I know, I know

[Maggie1]

I did that also but with 3 cornered leek from Cornwall. It looks like a white bluebell but smells of onions. Its different to wild garlic. I thought I'll have some of that and take it back for my garden, especially as I had a white garden at the time. Blimey I got over run with it. Each flower is like a tiny bulb and they just drop everywhere. In the end I had to dig and riddle all the earth as some of the pips are so small. Such a shame as its a lovely flower.

[lancashire lass]

The interesting thing about rosebay willow is that there are variations in colour. I remember the ones that were along the railway lines were distinctly pink, yet the ones in flower near where I live are more purple.

Also called Fireweed as it used to grow out of bomb sites

they are opportunistic plants and take advantage of cleared ground such as after a forest/bush fire. I remember watching a tv programme about life returning to the devastation caused by the eruption of Mt St Helen and apparently these plants were the first to colonise the barren land.

Each flower is like a tiny bulb and they just drop everywhere

bluebells are the same. Long story short, I used to live next door to an obnoxious neighbour who would come uninvited into my tiny front garden and rearrange it and plant things I didn't want. Despite the polite no thank you, she carried on so I decided to take everything out but I could never get rid of the bluebells!!!! Even weedkiller seemed to have no effect

[wendy]

It is no more
Today it has started to go to seed, so OH pulled it up.
The roots on it were horrendous, so you were right.

[Maggie1]

You can imagine what it had been like if it had seeded. Its mur.der once it gets a hold.

[LittleBrownFrog]

'one year's seed, seven years' weeds' my mum says!

[Mo]

I walked up to my daughter's yeasterday. All along the verge the ditch was purple with Great Willow herb. Wherever the hedge had a ditch next to it all the way along my mile walk.
Lots of purple flowers, vetch, thistles, knapweed, but mostly willowherb. Along the main road it's all yellow with ragwort, but the farmers locally seem to be on top of that.

[Maggie1]

The hedgerows seem to be different over here. We do get a few of those you've mentioned but earlier on we had wild stock and now we've got everywhere covered with meadowsweet. Its got a strange perfume and the leaves smell of lemon.

[Kaeta44]

We've dedicated a small area in our little garden where we only grow wild flowers - even wild garlic, which has an ... er ... interesting smell, but such pretty flowers. My mother also used to say a weed is just a flower growing in the wrong place, and she was right.

[wendy]

I back onto a 54 acre field that belongs to the local water company.
When we first came to live here the farm had cows in there. But the farm is no longer working and has been rented out to a security company, so the field is left to grow.
This year it has been beautiful.
First the dandelions and buttercups. Then some soft grasses went to seed and we had swathes of pink. Now it is full of ragwort and that weed that has a mass of flowers forming an umbrella type big flower. So now it is just yellow and white truely a pleasure to walk around daily.
They have in the past sold it for hay and after it was cut, the local [large] Hari Krishna group came with their oxen and cart to collect the bales, such a lovely picture. But of course I never took photo's.
It won't go for hay now as it is just covered with ragwort.