Plant taking over the world!

Pale green stinking hellebores grow wild all over the mountains here, as they love limestone scree. They don't really stink- but they look very pretty in early spring. Along the house, it have a few dark purple and white ones I'd brought over from UK. They flower much later here of course, as we are in the mountains at 950m.

You're lucky anno, I fail miserably to grow the Christmas rose-like hellebores.

Has anyone got a winter beauty clamatis? I want one but wondered if they are a good investment.

FlicketyB- they've just showed your plant on Countryfile and called it 'crow garlic' but said it was like chives. They seemed to really rate it as an edible plant. How about making some soup with potatoes?

Tricia I think the very invasive species of Rhodedendron is R Ponticum.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron_ponticum

loopy, I don't grow my hellebores, they adopt me.

The very best plants are those that adopt you (same for pets- we've never chosen one, they've always chosen us) or are given by good friends.

I love it when a plant seeds itself somewhere else, usually in the gravel! But I don't mind. I like a haphazard garden! x

granjura Thank you for the name, I will google it. I do use it in cooking and if it wasn't so rampant I would be happy to grow it in my herb garden. But it gets everywhere. including into the lawn, worst of all, because constantly digging it up damages the grass

My record, when it first invaded was digging up around 200 little clumps from the rose bed, about 15 metres by 2 metres. Delicious it is but it is also very invasive.

Well, ivy grows in my garden and find it very attractive.

We can hardly see it, but behind 'our' little Church in front of us, there is a small building for the WCs and heating- with a plain concrete wall. So you've given me an idea- I shall find an ivy plant and 'discreetly' plant it on the corner, and hope for the best (watch it grow;) )

Only just got to this thread ... calendula! Husband blames me for chucking down a packet of seed a few years ago and boy, has it spread. Every crevice has a friendly bright yellow flower come summer, and there are literally dozens and dozens of seedlings every year now. They've even leapt fences to neighbouring gardens.

I quite like them, but Himself does not.

In my old house, I planted some mint and it spread into the lawn. Oh the wonderful smell when I mowed the lawn - it was gorgeous. The mint spread so much that I had to control it and I was worried because I'd heard it was difficult to uproot - it wasn't and I discovered it had a very long but easily dislodged root system.

Granjura - I like the idea of planting the ivy. I live in some flats with no garden and I've been tempted to plant a winter geranium among the shrubs and bushes in the car park

Are we starting 'Granny Guerrilla' gardening? I have noticed, in some places that people have planted along urban pavements and in little patches of open space.

Nasturtium would be good, they are quite hardy, look after themselves and wander about! x

In my old garden my neighbour planted a Clematis. We were good friends and she encouraged the plant to grow over the fence so that I could have the benefit of it.

It was a total nightmare. It climbed into the branches of a bay tree and killed it, threatened a damson tree and was a total thug. Although it looked pretty during the flowering season it looked ghastly during the winter months - like an old mattress.

I think it was called Clematis Monstrosa or something similar and it was a monster. It was the only plant I was glad to say goodbye to when I moved and it could be someone else's problem.

We have clematis Montana, it has been in the garden for 20 years. It climbs through seven silver birches along our border.
They look like the hanging gardens of Babylon when in flower.
When we had the trees pruned the tree surgeons cut it down. I was about to plant another when new shoots appeared, it's now half way up the trees again. x

Winter geranium? or jasmin you mean?

Clematis Montana is indeed a wonderful rogue- but so easy to deal with as you just cut it to the bottom if it goes mad- wait for the rest to dry up and is then easily dealt with... and it will re-grow from the base, as you found out J52. You definitely sound like 'my kind of gardner' ;)

The problem was the base of the plant was next door and the original neighbour had moved away.

I was just getting around to asking the new neighbour to cut it back on her side when my DH died and I had to move.

A friend told me that you definitely have to keep an eye on them as a Clematis she had killed her apple tree before they realised what was happening.

What I love about this thread (and why I started it) is the diversity of likes and dislikes.
It help put a positive spin on something you don't like, but can't get rid of!

X

Does anyone have any borage seeds going spare?
I want some for a wil dish bit of my garden

Wildish bit!
Ipad

Very of hellebores and calendula, can't grow either whether I put in plants or seeds........
Primroses galore, pulmonariias by the dozen and grape hyacinths in masses but not what I want!

Galen, I let my borage go to seed and spread naturally, so sorry no seeds collected. I hope little plants appear. If they do I could try and send some.
x

If I can't get any seed I'll say yes!

These borage seeds are very naughty- the seed heads explode and send the seeds in all directions- a long way away. I'm sure I've got seeds somewhere- but it will be cheaper to get from your garden centre. They are easy to pull out if they do grow in the wrong place- and don't forget to use the flowers for decorating salads- they look just wonderful, espcially in taboulé, with french marigolds. DD1 got a packet of white borage seeds with a gardening magazine last year- so will plant those in a wild corner and see what happens.