Exposed roots

There's no nutrition between a board and a plastic sheet so these roots plunge deeper, seeking sustenance.

Our new favorite ground cover is the chive, the smallest species of the onion genus. It's one tough, persistent plant. It's the first bright green thing we see in the spring and the last green in the fall.
We planted a small cup of chive in our herb garden 10 years ago, thinking it might be nice to go out and chop a handful for scrambled eggs now and then.
Well, the chive have taken over the hillside and we're now joining in and encouraging them to root everywhere as an easy-peasy ground cover. They squeeze out competing weeds and, it is said, their oniony fragrance discourages insects. In midsummer they bloom with bright blue flowers and they easily propagate themselves by air-borne seed and by their extensive invasive root system. (photo at right)
So what's not to like?
In the photo above, insistent chive roots have pushed themselves between a landscape log and a black plastic weed barrier. We're rebuilding the bed and when we pulled off the board it exposed this vibrant early spring root system. As a reward for this particularly outstanding effort, this batch of chives is being transplanted to a favored position, where they can be indulged in a bed of rich, black loam.