Why I Oughta...

I noticed something new in the middle-back of our backyard:  A small amount of vinca that is evergreen mixed in amongst a bunch of leaves and fall tree litter.  The Vinca stands out because of the color.  But also...because of where it is located.  This is a brand new spot for this invasive groundcover.  See below for a look at the little bit of Vinca that is trying to establish itself:  We have some Vinca that creeps over from our neighbor to the south, but that is growing in a bed that is much closer to the house.  I'm NOT sure what I dug and (likely) divided and transplanted here (most likely a hosta based on what I'm seeing amongst the roots and tips there in the photo).  But, what *is* certain is that some vinca hitchhiked along with it.   Note to self:  stay on top of this.  Dig it up and toss it - if needed.  Don't let Vinca establish here, Jake.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some photos showing a couple of volunteer locust tree seedlings that had pop'd up in our yard .  At the time, I wasn't sure if these were honey or black locust trees.  With a little bit more growing time, it is now clear that these are Black Locust tree seedlings.  They have - as you can see below - thorns on their main stem.   You can see those thorns in the photo below: Alas, it seems like this is, indeed, no free gift from nature.  It is a tree that the Morton Arboretum calls 'not recommended' since it 'spreads too easily .  Hence...why I'm seeing these seedlings.  I'll get out my pruners and lop these off before they get any bigger.

I was doing some weeding in one of our backyard beds, and came across this small tree seedling that you can see in the photo below.  It is about 10" tall and has oval, pinnate leaves.  Looking around at my neighbor's yard, I know they have locust trees.  A bunch of them.  They flower in Spring and have lots of leaves on them.  But, I'm not sure if they're Black or Honey locusts.   Both are native to Illinois, but the Black Locust - sometimes called "Chicago Blues" is now considered invasive ( The Morton Arboretum has it listed as "not recommended" ).   One other key trait of the Black Locust trees are they they carry thorns - especially when young.  Right now, this little seedling has no thorns, so I'm going to leave it alone.  If I see thorns develop, I'll lop this one off and remove it.

The tree that you see in the middle/right of this photo (the one with a singular trunk that splits into two about two feet from the ground) is a Buckthorn.  This particular Buckthorn is located a short distance away from the "far southwest corner" that I showed in our landscape plan earlier this year.   (You'll note that there's another Buckthorn that is shown in that post and marked for removal.) And a quick look at the listing from the Morton Arboretum tells you all you need to know about the tree: I had a few Buckthorns identified by our landscaper and landscape designer and marked for removal, but with the temps cooling off, I figured it was finally time to get back there and take a look at them and see what I could do myself.  I found a couple of small ones and then used the Google machine to quickly identify that I was, indeed, dealing with Buckthorn. A look at the leaves - not to mention the broad, yet pointy thorns on the main part of the tree - m