So my goals for Year 3 are small:
- Rehab the patch by the kitchen door: too much yanking Year 1 left me with a burning bush, a few cone-shaped evergreen shrubs, a random low-lying rose that does not bloom, and a festival of weeds. Good intentions Year 2 led me to transplant fancy irises into the middle of what turned out to be a ragweed patch.

Since the weeds are a BIG problem, and the patch hasn't seen mulch or fresh topsoil in many many years, is there any point in trying to save the irises? The ground is just starting to thaw, I could live with ripping them out and hoping they come back next year. Then I could Round-Up the whole plot (protecting the shrubs and the rose) and start fresh right? Could I really chop the burning bush to the ground? Would it really come back?

Eventually I would like this patch to house eating herbs and maybe lavender, I am toying with idea of planting some squash too, just for fun.

- Give the red currants room to grow.
The bush itself looks old and gnarly, but I imagine hacking away at the NOID shrub next to it might give it room to breathe. Anyone have experience rehabbing a red currant?

- Transplant the peonies to a sunnier spot.
Is this a death sentence for my peonies?

Any help is appreciated. I read gardening books, but I get all tangled up in the latin. And I'm afraid of pruning!

the burning bush is liable to come back even if you cut it to the ground, roundup the stump, and then set fire to it.... cutting it back to ankle height should slow it down for a season, but that's about it.

instead of roundup, I discovered that newspaper and cardboard make a great 'blocking' mulch - it's like landscape cloth, but good for the soil in the long run, because it makes earthworms happy.

I open out cereal boxes and stuff, and layer them with newspaper (1 section of newspaper = 2 layers of chip board = 1 layer of cardboard) three thick, wetting each layer as I go, then punch holes for 'wanted' plants( Usually annuals, in a bed I'm rehabbing) and mulch.

FYI - if you can, and want to grow pretty things? mulch with compost, not ground up wood chips. the return on investment is far better.

Peonies have a reputation for "resenting" transplant, but post a cry for help on the Peony Forum; I'm sure somebody over there can advise you.

Best luck!