed so that there are no leaves, this will kill the root. Do not burn any of the poison vines of any kind this turns the oil into an aerosol that you can breath in as well as get on your skin.
This is a good site for info on the subject.
http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/welcome.html
As an added bonus to control mosquitoes use tikki oil that you burn in the torches by spraying it with a garden sprayer. 3 ozs. per gallon will run the little buggers off and won't hurt and plants or trees and leaves no oily residue at all, lasts about a month if there isn't a lot of rain. I treated the acre of woods for about $6.
Have fun but I still need suggestions on what to put in the place of the under growth. :)
Do you have deer in your gardens? That will make a huge difference about what you can grow there. You did an incredible job and your forest is so lovely.
Snipe you have been very busy!!! That is going to look awsome when you are working on it. Keep us updated!! Wish I had that much space. Ronna
thanks snipe and I will surely go to links and study advice. I have started moving ferns from one area of my property that is deep in woods to my shade garden, this website is great place for ideas on plants. I go to the forums on shade gardens and look at other peoples ideas and look at their pictures.I will be moving from a sun area to mostly shade and it is a whole new world. I can't help much with ideas for I am new at shade too. There are some experts on here it seems they have lovely pictures.But here are some items I intend to purchase for my shade someday, found in magazine.
Bowles golden grass(Carex elata), Bowman's root( Gillenia trifoliate), Bugleweed(Aujuga reptans bronze beauty), foxglove(digitalis purpurea), Large mediterranean spurge,mountain rock cress, Star of Persia, wine cup(Callirhoe involucrate)have not had time to look up in plant files. Good luck with woodland area.
If you buy hostas you should order them from a good on-line hosta vendor rather than your local nursery or box store - no matter how good your local nursery is they may have plants infected with a hosta virus that is easily spread from plant to plant. The hosta specialists know about this and buying only from them is the best way to avoid bringing the virus into your gardens.
That looks like a very nice spot.
I just wanted to say that I agree with doss- if you have any intention of putting hosta in there, be sure to order them from a reputable source. I did not take the threat of HVX as seriously as I should have a few years ago when I started my shade garden, and I am now paying the price by having the virus rear it's ugly head in my garden.
Wow, lots of hard work there. Can't wait to see how it ends up. Please be sure to share it with us.
Sorry about not replying in a timely fashion, attended the annual family reunion down at a near by lake. I have another acre and a half to clear. I have read a lot on hostas. Can you walk on it? There is also a cattle pond on the north end of the woods which is infested with copper head, I have killed several and intend to leave a kill zone between them and what ever it is I do with the woods.If there is a way to kill all of the snakes and clear it completely of their presence I will.
There is also the problem of poison oak to contend with, so far as I have found out the best way to eradicate it is by keeping it mowed down and use brush-b-gone, I figure a year or two before I can get serious about planting any thing in the areas that are infested. Green brier and virgina creeper are the other two that will have to be dealt with as well, but they are easier to handle.
Mondo Grass nana is the best shade plant for walking on. You can't walk on hostas but the mondo makes a good path among them. You don't have to mow it either. It's such a huge area the first thing to do is divide and conquer. Lay out some paths and some beds with hoses or spray paint. Then you can begin on just a few beds at a time.
Sorry about that poison oak. Such a problem.
