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Post by sweetleaf on Sept 9, 2006 9:40:32 GMT
Which is the plant that has made you regret planting it and why? Mine is Crocosmia, which has given me grief this year, despite not flowering it has infiltrated a whole border, which now has to be dug up and replanted to get rid of it. I bet I dont get it all though  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2006 9:57:21 GMT
I'd second that, but only some Crocosmia - I spent years digging the stuff out but have recently learnt to love some of the less invasive ones like Star of the East, Emily McKenzie and Rowalane Yellow.
I would add Camanula punctata, and Lamium.
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Post by Plocket on Sept 9, 2006 14:30:39 GMT
Hum - my garden's fairly young so I'm still learning, but the most prolific thing I seem to have at the moment is Bronze Fennel. I love it but am forever digging up seedlings.
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Post by Spruance on Sept 9, 2006 16:12:26 GMT
For me it has to be Golden Rod (Solidago). I remember carefully transferring two small clumps when I moved house in 1993, yet now, despite digging up around ten times as much every year since, it's still there!  Still, the bees & hoverflies like it, and the flowers are quite attractive, but it just takes over and smothers everything else if you let it. Oh, also, Lemon Balm which I cannot stand the smell of. I don't mind lemon smells on lemons, but not on much else! Spruance |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2006 18:52:40 GMT
My garden hasn't been planted long enough yet but I suspect hairy chervil which is beautiful but when I had to dig all my plants out of a flooded bed in spring, it had run and its roots were thuggy looking.
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Post by Jonah on Sept 9, 2006 21:44:03 GMT
Ipomeoa. I got some free easy annual seeds with a magazine and sowed some last year. They have seeded everywhere and are choking out other plants. I've really gone off them.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2006 22:34:14 GMT
I didn't actually plant them but in our garden (new to us last year ) the worst plants are Ladys Mantle and Forget me notts. Millions of seeds keep appearing and even though this Summer I have not allowed any plants to set seeds they still keep appearing and I can't keep on top of them and they are driving me MAD!!!!!!!!!!!
Px
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2006 12:33:53 GMT
Mint and tansy, both given to me by a friend and both grand plants ... in their place! Within a couple of months the mint was rampaging through a bed; last autumn I dug it up and replanted it where it could not escape (paving stones on two sides, French drain on a third side and equally thuggish oregano on the other side) ... but it's STILL coming up in the original bed. And the tansy sends its roots everywhere - but it looks so lovely, with its feathery leaves and bright yellow flower heads, that I try to forgive it ... cheers ...
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Post by beejay on Sept 10, 2006 15:09:01 GMT
In my garden it has to be bluebells (Spanish I expect)! They are totally lovely in a woodland but in a tiny garden they spred like mad& have all this floppy damp foliage which looks awful & many of the bulbs are so far down they are impossible to remove. I noticed a couple of them still in my garden this year after trying to get rid for about 20!
In other peoples gardens the worst thing I have contended with is Houttuynia cordata. It looks lovely but spreads like mad.
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Post by chickadeedeedee on Sept 11, 2006 0:31:03 GMT
Worst garden thug, when not beautifully in flower, is the wisteria. It has overwhelmed the magnolia. It sends leaders out through the flower beds that root without mercy. The leaders are even found throughout the lawn.
It does have its function though. It covers the part of the aged magnolia that has died. It provides wonderful cover for the sparrows from the hawks that come for a visit. It is a true beauty when flowering.
So far the thug-ish-ness about equals the functional value because the plant is still out there taking over the patio area as we speak. I can hear the thing growing right now!
--------> Or maybe it is still out there because basically I am a lazy gardener?
ChickaDDD
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Post by sweetleaf on Sept 11, 2006 9:02:54 GMT
Dee Im glad Im not the only one suffering crocosmiaitis but is there a real cure? Or just a lifetime of treatment?
Plocket I love bronze fennel in other peoples gardens, had no Idea it was a thug!
DC hairy what? Im going to google that `scuse my ignorance..............
Spruance, I used to have Goldenrod, but this year, nothing, nada but I really dont miss it and have no clue how it ended.
Lemon Balm is a definite thug and I wouldnt have it in my garden except under lock and key.
I still like forget-me -nots and just pull them if their position is wrong, likewise ladysmantle which looks gorgeous after rain.
I used to grow mint in a belfast sink but it escaped out of the overflow and ran amok!
Never grown Tansy,CC but Ill definitely avoid it if its as bad as mint
I completely understand the objection to spanish bluebells or Sqill (sp), BJ, dont tell WAV but I do prefer the English sort.
I would love a Wisteria, but I was put off by the long wait until it comes into flower.. 7 years just takes the mickey, Im sure it would be easier to control in our climate than it is for you c3d`s and I love the way it trails those long flowers like a bridal bouquet.
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Post by sweetleaf on Sept 11, 2006 9:05:46 GMT
Jonah, I planted those free Ipomeoa seeds myself, at the lottie, they are all over the shed and I`ve ony seen the flowers open once,  cos I cant get up there early enough! |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2006 10:24:02 GMT
Once my 6 year old son imported some Indian Balsam from the beck edge. Thirty years later I'm still pulling it up, still the bees love the ones that get away.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2006 11:45:21 GMT
Lantana, I dont know where the first one came from but 6 years later I am still pulling it out all over the gardenxchris
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2006 17:29:42 GMT
For me it's euphorbia robbiae - bought at a school fete under a different name. I thought it might be ok under a chestnut tree where it was difficult to get anything established - well I spent the last three years hacking it back as it marched through the hellebores and cyclamen.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2006 18:41:05 GMT
Bl**dy Grape Hyacinth.
