Help me identify this aka is this a weed?

[WafflesandChicken]

Help! Never having had a garden to deal with before, I am having trouble telling apart weeds from plants. I found this growing rampantly in the borders completely covering the ground between the tulips and lavender that have managed to survive my 'care'.
Any idea what it is? If it's a weed I want to try dealing with it before everything else gets smothered.
TIA

At this time of year weed seedlings grow rampantly and quickly. I have a garden in my house but I only bought it last May so I have the same problem. I don't know what is weed and what is plant.

Stay calm and don't start ripping stuff out, let it grow and then once it become more mature ask someone who is an experienced gardener near you what it is. If it is a weed then you can pull it out.

I generally don't do anything much to a garden excepting cutting grass and basic tidying and pulling out obvious weeds for a whole year until you can see what is growing. I have lived in lots of rental properties and so have long experience of dealing with 'new gardens'.

I suspect it's rosebay willowherb, aka fireweed. Does it look like the final pictures below?

www.rosenotes.com/2011/03/tales-of-three-weeds.html

Thanks MoreBeta. We've been here for almost a year but things were a lot more hectic this time last year so can't remember much of what was coming up in the garden then. Those beds were empty except for the lavender in the summer though that's why I'm slightly perplexed at the appearance of these new plants.

It's darker and more succulent than the fireweed seedling in the picture, but it might be. It's also popped up in a couple of plant pots, which was why I suspected a weed.

I'm pretty sure it's fireweed. Take a hoe to it if you like, or just pull them up individually. Whatever it is, you can't have hundreds of them growing all crammed together, so you would need to thin it out to one or two, even if you wanted it as an ornamental.

However, as I say, I suspect fireweed.

I might get rid of them except a couple just to see what grows. I've read up on fireweed since the last post and I think you are right, the root system and brittle rhizomes fit the description. Thanks!

My guess would be Valerianella carinata (European cornsalad). Tiny pale blue flowers. I've got tonnes of it this year, I don't know where it has sprung from as I didn't notice any last year.

I would think it is the smaller willowherb. It will soon have little pink flowers, which quickly turn to seeds - we call them "pink fluffies" - and they need to come out. If you grasp the stem low down, they should pull out easily, especially now soil is moist.

This tells you more: www.mariatrebenherbs.com/?pid=55&sid=72:SMALL-FLOWERED-WILLOW-HERB

Could we have a close up photo on the weed? I'm now quite intrigued.

I don't think it's the corn salad, because I've got loads of that too (I eat it) and it's got rounder leaves that don't have any of the purple tinge of fireweed.

I have that in my garden . Tis definitely a weed. Easy to pull out though, unlike the bloody creeping buttercup that has taken over my entire garden.

another one for willowherb; just pulled loads of the blighters out yesterday

Sorry just got in from work and seen this. Thanks everyone, will get rid soon as weather allows! Here's a slightly better picture for GrendelsMum. Almost the same as first but better resolution.

About the only GOOD thing for willowherb is that the caterpillar of elephant hawk moth eats it:
www.saga.co.uk/lifestyle/gardening/wildlife-watch/elephant-hawk-moth-caterpillar.aspx

I will immediately invite some elephant hawk moths round to the Grendel Den.

I definitely think its willowherb / fireweed. Fascinating history re the Great Fire of London and the Blitz, and apparently it is edible / drinkable as a tea.

Pops up everywhere in my garden too. I always seem to miss a few which then get to flower and seed so I never get rid of it. It is easy to pull up though.

We have quite a bit of this in forgotten corners of the garden, and had the most amazing crop of elephant hawk moth caterpillars last year! They are easily 4 inches long, and rather beautiful. (Feeling green emoticon) we gave some to school for their nature table.

I am extremely envious of your elephant hawk moths; please pop a stamp on one and send it to me

They're big enough to put a stamp on! I hope we get them again this year.

Definitely willow herb - but not the rosebay which is bigger - still a weed though.