We have a large area of the backyard overgrown with English Ivy. We’ve only been in the house a couple of years. But this Ivy has been growing for a long time. It was in layers in the yard and growing up the to the tops of some of the trees. We’ve working on cutting it off the bottom of the trees and ripping it all up. We’re making progress. Here’s a photo of part of the area currently. (There is even more ivy behind the bushes 😭) The dirt area is where layers of ivy used to be. And here’s a photo of our ivy pile we need to haul away. There is still more to pull up but we’re making progress.

Unfortunately, under the ivy we found many spots with landscape fabric. (Why must the suffering never end). And it’s super hard to pull up. We also have a pile of bricks from an old shed. 😫

So, I am looking for feedback.

1.	⁠Do you have tips on pulling up super embedded landscaping fabric?

2.	⁠How should I prepare the area for planting new native plants given the probable poor soil quality and likelihood of ivy regrowth? I was thinking of putting down layers of cardboard after we try to get as many of the roots as possible pulled up to try and smother any lingering roots. Then, I’d put compost on top of the that and plant a native shade plant seed mix in the fall. Is that a good or bad idea?

Tearing up English Ivy and landscape fabric to plant a native shade garden. (Zone 6b)