Blackberry Invasion.

Since major work on the house is suspended due to permit issues, It leaves me some time to work on the other Herculean task … the yard. When we bought this house we where particularly wowed by the yard. The size of it excited all of my American Gothic fantasies. Well..ok maybe not that, but I do fantasize about many an outdoor Barbecue, grilling up a Porterhouse, and other assorted meats.

For the most part the yard is pretty unremarkable, a wide open lot with weeds in the middle. I think of it like a blank canvas. The prospect of which was very exiting for my wife. My only worry is the blackberry brambles that cluster in the rear of the yard against our fences.

For those of you that are not familiar with the plant the best description I can give you is persistent. The I am not certain of the species or genus but this plant is very common in California and the Pacific North West. I am more that sure that there are plenty of varieties but I am not a botanist but so I will just talk about what I have seen in my lifetime.

The blackberry plant is a fast growing spiny vine that bears a wonderful fruit. In the wild it can be a real pest. It grows extremely fast and I have seen it take over entire yards in a couple of months. Unfortunately for us, the Blackberries have taken up residence our neighbors yardson all sides and have made major incursions into mine.

So I got the idea of "Keeping blackberries under control"







This what the yard looked like when I bought the place. If you look close, that greenery is the entire back fence covered with blackberry vines.



My father and I got out the shears and made what I thought was good progress. I come back a week later and what did I find...

The vines mounted a counter offensive










I have since discovered that the Blackberry vines have a very extensive root system (which was total news to me.) I had only been concerned with the vines and never bothered with the roots. To be very honest I have NEVER given it much thought. I always thought that vines did not have roots but rather came from a central location. I am sure the whole world knew this but me. So I began my second attack.

Upon further digging I fond that the root system in my yard is rather extensive. I also seems that the roots form I kind of a stump and form there the vines grow and make others in different locations. A root strand may connect a bunch of separate "stumps" together. I have to admit I was rather impressed to witness the plant's hardiness, and it's persistence as preservation




An example of a root "stump."







The Vines grew up the neighbors tree and began their assault from above.
A most formidable foe.