Please help identify this pervasive plant

[lexloofah]

It was here when we moved in, I dig it out but it is everywhere, it has even come up through turf that we laid over a border.

It has pretty flowers but just chokes everything else out.

Dies back in winter but comes back in spring and just keeps spreading and seeding everywhere

I thought if I could identify it I could look up how best to tackle it, thnx

That looks like ground elder I think?

Actually, the flower isn't right for elder! Hang on I'll get DH to take a look (ex gardener)

Flower looks like a hardy geranium?

I was thinking geranium too.

Looks like a type of geranium to me? They are garden plants but can take over it seems, we have a pink one which has completely taken over one border and smothers anything else I try to plant there. It looks nice enough when flowering but I'd prefer more of a mix of things. I'm just trying to contain it to that area for the moment and not let it spread further!

My app says says knotted cranes bill

Perennial geranium. It's a common garden plant :-)

Which just goes to show the nonsense of people asking "is this a weed"? Being a weed isn't a character of the plant, it's entirely to do with the particular gardener whose garden it is in.

Hardy geranium, just dig it out where you don't want it. I think that variety is called Wargrave pink. Take it as a hint that conditions in your garden suit hardy geraniums and get some more, there are lots of different heights and colours, particularly useful in semi shade.

You do have to dig it up carefulky if you want rid 100%as it will grow from a bit of root left behind. Cut it back hard just after the peak of flowering to avoid seeds, this keeps it tidier and you will probably get a decongestant flush of flowers. It appears all over my garden to and I don't like the colour of the flowers but i leave it in the odd spot at the back of borders under shrubs as its a useful space filler until i get more interesting replacements.

yes agree definitely cranesbill geranium now I have looked it up thank you

It is useful in some bits of the garden I just don't want it everywhere and I did not say it was a weed!

ok so it's a contain strategy then, quite difficult as roots get tangled in other things, will definitely do the suggested chop down to stop seeding

Sigh, I thought I had enough to do with the bindweed....

and I did not say it was a weed! No, I know you didn't, and I was just coming back on this thread to congratulate you on your phrasing of the question. My comment above was a sideswipe at all those who ask something on the lines of "is this a plant or is it a weed?". We've still got a long way to go from the 1950s mindset of "anything that hasn't been planted needs to be got rid of".

Phew Mere thanks, glad I hadn't inadvertently upset anyone as am grateful for the help

A lot of people come on the gardening boards having just moved into somewhere with a garden, or are taking an interest in gardening for the very first time. They have no idea whether the things growing in their garden are to be nurtured and cherished, or whether they are invasive thugs or unwanted native plants growing in the wrong place and where we don't want it (which us horticulturalists call weeds).

They are asking questions because they are seeking advice, and there's really no need to tell them that the question they are asking is nonsense. They are beginners, and there's no need to patronise them, or make them feel ignorant.

Hi OP, those geraniums are pretty but they spread like wildfire, their seed pods explode and scatter the seed everywhere so you might want to keep them under control.

And a 'weed' is any unwanted (usually unattractive or invasive) plant growing in the wrong place

Dont be too hasty to dig them all out though, bees really love them.

They have no idea whether the things growing in their garden are to be nurtured and cherished, or whether they are invasive thugs or unwanted native plants growing in the wrong place and where we don't want it But it's a function of context not of the plant. There are few plants welcome everywhere and few that are unwelcome everywhere. The world doesn't divide into plants which must be cherished and weeds which must be got rid of (even if you secretly think they're rather pretty). So that message needs to be got across - that you can trust your aesthetic judgement.

After all, the main constituents of standard "wildflower" seed mixes are "arable weeds" which is why they're now rare in the wider countryside. And a friend of mine looked at a gardencentre display of Alchemilla mollis priced at £5.99 and said "at a conservative estimate, my garden is worth £10,000".