To ask you to settle a disagreement? Pic included.

[ladymary86]

DP and I are having a disagreement about this thing growing in our front garden.
One of us says it's a weed, the other doesn't thing so.
Thoughts??

Yes bramble.
Excellent for wildlife and the blackberries will be delicious.
As pps have said though, they can take over and need cutting right back after you have picked the fruit.

Actually after having a closer look it appears you have raspberry at the front and bramble at the back of a clump.

Actually after having a closer look it appears you have raspberry at the front and bramble at the back of a clump.

I agree some of the leaves at the front look more raspberry than bramble. It's hard to tell without seeing the stem/how it's growing as younger blackberry leaves can look a bit raspberryish 'til they're mature and have all the serrations on the side. On balance wild raspberries are rare compared to blackberries so I'd be on the side of treating the whole patch as bramble.

Personally I'd nuke the twat from orbit before it settles in and you have odd bramble patches springing up everywhere in a year or so. I get them here popping up through the underlay on the little pebble section I have and through the stone walls etc., as well as every fucking where else. Once it gets in it's a bastard to get rid of, the spiky owchy git always has a few underground runners you'll miss that will pop up fecking miles away from the original plant. And it's a strong bugger- you won't just pull it out, it will fight back. And win, in my experience unless you have a very sharp spade, and lots of patience to track down each runner.

That said though I have no shortage of wild blackberries on the doorstep, so it's not something I feel a need to grow in the garden. They grow everywhere and if they're in your garden you'll have a good patch nearby most like, but depends if it's in an area you'd want to pick from (by a road etc., would put me right off).

Don't fall into the trap of letting it stay because you think the berries will be great and you'll eat them/use them all and be a living a Gwyneth Paltrow like existence of yoga and organic berries and magic pebbles for nowt. Done that now three years in a row with the raspberry canes that have gotten out of control (minus desire for magic rocks). There's only so much jam etc., that you can make, and you only get the benefit of them fresh for a few weeks unless you have a huge freezer. And blackberries aren't half as tasty as raspberries or blaeberries etc.,

I'd still nuke the twat from orbit and pop in a few raspberry canes instead though. If you want berries that is.

Fucking hell that was long. Sorry OP, I didn't realise I could be that verbose on the subject of brambles. Put it down to isolation!

It is very lovely, I am on Team Keep.

I have bramble in my garden, appeared last year.
Seeing as i cant get rid of the bastard can i train it to go up the fence?
Maybe some of that lattice stringy stuff?

@blubellsarebells

I have bramble in my garden, appeared last year.
Seeing as i cant get rid of the bastard can i train it to go up the fence?
Maybe some of that lattice stringy stuff?

No love. Maybe if you nail gunned some of the older parts of the plant to a lattice aye you'll be fine for them. Newer parts will always try to go outwards, so as to best attack you when you wander by least expecting it. They will have no respect for the authority of mere trellises and will laugh in the face of anything 'stringy' you attempt. In the mean time, the rest of it will creep around under your lawn, patio, driveway etc., until if finds a nice patch it likes and will spring up there.

Kill kill kill! It's your only chance.

Looks like a bramble to me

I keep the lovely ‘weeds’ anyway

They are wildflowers ! Not weeds

I keep my berries like this by the fence. Always just pop new brunch or canes inbetween strings. It creates kind of a live wall of yum

Bramble (blackberry)

ILikeDemFriesNICannotLie
Thanks, thats helpful, guess im stuck with the prickly fucker.
Thought i might be able to train it up the fence rather than all over my lawn.
Can see myself picking berries and making a pie.
Ive obviously had a personality transplant in my romantic delusions, so has the weed, no berries so far, its all spikes.

Thanks all!!

There are two quite nice looking plants in very close proximity to this one that I've pictured.
I went back out to look properly and it does have some random little berries underneath so I do think it's a bramble bush.
It's right on the corner next to the path and it seems to have sprouted up from nothing so I'm going to try and talk DP in to trying to get rid of it - far too prickly for my liking!

Hi Blubellsarebells,

Training them up a fence might be an endless exercise in frustration (think of bramble bushes you see out n about, aye they can grow quite high but they are rampant spreaders also) but if you have some in a patch or area you are happy for them to be in just keep em clipped close down after fruiting (late summer) and a trim of old wood etc if needed., before they go nuts spring (to encourage more berries).

Don't worry yourself bout lack of berries at this point, bit early in the year still for blackberries. They've barely even started flowering properly here yet (north tbf).

Bramble. Will become an unruly invader in no time if you're not careful. I'd dig it up if I were you.

Thanks, this is all really helpful, im not green fingered at all.
They are sprouting next to the fence, which i dont mind giving over a couple of foot for the sake of wildlife friendly flowers and fruit now that my son is older and more aware, not using the lawn so much.
Seems they will be almost impossible to get rid of anyway just need to make them manageable if possible.
I'll order some wire and a nail gun with my next non essential online shop.

I have had brambles like that but never had berries on them. Would anyone know why?

Why can't you dig it out?