Can't get rid of it, no matter how hard I try.
FA x
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2006 10:24:02 GMT
We are overrun with Crocosmia too. I feel very guilty thinning it out and pulling it up but needs must...especially when you see how much you have to pay for it in the shops and Garden Centres!
Another one which goes on the rampage is Hedge or Marsh Woundwort, here again I feel guilty pulling it up as the bees love it.
But I think in our garden the ASBO crown must go to this rampant fast growing EVIL clematis-looking thing which doesn't flower, which doesn't get attacked by ANYTHING and which weaves its way through,around and up over everything.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2006 12:32:51 GMT
I shall try again. Sometimes I am successful and sometimes I am told I have been very naughty and my time is up and all sorts of things like that and my post disappears into the ether. Don't know what I do wrong. Anyway here goes again:
I planted some free seeds of love-in-a-mist a couple of years ago and am completely over-run by them. I pulled up masses earlier on and they are sprouting again - in gravel, in beds -everywhere. The trouble is that they are SO pretty.
One good thing is that all my French neighbours and friends have fallen in love with them - nobody seemed to know them - so I have been giving away masses of seeds - they will be all over the Loire valley by next year.
Maybe I am being incredibly ecologically incorrect. Oh well!!
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Post by sweetleaf on Sept 15, 2006 13:40:12 GMT
LITM is beautiful isnt it?
But I must say that seed companies should put some kind of warning on the packet re the germination of self set seedlings, I just pull up the ones that threaten to overwhelm other more wanted plants but leave the others to do their thing, escholzia (sP) or California poppy are just as successful and prolific, but just as welcome after a dull period with little colour! ;D
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Post by Dutchy on Sept 15, 2006 14:40:19 GMT
OOh since you all have plenty Can I have some love in the mist please. I seeded it so often and never did it survive. Perhaps my wet clay combined with loads of slugs and snails have something to do with that ;D Oh Gardenfrance do you think it may endanger the wine area? In that case I would like you not to spread it any further. My garden nasty thug is Houttuynia Cordata. I was given a variegata that now is definitely not variegated and sends it fat roots everywhere. Since half an inch of root is enough for an entire new plant  . Guess how many I have got. Pretty little white flowers though. And good compost as long as no root bits are attached. So here is a golden garden rule when people give you plants because they have plenty of them .... think twice or more ;D Dutchy |
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Post by sweetleaf on Sept 15, 2006 14:43:34 GMT
If theres no rule against it,re import of seeds, pm me your address and I`ll send some PDQ!
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Post by Dutchy on Sept 15, 2006 15:10:50 GMT
I have no idea but shall we keep the question open on here ? Perhaps some one knows. I would like to send Dee some seeds too but have no idea if that is allowed.
I know I am not allowed to bring tulip bulbs into the UK.
Import of seeds any one any idea what can or mustn't be done?
Dutchy
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Post by Dutchy on Sept 17, 2006 11:45:19 GMT
I just found an other thug. The Irish Ivy has made a home for itself under the decking. How on earth am I getting to it without lifting the deck.  By the way did you all see GW last Friday? Turns out you can use Love in a Mist seeds as seasoning. ;D Mind you it was not really revealed on what you can use it. Dutchy |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2006 12:03:36 GMT
Hi Dutchy, Nigella seeds are used in Indian cooking, primarily as seasoning for potato/vegetable dishes ... cheers ...
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Post by Dutchy on Sept 17, 2006 12:08:12 GMT
What does it tastes like?
D
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2006 12:10:50 GMT
If you drive through an area of France next spring that is covered in nigella, you will know I live nearby. Shall try the seeds next time I do some Indian cooking. At least it looks much prettier than the dreary brown maize that is growing in the field outside my back door.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2006 12:21:49 GMT
If you've got an Indian recipe book, say one of Madhur Jaffrey's, you've definitely come across them, possibly called 'black onion seeds' or 'kalonji'. They are fried with other spices before doing, say, a potato dish and have quite a sour flavour ... cheers ...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2006 13:31:17 GMT
There are no restrictions on sending seeds of cultivated plants within the European Union. Except of course very rare species that are restricted under CITES, but these are mainly any orchids wild or cultivated.  Recently the restictions on sending seeds to the USA have been eased a bit (draconian ones bought in after the anthrax scares), which basically prevented the swapping of garden seeds between the two countries without phytosanitary and customs documentation which meant sending a few seeds could cost upto £20 a pop |
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Post by sweetleaf on Sept 17, 2006 15:21:54 GMT
Thanks Dee. again you save the day!
Duchy if you PM me your address, the Nigella,
(Love-in-a-mist) is yours. Do you want Escholzia (sp) (california poppy) as well?
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Post by Dutchy on Sept 17, 2006 16:29:36 GMT
Great Dee. I'll pm my address to sweetleaf. Dee do you still want those Nicotiana Sylvestris for shady but not to dry places?
Dutchy
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cos I cant get up there early enough!
