Is this a pretty weed or an actual plant...?

[SheWhoMustBe]

About a meter high. I've been going with it to see how it comes out but I'm starting to think weed?

[Hornydilemma]

Oh I have this but don't know what it's called, I treat it as a plant.

[AnythingNotEverything]

Do you like it? Then it's a plant.

[iklboo]

Weeds are just flowers nobody loves

Except Japanese knotweed which is a threat to the ecology.

[SheWhoMustBe]

Thanks all! I'm going to leave it but keep a close eye on it. I like it now but i may not be so keen in two years when it's staged a massive garden takeover

[traviata]

I have this, I think it is Linaria Purpurea, which is a variety of toadflax and a British wildflower.

I love it, it doesn't take over, it is fabulously elegant and pretty, and the bees adore it. Easy to pull out if you don't want it, but I leave nearly all of it in the places where it self sows.

[fenneltea]

I agree with traviata, it is a lovely plant and I let it self seed freely. You can buy the seeds on Crocus, so I'd leave it be

[MairzyDoats]

Its a linaria, does it have purple flowers or pink? Ive got a pink variety (Canon Arthur Went I think) and its fab, bees love it and it flowers for ages. It's just coming into flower now.

[MyNightWithMaud]

Yes, linaria. I think the common or garden variety is purple - and some people treat it as a weed, depending on whether or not they like it - and then there are cultivated, pink varieties like Canon Went.

[SheWhoMustBe]

I'm thrilled if that's what this is! It is indeed shallow rooted, flowers seem to be purple (not fully out yet) and as for seeding freely we do have a few others popping up (hence the concern it was a weed). But linaria looks like a lovely plant, happy to have it.
Thanks to everyone for your help.
(MairzyDoats - best username ever...We proved that a Kiddleativytoo today when my DD was helping with the weeding...)

[MairzyDoats]

Heh heh, you got it!

[taxi4ballet]

We have this in our garden too, it is really pretty and self-seeds a lot. No trouble to thin out though, and we leave it to do its own thing. Every now and again we get the occasional spontaneous pink one as well.