In 2003, I suffered from a monumental case of ignorance, and planted this groundcover, Houttuynia cordata "Chameleon". The info on the tiny little plant said, as I recall, that it was a ground cover that would grow in shade. Perfect, thought I, I have just the spot for this. So I planted it and didn't think much of it for a few years. It came up late in the spring, and had all these pretty colors in its leaves. It is pretty stuff, in and of itself. Fast forward to about 2007. It started to spread. Then it spread some more, and some more. It moved into sunnier areas and then started to grow inside other plants. Now it has spread at least 6 feet from where I first put it, and shows no signs of stopping. It spreads underground, by long and nasty roots, and breaks off if you try to dig it out. Now I know it spreads aggressively and should be planted where it can't spread, or in a container at least a foot deep to contain it. I shall have to resort to Roundup. As you can see, it's overgrowing asters, fuschia and bluebells. That means I have to paint each stinking leaf (and I mean that literally - the stuff smells awful) one by one to get rid of it. I'm sure I'll be fighting it for years, kind of like the spiderwort I put in my first year, but at leaat that has tiny little roots that pull up with one baby tug! I'll get to the Roundup when 1) I have time and 2) We have 24 hours without rain. I gather it's resistant to many herbicides, too. Fun, fun, fun!
As a whole, though, everything is coming along beautifully. The lilies and daisies are about to start blooming, so here's a picture of most of the back yard garden.
People used to buy creeping charlie, too. :) Good luck.
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