hi, i'm new. i just moved into a new construction home in Snohomish, WA -
in the convergence zone (yeah, that means it rains even more here than in
Seattle), that's USDA zone 8a, i think. i'm on a mostly level, one acre lot,
with no landscaping and some sparse grass.
i'm slowly bringing things together, aerated and reseeded the lawn,
scattered some nasturtium and poppy seeds in the "beds", planted some summer
bulbs and the obligatory "foundation plantings", and have been slowly
acquiring fruit trees for the front drive. i'm a first time homeowner, so
all of this is new territory for me. i'm of the low maintenance gardening
school, and i don't want to spend a lot of time weeding.

my problem is that my yard backs up to something called a "native growth
area". that would be wonderful, except that the area is completely overrun
with (non-native) himalayan blackberry. and because our yard has such
sparse grass, the "lawn" is now *full* of blackberry sprouts. i've been
trying to get them with a scuffle hoe, but an acre is a LOT of land to hoe.

do i have any hope of keeping my yard free of these invasive vines? i can't
kill anything in the "native growth" area, so they'll constantly be sending
out runners and spitting out seeds, and whatever else they do. i've read
that they can reproduce if you just drop a branch on the lawn. is there any
hope for me? i've been having nightmares about "Still Life with
Woodpecker", by Tom Robbins.

tia
-kelly



you gotta get a goat...they'll eat your blackberries..just make sure you
fence them in well...otherwise they tend to wander over to neighbours' yards
and eat THEIR blackberries and other more cultivated items. ;p)