Little did I know that this sweet innocent looking plant, Lily of the Valley, would turnout to be a such nightmare for me and my perennials.
I never took a picture of it while it was in bloom. It must have been an omen! I found this photo at pixabay.com .
A few short years after transplanting a small bundle of Lily of the Valley under the shade of our Bradford Pear tree, it took over! It invaded and started to strangle my beloved perennials.
The before picture: most of the green in the background is Lily of the Valley overtaking several hostas and ostrich ferns. The Lilly of the Valley also encroached into the plants in the foreground: a ginormous hosta, daisies, spider wart, and bleeding hearts.
So, on the morning of September 15, 2016 the eradication of the Lily of the Valley began.
Any opportunity to dig, my little helper is right there eager to lend a helping hand! My little helper dug a lot of holes so I needed to watch my step while I dug and pulled. Dug and pulled some more!
A heap of thick intertwined root masses of Lily of the Valley.The rhizome infiltration up close.
Some friends learned I was getting rid of this shade loving ground cover. I was eager to share!
Sharing!With the perennials removed, raking up all the rhizomes will be next followed by a chemical treatment and mulch.
I was able to salvage some of my perennials. Now, they wait in their pots until I rid the garden soil of all the Lily of the Valley rhizomes. I hope to have these back in the ground around mid-November.
From now on, I plan to enjoy Lily of the Valley from afar . . . some place far far away!
Back Porch Studio 
as beautiful as they are, as beautiful as the aroma, they took me over the edge – I compare them to the orange day lilies !
I’ve heard about the orange day lilies. They are pretty too but from a distance. 😉