Plants that go wild

Passion flower. Had one in the garden that did nothing for years: assumed it was dead. Then, one summer, it literally took over the garden. Even covered the washing line. Was a nightmare to get rid of. Pity really because the flowers are lovely.

We bought some lovey daisies once. They spread everywhere. Four years on and they are still coming up in the lawn.. Our agapanthus gets ravaged by snails so looks most unattractive. But however many times we clear away seedlings it returns,.

Forget-me-nots; so aptly named!
I love their frothiness, but they do get everywhere.

Grape hyacinths (Muscari)
So many little bulblets! Impossible to remove them all, and if you have one this year you will have a dense carpet next.

I agree about the lemon balm - great for bees but it is domineering and as tough as old boots. We have it among the paving stones and really have to work hard to keep the pathway clear.

Thanks for the heads up about a passion flower MayBee. That was on my list for this year, but I'll do some more research first!!

I agree about lemon balm - it pops up everywhere. Valerian is another - pretty but if you’re not quick to cut the flowers off when they go over it seeds everywhere.

Montbretia is a problem in the UK too, and it’s such hard work to dig out because of the bulbs clumping.
I’ve also got an issue with Spanish bluebells, I’m constantly digging them up from random places in my garden.

Is passionflower the same as a passion fruit vine or is it the wild version? We have a passion fruit vine and get a few passion fruit every year. I’d love the grape hyacinths,though- swap you some mint ? I don’t have much success with them, probably we do get enough rain.

do = don’t

my aus sister told me about agapanthus and that it took days of hard work for them to pull them out. I have agapanthus in pots and always make sure to cut the seed heads off

I second that about passionflower. My neighbour grew it up my wall and fence and I have had to put a strong impregnated bamboo barrier down into the soil as the passionflower roots were firing through under the wall into my garden. I pour copper sulphate solution down between the barrier and stone wall, it supports the membrane and stops roots developing in that area. The roots were appearing yards away in my garden, not any more

Lily of the valley gets rampant and invasive

Spanish Bluebells, Montbretia, Crocosmia, Periwinkle, and Alstroemeria - I've have an abundance of all these in my garden at one time or another and have never knowingly planted any of them.

I love things that grow profusely as I don’t like or have a manicured garden so as well as all the bulbs and plants I plant and move around, I also have dozens of forgetmenots montbretia, nerrines, Spanish bluebells , lily of the valley and wild garlic just coming up wherever they want to and I love it

Lily of the valley gets rampant and invasive
If only mine would survive! I’m hoping my grape hyacinths will become invasive!!

I will never again grow Love-in-a-Mist Nigella. It seeds everywhere.

Still trying to get rid of a pretty pink and white Vinca called Jenny that turned into a thug.

Lemon Balm Melissa and Marjoram or Oregano also growing everywhere it’s not wanted. Why don’t they stay in the herb garden?

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is actually illegal to plant Montbretia in the wild as it is classified as a non native invasive species. The wild orange one seems to be the worst but other cultivated Crocosmia as it is renamed such as Lucifer aren’t so prolific and I don’t mind a few extra.

The other pain in my garden is Spurge - Wilamena I think, a dwarf variety which has invaded and captured huge parts of my rockery.

The worst is you can pay a plot of money for one specimen at the garden centre then find it is not only easily propagated but becomes a problem. There should be warning labels!

I love nigella Avalon, it’s so pretty, has lovely seed heads and (crucially) is easy to pull up if it appears where you don’t want it. I couldn’t bring myself to call it a thug!

Aquilegia arrived here about 15 years ago (self seeded) and took over the borders. I’ve found that cutting off the long stems after the flowers are finished helps prevent it getting worse. It’s very pretty in flower, but unsightly afterwards. I’ve found it growing in pots and tubs, in the cracks between paving slabs and it’s even taken root in the lawn.

Arum italicum went wild in our last garden. We had to use black plastic and bark mulch over the entire border, to try to kill it. I don’t know if it worked - we moved!
And Vinca! That should come with a free bottle of weedkiller.

Hypericum or St. John's Wort is the bane of my life. I inherited it with the garden.
Love my forget-me-nots though: the Alzheimer's emblem flower 😊

I've got forget-me-not coming up in the middle of the path and along its edges and large white daisies by the edge of the lawn, as well as in the border. I must say, as a 'natural garden' (and a lazy gardener) it doesn't look too bad.

Vinca has spread fairly nicely thus far in a couple of corners so I'm happy to say it suppresses proper weeds. It depends on your style of garden, I guess.

It’s Welsh Poppy that takes over my garden.

Vinca and woodruff are my nemeses.

Other stuff like climbers are really only a pain because I don’t prune them when I should.

It is feeling quite springlike out there today, so I’m sat planning.

First thing is to weed and tidy all beds and mulch like mad to combat another drought.

I’ll start hopefully next week when it is due to warm up a bit.

Our Japanese anemones have spread from a plant or two to masses, encroaching well into the lawn. I’m half inclined to let them get on with it, but the season of prettiness is relatively short, so I suppose we should dig them up, but restoring the grass feels like too much faff. (Where’s the lazy baggage emoji?)

Grape hyacinths
Japanese anemone. I'd be ok if it was the white one but it's the pink one
Erigeron/Mexican daisy, but I like it
Aquilegia, they seed everywhere and hard to remove with roots like parsnips if they get too big/old.

Spanish bluebells, aquilegia, the white version of what I call agrostemma (think a kind of campion now) when I'm trying to encourage the magenta.

I love these defiant things that won't give in to being regimented.

I do too Caleo love them
I can imagine them at night dancing by the moonlight and joyously spreading their little seeds far and wide
love them all