The bane of my life in the garden now

[Catname]

Sycamore seedlings. Thousands of them!

I’ve only tackled the ones in the flowerbeds but I’ve pulled out loads, and then I go back the next day and there are more, and more, and more. They are quite easy to pull out when it’s just the seed leaves but once they develop the first proper leaf, they get such a hold, and I’m doing it by hand as I want to see which of my lovely plants has self seeded (as I cannot grow anything from seed myself it would seem). I’m concerned that the ones in the lawn will get a good hold before it’s dry enough to cut the grass and then I’ll have a forest 🥴

Does anyone else have a plant they despise as much as I do sycamores?

3 cornered leek, I've pulled tons of it out of the front garden this weekend

All the trees went made fruiting last year because the spring/summer combo was so stressful for them - it tends to make them do a massive bulk drop of seeds so that there's a greater likelihood some survive and spread. Essentially when their systems are stressed they "think" there's a greater likelihood of death so try and have more babies.

Also if anyone is in Suffolk with a surfeit of wild garlic I'd love some. I have a wild end of my garden where I reckon I need something thuggish to have any change of outcompeting the other weeds there.

I’ve patiently dug out all of the bindweed in our garden over 5 years. Ditto the ground elder. My current nemeses/nemesi? are cuckoo pint and creeping buttercup. Both so hard to get rid of. And the buggering mole - although my husband is more upset by him than I, being the keeper of the lawn . Worst thing I ever planted in another garden was wild rocket. It managed to invade a gravel drive - brave me potty. Similarly borage. I will not have either in the house!

I hate these too - dug out clumps of them yesterday. They look nice for about 5 mins until the rain bashes them and then they look shit for the rest of the summer.

Creeping buttercup is a menace as the roots are so strong.

Creeping buttercup is a menace in my garden, along with nettles. I have pulled them up, dug up underground creeping roots and shoots, weedkillered them. You name it I have tried it but nothing I do seems to get rid.

Creeping buttercup is also a nightmare in my garden, but there is something strangely satisfying about pulling up lots of the criss crossing creepers from the lawn. When loads come up at once it's like a particularly good move of minesweeper/ battleships.

Glad others are not fans of umbrella plants!

Feeling a bit down and discouraged about the entire garden to be honest as it’s all just a mess, but the main bane of our gardening life is horseradish. Inherited from the previous owners and so hard to get rid of :(

I’m also feeling discouraged. We’ve had building work done and the garden has gone to ruin. All of the beds are mainly grass and that alone is a massive job to sort out. Half feel like hiring a digger and taking the lot out but there are plants in there somewhere.

Indeed... Hasn't flowered yet and my optimism is because my mum swears that there once was Jacobs ladder.

However, it's absolutely everywhere... So I no longer believe for a second that it is Jacobs ladder.

I've also found ground elder in two different places today... So add that to my list! Anyone want to place a bet how long it'll be before Japanese Knotweed turns up.

Annoyingly the only reason I found the more established patch is because it is surrounding a lovely patch of glory of the snow that I'd gone up to see what they were. The big patch is in a woodland area that is difficult to access and will never ever be flower beds and is quite far from any existing flower beds. I presume I still need to tackle it?

@Muststopeating No need to tackle the ground elder, but you will want to make sure it doesn't spread. It's got a nice flower like cow parsley, a little late in the year, and several nurseries offer a variegated version

I’m surprised more people haven’t said Ivy! We have masses of the stuff coming over, under and through our neighbours fence, which is now leaning at 45 degrees into our garden. Lots of sections look dead but still have little areas where new leaves are unfurling within the brown. It’s so high I can’t reach the top with long loppers and it regrows as quickly as I can cut it. I’ve tried screening it off by planting in front of it but that makes the problem worse as our plants just get strangled.
not to chuffed with said neighbours brambles either.

Mine is Kenilworth Ivy. Not sure if it is more commonly known as something else? I absolutely love it on the walls or even if it takes over hanging pots but I have a mostly paved yard and only two small beds and it absolutely covers them constantly. At least it's easy to pull up.

Creeping buttercup. EVERYWHERE. In the lawn, in flowerbeds, even in my sodding gravel drive. Nothing seems to stop it.

Dock - I foolishly let a dock plant set seed when we first moved to the countryside 3 years ago and I didn't know what it was. I now pull up seedlings every day and suspect I will for years to come.

I have ground elder at the front which is all tied up in the roots of the hedge so I can't get rid of it completely, but weedkiller each May seems to stop it spreading.

Cuckoo pint similarly a menace but at least it dies down again fairly quickly. I only have it at the very back of my beds so let it be.

Whilst "creeping" has been mentioned.. has anyone got creeping Jenny or creeping thyme? Are these invasive or easy to keep on top of?

Spanish bluebells.

I’m drowning in Spanish bluebells. I keep pulling them out, they keep coming back. It’s a losing battle.

It’s rampant, and reverts to the common version from time to time! Be careful what you wish for!

I love the Spanish bluebells. They’re here to stay so they might as well look pretty.

Alkanet I swear blind this plant did not even exist until a few years ago, not on my radar anyway. Conspiracy theory alert : I have read the Day of the Triffids, and post Covid I think I know where it came from, released from some laboratory ( or possibly a passing alien spaceship).

I have never bought a plant of the stuff in my life, have never seen any for sale in the UK. it just appeared. And unlike sycamore seedlings which I can deal with as they are easy to tug out if you spot them in their first year , alkanet roots grow down to the depths of hell.

I know Kenilworth Ivy as toadflax and we have it everywhere too. I think it’s quite pretty.
After a couple of hours weeding yesterday I think the worst thing we have is couch grass.

They look pretty when they first come out, but because they are early they won't let anything else grow. And they spread and look very tatty after they are over. The ponies are struggling, so I had a big clear out yesterday.

I wouldn't mind one or two, but there is no such thing as one or two of the buggers. They spread. And spread.

I've had a blitz on Spanish bluebells, then we have creeping buttercup, and Japanese anemones which are positively triffidesque and latium which isn't to bad and helped suppress ground elder. Our neighbour has a completely unmaintained garden and sadly things spread

Ivy leaved toadflax, Cymbalaria muralis

Creeping jenny moves fast but is easy to pull up. It’s useful to fill in spaces and pull up when you want to plant something. My dad has it.

I have creeping thyme on my terrace. It’s a smaller woodier plant than creeping jenny, so grows more slowly. I find it often gets knocked back in the winter, I think from damp rather than cold.

I love the Spanish bluebells. They’re here to stay so they might as well look pretty. They’re a paler blue than native bluebells and not scented. So in my opinion not as pretty as the natives.

yours are almost certainly not spanish bluebells, but hybrids between spanish and native. And that’s the problem. Britain holds a huge proportion of the “native bluebell” Hyacinthoides non-scripta population, and anything that hybridises with it is a threat.