Please help me recognise these plants!

[JessieMcJessie]

We've just moved to a new house and for the first time in 40 years I have a garden! The previous owners clearly planted a lot at one point and we have the basics of a small lawn with beds round the sides and a nice climbing rose going over an arch at the entry. However they obviously got a bit fed up looking after it and I think there a lot of weeds and out-of-controlp plants everywhere.

I am clueless about gardening but would like to learn so my first task is to get weeding and keep the plants that I like and get rid of the ones I don't. Trouble is I have no idea what any of them are and beyond Dandelions can't even tell what's a weed!.

Could any kind green-fingered mumsnetters help identify them for me?

I. this is a big one with thick stems

J. And this one is seriously thorny- spines go through my gloves!

K

Sorry did K already, geranium, right?

J is another bramble [blackberry] I think.
I looks Grapey to me.

What a fabulous thread I've learnt loads [grins]

I I think is a grapevine, and J is a blackberry (bramble, as doreen said)

G could be a lavatera

J could be a rose of some sort? Those don't look like bramble leaves to me...

I agree Noodles. Could be a climber as it has thick stems.
This is fun.
I. Does look like a grape...must be down south!
J. Rose
K. Geranium, lots of varieties and lengthy flowering period. Dies back to nothing in winter, spring or summer leaves. The first one looks like a Johnson Blue, purple/ blue cup like flowers gives a good show. K. I have it but can't remember the variety as I have about 10 -12 different ones.
C .looks like a flowering current. Pretty pink flowers but weeds tangled in it.
If you can bear it wait a year before removing anything except weeds. It looks like a well planted cottage garden. I think it will be very pretty. Off to identify one more I think it was a Laveteria (mallow)

Yes, G.
F. Could be Weigilia (sp) has white or pink flowers like small trumpets or Mock Orange ( philadelphus) but the leaves are very pale so I think it is the former. Both will be out in June. So you will be able to identify then.
Sus out the best garden around with similar plants and get talking to the owner. Gardeners love to help newbies and you learn a lot from them. Men often prune back harder so be careful who you ask or you might have one cut to the ground. Borrow some books from the library. Alan Titmarsh has some good beginning ones which will help with identifying weeds.
It looks very promising. Have fun!

Thanks noodles and ditsy and everyone else. The lavatera/ mallow identification is interesting.

I have tied up the jasmine against the fence as it was on the ground and I cut back the mallow a bit as it had grown out on to the lawn. Had a good old prune of the climbing rose as well (just dead branches) - very satisfying- and cut back some of the currant for the same reason.
Next weekend I will try to clear out some of the weeds at ground level as I feel happier now that I can distinguish them from the plants now and wait for some more flowers to come out.

There's also mint, rosemary and thyme (I am better at edible plants!).

We are indeed down South- North London- and it does get fairly warm over the summer. It was 26 degrees over the weekend.

Do you think I should treat the alkanet as a weed or a flower?

The Iris one is Iris foetidissima

Someone identified mine for me on here last week (thanks)

I would treat alkanet as a weed as it tries to take over if you give it half a chance. Also it irritates my skin, so I hated having it around as it kept brushing me when I was trying to work on other things. I'd suggest digging it out but wearing gloves to do it!

You have a lot of the same things we have (mainly inherited from the previous owners), or very similar! We have lots of berries too, and several of the others as well.

Believe it or not it was 25 degrees on Monday! Weeds have grown about three inches in as many days. I've been tidying the herb garden and replaced a few lost to frost. The range had some lovely healthy plants for less than £3 I bought large thyme. Some smaller herbs were £1.49. Fennel, marjoram and a lavender. There clematis are in really good nick at the moment so I added one of those and a Queen Elizabeth rose marked down to £3.99. So if you want to fill in gaps it is worth having a look. I usually like to support the small nurseries but they had very few herbs so ended up at the Range after work.

K may be a form of geranium macrorrhizum.

I agree about treating alkanet as a weed. It's not that pretty & does take over. Try and get the seedlings as when they get bigger, their huge tap roots take a lot of getting out.

As pp have said you have a well-planted garden, filled by someone who knew good plants, especially for fruit. Bob Flowerdew, the organic gardener guru recommends planting fruit first of all, as it's expensive to buy (& you can't easily find quinces for example) & it's dead easy to grow. I have always planted a quince - they are lovely fruit, although quite hard to find recipes for!

There's a fantastic app you can get, called Plantsnapp. You send photos of your plants in and a team of horticulturalists tell you what they are. It's amazing, I've used it loads.

Ooh I will look up the planstsnapp app, sounds great.

The tree overhangs next door and they confirmed to us yesterday that it was indeed a quince (previous owners had told them). I am looking forward to learning how to make quince jelly...

I have signed up for Plantsnapp and sent some more IDs through to them. It looks fab. They say they'll revert within 24 hours but I am also number 1500 in the queue for "my region", whatever that is. I hope they have enough experts signed up- maybe some of you lot should offer your services!

Plantsnapp got through their 1500 backlog super quickly- had the ids by 5pm.

In addition to what I payed earlier I have a curry plant, a kiwi vine(!), a Chilean potato tree (actually next door but coming over the fence), a nasty weed called Calystegia, a peony and what you thought was a Philadelphus is a "cornus Alba aurea"

I said curry plant

Sorry doreen I think it was just in the background of one of my earlier posts whereas I asked them specifically to identify it so forgot you had already told me!