Is this a weed ?

[cleo333]

I'm new to gardening and planted lots of things last year that have come up lovely , but I'm not sure if I planted this or is it a weed ?

Valerian - pink and white varieties. It self seeds around. Just pull it out if you dont like where it is.

It's valerian and some would consider it a weed but I love it and would be very happy to see it in my garden. 🙂

It is a native plant and looks nice, some people grow it as a garden plant. It can get out of hand though, and it does have a habit of forcing itself into what it thinks of as rocky crevices (such as your garden wall or between paving slabs), where it can become a bit of a nuisance. If you keep on top of it, it's fine.

Thank you x

A weed is any plant growing where it isn’t wanted, so I would give it time to see if you like it and then decide.

This is Red Valerian (flowers can be red/pink/white). It's non-native but now very common - tends to grow in walls etc around buildings. We do have a couple of native valerian species but this isn't one of them.

I love it and wish we had some in our garden. My childhood home has it growing all
over the place

Yes, Red Valerian, Centranthus ruber, not Valerian, Valeriana officinalis.