Morning glory of the bindweed sort (that’s convolvulus arvensis and not ipomoea – although I did discover that there are convolvulus – bush, ground and dwarf, that people cultivate) does, literally, "take a mile" if "given an inch". I have been picking it out inch by inch but I prefer to let it get a good grip with some mileage (seems it can do this overnight or even when I have looked away for some reason) and then remove it. "Remove it" is overly optimistic a term: what happens is I get rid of the stranglehold on whatever it is twining around and either strip, or unwind, and then pull. Usually it breaks above ground and I know the white roots with their many little hairs and persistent habits are going to try again. And again. And again. It’s an ongoing activity. Might as well enjoy it.
Yesterday Con (after such a long association I am on a first name basis with it) and many relatives had swarmed, from the inside, to the top of the laurel hedge, had become thick and milky, and flower buds were showing. Some buds will have escaped me and will open gorgeous white flowers and I will admire them.
The vines twine around each other as well as anything else of a support and this ‘family effort’ gives them a leg up, so to speak. They seem to like dead branches, little competition in the way of other growth, I guess. This became evident in a few places of the laurel hedge where the center was a bit hollow and less dense because of some dead areas (those two snow storms last winter were hugely heavy in their deposits).
It was beautiful in the laurel hedge, fragrant and shady, the morning glory a light green in contrast with the darker green and red of the laurel leaves.
When the vine is multi-twined it is enough to grasp it as low as possible and tug. It will come out of the earth and down from the top branches of the laurel, sometimes a surprisingly long length.
Two grocery bags of vine got collected from the laurel – unexpected, as always, the amount. I won’t be able to resist checking the laurel for a bloom or two of Con today. Invasive and with such an a.k.a, it still will ‘glory the morning’.