Help! - 70+ year old flower bed. Roses, pussy willow, irises
So.... there's a lot going on and I'm trying to re... I don't know if I should say restore, or what, because all the plants have gone crazy and I know nothing. I'll try not to ramble.
The setting: Flower bed planted 70 years ago, more or less, by my grandma. Well established cabbage? roses, irises, daffodils and a pussy willow bush on the corner that creeped itself into the rest of the bed.
Problems...so many problems:
Pussywillow: I attacked the 3 new bushes taking over the bed. The roots are still there but I cut all the branches down to the soil and weekly snip away any new growth. Got a HORRENDOUS poison ivy rash so not brave enough to get in there to dig up the big roots.
Roses: My biggest concern, and must keep healthy at all costs. Beautiful scent, heirloom variety. So determined to grow that a couple canes grew completely horizontal to get out from under the pussywillows.
Irises: Going strong. Like... maybe too strong. Have also taken over the bed. As far as I know, they have never been dug up and divided and when I was rooting around in there the rhizomes/bulbs looked very robust. Will they choke out the roses? What do irises do below the ground when left to their own shenanigans?
Daffodils are not really a problem.
Poison Ivy: After recovering from my epic battle I have been going out once a week with long handled snippers to kill any vine I see come back - and they always do. I read some things about painting some chemical on the leaves that will kill it down to the root. But would that kill the roots around it?
I've really got to get in there and weed out the grass that infiltrated from the lawn as well.
Send help! And a therapist at this point. But mostly help! What do I do?