if its the weed H i have... you might be surprised how easy it is to get out ... try just pulling on it.. and see if it gives way any .. if so.. note where the resistance is coming from.. and whack that root ... continue until done ...

anything that has a berry.. had to have had a flower ... its how it works...

ken

In the closeup it looks like one of the L. xylosteum or L. xylosteoides types - which are among the more choice, with their blue leaves and complimentary pink flowers. So then it's a matter of whether or not these particular honeysuckles are weedy in the region as well, and what you think of them otherwise.

The one section must have bloomed because there is a couple berries visible. No bloom = no berries.

Honeysuckles became popular because they had much to offer-beautiful flowers, fruit, and foliage. It was only much later that their extreme invasiveness revealed itself. So now, as a budding grower of the honeyberry shrub, AKA Haskap, I can't help but wonder if a bunch of Lonicera caerulescens might not be paying our local woods a visit soon. Of course, with regard to that species, it is "almost" native to this state, being found in that portion of Ontario just north of Lake Superior. That's almost home.

+oM

Well I removed the shrubs & discovered that it is very sandy under there so now I'm worried that I won't be able to grow much. The bigger shrub was hiding the electrical box, too. Now I have to hide it with something else. :-P

Look around you. Mostly green, right? I'm sure there are other plants-lots of them-that will grow in a sandy area.

+oM

You would probably have luck with Hydrangea arborescens so long as it receives a few hours of sun a day. There are many other shrubs that will make it in your situation. Monitor the light the areas receive each day and then base your selections off of that.