A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Continuing to identify my new garden

Every week something new appears.
I've let a lot of what is probably weed grow so that I can try and identify it. This garden is packed full of perrenials, but it's also gone "wild" over the last few years from previous homeowners. The tulips, crocuses, and daffodils that have flowered are obvious enough, as were the hyacinths and some other spring flowers I was able to idenify - with help (thanks to everyone).
Here are some more I've labelled "unknown". Some are obviously meant to be there. Others I suspect are "weeds". Of course, many so-called weeds are beneficial herbs, so I don't want to be too hasty in removing them. Plus, they look pretty sometimes

~1~ I think I remember chopping down dead, tall hollow stalks from this spot last fall. I have it elsewhere too.
plants/Unknown.jpg" alt="[Linked Image]" class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>

~2~
plants/unknown2.jpg" alt="[Linked Image]" class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>

~3~
plants/unknown3.jpg" alt="[Linked Image]" class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>

~4~ This plant is fairly tall. Maybe 2 feet.
plants/unknown4.jpg" alt="[Linked Image]" class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>

~5~ This and the above are in a bed with a lot of lily of the valley (the lily of the valley being almost hidden now in most places)
plants/unknown5.jpg" alt="[Linked Image]" class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>

~6~
plants/unknown6.jpg" alt="[Linked Image]" class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>

~7~
plants/unknown7.jpg" alt="[Linked Image]" class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>
The greenery under the flowers here is really nice - soft, small, needle-like leaves. I thought it was just groundcover at first. We'd love more of this for the garden.

#1 looks familiar - have no idea what it's called.

#2 is lamium maculatum. i just put one in, myself. mine's the pink chablis (pink flowers obviously). the leaves look identical, so it's probably the same variety. (they also come with white flowers - the leaves aren't as strikingly colored tho).

#3 coral bells, maybe. can you post a pic of the leaves?

#4 i don't know...i have a feeling it's going to be gorgeous AND big tho!

#5 is it tree shaped in it's growth pattern? might be a weed - looks similar to something i deal with every year from my neighbors yard (he's an older gentleman and his kids/grandkids aren't maintaining what few bushes he has, so i do it).

#6 is some kind of geranium

#7 looks like what i just posted here the other day. pretty sure it's creeping phlox. yes, it IS absolutely lovely, isn't it!?! looks really nice atop a wall - it cascades nicely over the edge. it should spread out and you can probably divide it to. (haven't investigated it too much yet. i going to get some for my retaining wall, tho)

I just love the red and pink flowers! I wish I could help but we are both in the boat. I have little pink flowers similar to yours but they didn't bloom nearly as thick as yours. Can't wait to hear what it is so I can get some too. Good luck and I'm sure everyone here will be able to solve your mysteries.

Joanne

hello
I have no idea what #1 is

my guess is

#2 lamium
#3 coral bells, heuchera
#4 Centaurea montana, pretty pupleish/blue flower
#5 is it a fine vine? looks like the deadly nightshade vine to me.
#6 looks like a columbine, but is that its yellow flower in the center of the picture?
#7 creeping phlox.

Gardenewbie

you know what? that MIGHT be columbine - i'm not too familiar with it as i've never had it. my neighbor does tho and the leaves DO look similar...

here's a link for the centaurea VERY interesting flower!!

I love numbers 2 and 7 and will have to add them to my "gotta get" file (which is rapidly growing)

If I'm not badly mistaken, I think number one is a noxious weed. It looks an awful lot like "polk" which is a VERY toxic plant, does have hollow stalks, does grow tall, and will produce a type of berries. Hmm, more info about the weed I'm talking about can be found here
http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/ento/WILD_P-Z.HTM#PAMERICANA
A picture of a the plant is here http://www.floridata.com/ref/P/phyt_ame.cfm it shows the "baby" plant lower on the page.

5 does look like the beginnings of a mimosa tree. They are very very aggressive and don't respond to weed killers, brush killers, being chopped down or having holes drilled in them and salt added. I'm thinking maybe acid to burn them out may work.

In nature the only thing that kills them is really cold weather and then only if it strikes while they are very young. Hope you don't have any of the trees around. They drop loads of seeds every year.

1-looks like sunflower heliopsis
2-Lamium
3-Coral Bells
4-perennial batchelor buttons (centaurea)
5-looks like crown vetch. Very invasive climber
6-Columbine, although I can't tell what the plant is with the yellow flower...it's not the columbine bloom
7-moss phlox

#1 and 2 I don't know, #3 coral bells (heuchera), #4 I've heard many different common names Pereniall bachelor buttons-cornflower-mountain bluet- the botanical name is centaurea Montana, #5 purple vetch or other vetch (very invasive and wraps itself around other plants choking them), #6 is a columbine for sure next to a hosta with a yellow weed growing up through the middle, #7 phlox sublata.

Oops, you're right, the yellow flower in the columbine is not part of the plant. Bad photo selection. I think my neighbour had told me I had columbine in the garden.
I guess I'll have to wait for numbers 1 and 5 to flower. I'm hoping 1 is the false sunflower, not pokeweed. It seems to have been deliberately planted...
5 is definitely none of the above suggestions. The photo above is a macro closeup. Here is a shot from further away - it's mixed in with a lot of lily of the valley (and some grasses). Weeding this now is going to be a royal pain!
plants/May2006020.jpg" alt="[Linked Image]" class="post-image" style="height:auto!important;max-width:100%!important;"/>

it may be a weed. do you see it anywhere else on the property?

if not, then it's probably not a weed - and was intentionally planted. could be some kind of fern maybe?

#1 looks alot like my tall garden phlox
#5 cow vetch

It's definately vetch
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach/VMG/tcvetch.html

I pulled a sample this morning and definitely have to agree that it is vetch now. The images I was seeing before seemed too broad-leafed, but I was mistaken.
Crap, I guess that means I need to remove it before it damages my lily of the valleys.
Still, I like the dense undergrowth look