[Closed] Stuff I wish I'd never planted in the garden

Stuff I wish the previous owner had never planted in the garden:

Willow
Bamboo
Pampas...

seeds of doubt...

Wife.

Bloody horseradish. Knotweed is easier to get rid of

aquilegia
Lady mantle

Mint

I'm yet to have any survive for long, but I keep trying to grow giant redwoods in mine. [i]I'm [/i] never going to regret that but it'll piss off the neighbours in the year 2150.

Mint is a bastard. Put it in a large pot in the ground.... Still gets everywhere

Fennel.

Grows like mad.
I hate fennel.

Teasel

Well, I didn't plant it but I encouraged it's growth in as many places as possible because the Goldfinch love it.

Its thorny stems and leaves now rip the shit out of my shoulders every time I walk past or stick me in the bum when I'm near the wood shed.

Epic, tall, hardy weed, though...

aquilegia

Aww I like these! They do seed everywhere though.

I'm yet to have any survive for long, but I keep trying to grow giant redwoods in mine. I'm never going to regret that but it'll piss off the neighbours in the year 2150.

I'm very tempted to try an Australian mountain ash or two in the local park - they grow pretty quickly, and almost as tall as redwoods. About 3ft per year I think!

Bloody bamboo. Potentially literally.
It sends underground runners into the lawn, where they surface as spikes like sharpened pencils.

aquilegia- deadhead them asap.

I can't seem to get rid of the spuds I never planted. I think they are a result of the kitchen compost.

I dunno if this is redwood but a mate has this monster out the front of his house, House was built in 1775 and the gardens were planted in 1817 so it's quite old, and big.

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alpin to the forum 🙂

Bamboo took a while to get rid of.

The "dwarf" eucalyptus was another mistake.

Good tree that! We have a bunch in the grounds at work, they're as old as a redwood can be in the UK (it was introduced in 1853, ours are first gen) but they're a wee bit underdeveloped for their age, not quite the right conditions.

(I know **** all about trees really but I love big conifers, when I'm up close I feel the way I think some people feel in church)

My Dad's view on planting trees is that at some point they will become a big problem for someone else.
They have some great trees..

is that at some point they will become a big problem for someone else

I'm about to get rid of 25m horse chestnut. The child who planted it 8m or so from my front door many years ago is the subject of a great deal of unpleasant language in my house. On the upside it will keep my log burner fueled for a number of years.

Verbena. It looked ace, and the bees love it, but it self seeds *everywhere* to the point where the flowerbeds are becoming greener than the lawn with millions of little shoots...

He isn't planting anything near the house. They have lost two 100 yr old oaks in the last two months due to honey fungus so has space for a few more. Plus enough fire wood for a generation or two..

Aquil f'ing legia planted by the previous owner. Forever weeding them out of the raised veg beds.

We got kicked out of a rental place after the owners screwed us over. We planted all sorts of invasive stuff in there before we left as a bit of very middle class rebellion. It looks like a jungle now; I feel very proud of it.

There are some lovely trees near mine Northwind, proper big ones, some nice trails in the same woods.

Valerian: I moved as it was taking over the neighbourhood. I haven't gone back...

... I might be recognised.

Stevenmenmuir is trying to lure me into his trees. Concerned.

Golden lantern. Planted to attract Bees, but keeps sprouting up all over the garden.

We didn't, but the previous owner planted a Monkey Puzzle tree.
Que trips to the vet as Eric the Wstie tried to have a piss up against it, and caught Ericjnr™ on one of its branches.. 🙄

I've not seen a good comedy crash for ages, that's all.

allan23 - Member
alpin to the forum

I'm not middle class enough to have a garden to call my own.

Last year one of the neighbours cleared a scabby bit of the communal garden to turn into a veg patch. Not big, 4'x6', maybe, just to get some of the kids interested in growing veg /see where their food comes from.

Some arschloch complained and the guy was ordered to remove it. Remember coming home one night and various vegetables were strewn across the garden. The planter obviously didn't like the small mindedness of the complaint. Sometimes I hate having to live in the same building as other people.

Will eventually move out of town and have a bit of land to call my own...

Landmines

Don't know the names of any of the stuff in our garden - most of it was put in by the previous owners - but it all seems to be the sort of thing that spreads underground & then pops up somewhere completely different.

Cyclamen could be the name of one thing - like weird tuber things underground that spread like mad.

Other tall plants with clover shaped leaves & nice purple flowers, but the seeds get everywhere & seem to be very keen to grow. The roots are those ones that break off at the slightest tug & then you can't get the rest out without digging massive holes everywhere.

Bloody dandelions........everywhere.

Chinese Lantern plant - managed to get rid of that by just digging a huge area out & chucking anything remotely plant like in the bin.

The neighbours have got a plant along our ajoining fence that sends white roots out - looks like a mass of spaghetti, and then the plant pops up all over the bloody place on our side. I keep meaning to ask them about it & whether they plan to dig it up at any point....

ouch at Monkey Puzzle tree

We planted one at my grandmother's house and it must have been about as tall as me in primary school. It's now taller than the house.

Mint
Blackberries
(got rid of both eventually)

Kentish Cob Nut tree
(was ace to have but eventually grew too big too close to the house, patio, utilities etc.)

All of it. Anything that grows.

I want one of those bondage gardens - Fifty Shades of Grey.

Mint is a bastard. Put it in a large pot in the ground.

Put it in a teapot, fresh mint tea is lovely.

Cyclamen could be the name of one thing - like weird tuber things underground that spread like mad.

We've just agreed to buy a house where the current owner has rotovated a large patch of mint and spread the soil over about 1/4 acre! Consequently it has a lovely grass/mint lawn which we want to convert to a vegetable patch - apart from Roundup any tips for getting rid?

May live to regret letting the Sumac that appeared take hold.

1) It's a male plant, so doesn't flower anyway
2) It spreads via the roots, and is already under the whole lawn judging by the ones I've pulled out!

Does the mint smell nice when you walk on it though?

Jerseychaz, you're not suggesting creating a 1/4 acre veg patch are you?!

If you are, I'd nuke the lot and then dig over roughly in November with a spade - let a few good frosts get into the soil (good for nutrients) and then next year, rotavate and use as veg patch. That's a hell of a big area though unless you really know what you're doing! (Or will be using membranes etc).

If you don't want to nuke, just cover now and repeat step above from November. Ideally you'd take the turf off, but that's a hell of a lot to dispose of.

Stevenmenmuir is trying to lure me into his trees. Concerned

I've been and it was quite a ride.

My garden's 2 year old so I'll bookmark this for ~5 years. I have put in quite a few of the aforementioned.

Does the mint smell nice when you walk on it though?

Sort of. The sheep that live there now are ready sauced!

bear... - oh yes, and probably more! The plan is for a bout of self-sufficiency in France, largely organic and we'll be growing some of our own meat as well. The septic tank soakaway has been earmarked for a wildflower "meadow" for the bees (apologies for the slight hijack!)

You know that you don't grow meat don't you 😀

Good luck then; if you're going totally chemical free, just cover up now (well). No point in trying to just irradiate the mint; just tackle the whole plot, and good luck.

Does the mint smell nice when you walk on it though?

I stayed at a campsite in Forcalcier which had mint growing amongst the turf. Lovely mintiness everywhere you walked and sat.

My neighbour has been shovelling dirt into my garden for the last few days..... the plot thickens

Dangerourbrain - unfortunately horse chestnut doesn't keep well for too long, 3 years at a push. On the positive side, it splits easy.

Too kind Jimmy, too kind.