Public Enemy #1

Today, ladies and gentlemen, I present:

WEEDS.

They must be stopped.

As well as the usual suspects--dandelions, chickweed, thistles, clover, and skinny things that spew seeds as soon as you touch them--there are a couple that give me particular headaches.

First, the maiden something-or-other that I can't remember.  

Sticky, seedy, long, tangly buggers, there's a story behind this weed-of-which-I-can't-remember-the-name.  Apparently long ago maidens would open the long stem, pull out the fibers inside, and make a pillow for their wedding night.  This was according to Jim, the ranger at the park where I walk every day with Belle.  We often sit and talk while he gives Belle a treat, and he knows almost everything you'd want to know about the woods.  Anyway, he told me the name of this thing, but I can't remember what it was.

I think the maidens were simply trying to torture the thing into submission.

The next little nasty I've been battling for years.  

I'd love to know what it's called so I can call it by name while I'm yelling at it.

I posted this on Facebook, and a lot of people thought it was wild morning glory.  

But it's not.

How do I know?

Because I've been fighting morning glory for years as well.  Finally I'm seeing progress, because usually by now it would be covering my garden fence.  The last two years it hasn't been quite as bad.

Here's the morning glory, not yet in bloom this year.

The leaves are more elongated, not to mention that morning glory is a climber---looooong stems and a loooooong root, and (according to Google) if you break the root, it gets a shot of energy and grows even MORE. So it's next to impossible, without weed killer, to get rid of it.  So I've bit the bullet and have been using Roundup during the bloom, and that has helped a LOT over the last two years.  It's still there, obviously, but believe me--it's not as bad as it was!  The problem, of course, it that it's at the edge of the veggie garden, so I have to be really careful where I put the Roundup.  The weed above the MG, the one giving me the shakes, has one leaf per short stem, and at the end of each short root is a bunch of teenie bulbs which come off at a touch.  And the stuff spreads and covers ground like CRAZY.

Here's what it wants to do, but due to its able opponent (ME!) it hasn't been able to go quite this far.

This was taken in the woods near my house yesterday.  It covers the ground as far as can be seen.  Crazy.

So please--if you know what this is, let me know.  I can't find photos of it on any "weeds of PA" site. But it's definitely prolific.

Ugh.

Why do I care about getting rid of these unwanted interlopers?

Because...

I love my garden!!