So I had some time and thought I'd start on the back yard garden... have big plans for it... But I don't know where to start.... as well I came across this plant and I don't know what the heck it is.. I don't think it's a posion ivy... but not for sure...

IDEAS???

Not sure on all of it, but I am pretty sure you don't have poison Ivy (that's three leaves, typically a bit shiny and grows as a vine). I think your 4th picture might be Pachysandra. The second I think is just a weed (I have something very similar in a spot and I keep pulling it up). The little spade/heart shaped leaves on the plant in the middle right of the second picture and I think I saw some on the bottom middle of the 3rd picture might be violets…

I see Virginia Creeper, (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) the 5-leaved plant.

Wayne

Definitely not my area, but it looks like what we call wood vine around here.

It is Virginia Creeper. A wild thing around here. Hard to control, hard to get rid of. It's nice in the right space, like way in the back to cover something ugly! It does get a reddish tint in Fall and is quite pretty.

It's nice as green manure, too.

Where to start? Try first of all, to double-dig:

1. Buy cow/horse/llama/alpaca/pushme-pullyou (:P) manure
2. dig a trench, about 6 in to a foot deep, and pile the soil up next to said trench and throw away the rocks.
3.Dig another trench next to the first trench.
4. Backfill first trench with soil from second trench plus a little bit of manure (how much I don't know exactly, but maybe one bag for three 15' trenches, or something along those lines) and other compost-ish material (I cheat and use a bit of peat moss) to give the soil a boost of nutrients.

5.Repeat 3 and 4
6. Fill the last trench with enriched soil from first trench.

Or use a Rototiller, but be careful of large rocks...

pushme-pullyou, haven't heard that in a long time. Too bad today's kids think Dr. Doolittle is Eddie Murphy!!

Back to the yard - my suggestion would be to start with design. You have a lot of shade, but what appears to be a nice sunny area, too. So, the shade would be a great area for a small flagstone patio with a couple of adirondack chair, maybe a hammock and a fire pit. You can landscape with shade loving plants, such as the virginia creeper, hostas, coral bells, etc. Once you clear out any obvious weeds and tame the creeper to where you want it, plant with a wide spacing and use a bark mulch to keep new weeks out.

The double digging nms mentions is a good way to build vegetable beds that will produce the first year. You can also build frames and fill with commercial products. I double dig. If you either build a frame or use a good heavy duty edging around the vegetable beds, you will be able to maintain a lawn area and not have it invade your garden.

Lawn has more trouble growing in the shade among tree roots and can be hard to mow, which is why I suggest a seating area and landscape plants.

Sounds like a fun project.

M

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Thanks for all the information.... I'll have to talk with my landlord about building the patio area... but for now I'll focus on cleaning up the sunny back area near the trash cans... and that shade area on the left side for I could totally wouldn't sit on that side(building behind it)...

So I don't think she will let me do a vegetable garden like that since it isn't my home.. but I could do containers...

I was thinking some ground covers like an ivy and then the various forms of hostas..

THANKS!

This will be just great!!

I like the idea of growing some veggies in containers in the sunnier area, that way you can take them with you when you move. There's great potential on that spot!!!

Oh, btw, as far as where to start, becuase I'm tired these days, I might do one section at a time, and as you clean up the area and plant it, you could do the newspaper trick and mulch. So plant your hostas, then add several layers of newspaper around it, mulch on top of it and around your plants.