Plant/weed identification

lidsarobinson

Hi all,

I am trying to sort out my garden and there is a very overgrown border on one side which I haven't got round to tackling. Please could you help me with two things - first, can you identify any of the plants/weeds here? Second - advice for what to do. It's so overgrown its pushed parts of the fence and wall out of the way. Is the best thing to do just to try get rid of everything and then put the bits of fence and wall back in place?

Thanks in advance! 

Aero84

The ones in the second photo and the foreground of the first are ferns. What you do with them depends on whether you like them. I think they are good in shady areas. I’m sure someone will come along with more information about keeping them as I don’t actually have them and have never grown them. 

lidsarobinson

Thanks! Yes they're about th only plants I know how to identify. I really don't like ferns and have removed several from the garden already so these will definitely be going 

Buttercupdays

It's not so much that it's "overgrown" as that it scarcely deserves to be called a border. It is far too narrow for anything other than very small plants. Check final sizes before planting anything new.

Those poor ferns are only doing what plants are meant to do - growing. They were probably planted as "dear little things" but have obviously been there for a number of years and have no where else to go.

Either they or the fence, and probably both, are likely to die in any attempt to get them out, but if you do manage it and want to keep one or two they like a cool shady place with room to grow!

The woodruff (white flowers) is a bit of a runner, but easy enough to pull up and the forget-me-nots (blue flowers) seed themselves around. Leave them be if you want more, otherwise pull them up as soon as the flowers fade.

JennyJ

I think some of the blue flowers are puny specimens of Spanish bluebells that are going over. Probably self sown from somewhere nearby.

lidsarobinson

Thanks everyone. I think the best thing for me to do it just to pull everything out so that the fence can be repaired. Hard day of work ahead!