Amateur seeks green thing identification... (Photo heavy)

cjb02

3 - drumstick primula
11 - lungwort
tree 2 - might be hawthorne

cjb02

1 is aquilega vulgaris - Columbine

~Chameleon~

Number 5 also looks like a Berberis to me and I'd hazard a guess at it having yellow flowers when it eventually blooms

frivolous_fay

5 is spiky in case anyone missed that from early on

I'm not sure about the garlic mustard idea... just googled and the leaves seem more rounded (and don't smell garlicky). It's a very squat plant.

For some reason I had hawthorn in my mind when I looked at tree 2, but I don't trust my memory on plants at all

A cherry might make sense, there are cherries nearby (although by no means overhanging) and I did find a cherry stone sprouting recently in one of the beds. Sadly it then got a bad case of neglect

Not sure where the acer / maple thing might have come from... unless it's growing from the other side of the fence?

I've changed no. 10 and tree 1 pics - by the way, 10 is very hairy!

Blackjack_Davy

Garlic mustard's leaves start off rounded and grow more triangular as they grow taller. It's still early in the season, it'll grow a flower spike later. Crush the leaves or take a bite, they should have a faint garlicky smell/taste. It belongs to the mustard family (Brassicaceae)

5 is a Berberis, probably Thunbergii, and I'm certain 10 is an Astilbe.

Garlic Mustard:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic_Mustard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Garlic_Mustard_close_800.jpg

http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/food/edibleplants/garlicmustard/index.html

http://www.icode6.net/native_suburbia/invasives/images/garlic_mustard_02.jpg

http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/alpe1.htm

http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/kitchen/2002fa_garlicmustard.html

frivolous_fay

I did crush the leaves (you can see the slugs have already been at it) and didn't notice a garlicky smell.

HariboJunkie

I have loads of the primula (number 3) and I just divide them as soon as they have finiashed flowering.

frivolous_fay

Blackjack_Davy wrote: »

http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/food/edibleplants/garlicmustard/index.html

Thanks, found a pic that looks like mine in this link. It doesn't have the smell of garlic though so I don't think I'll bother eating any

serena

Ooh - I love plant identification - but Blackjack Davy has beaten me to it!! I agree with all those.

One thing I'd like to add - this looks like a very well planted garden, with some nicely chosen plants. I'd recommend waiting a full year before making any major changes, as you may dig up somehing really lovely and regret it!

If you get into gardening, I can also recommend joining a local horticultural society, or The Hardy Plant Society.

frivolous_fay

I think it was a tad more neglected in recent years... I had a problem with a tall, spindly purple flowering weed with fluffy seeds... that got EVERYWHERE and I was pulling it out of the lawn and beds for months. (I think the neighbour has a big clump of it)

The lawn is RIDDLED with violets. I didn't realise just how bad it is now until all the diddy little leaves caught the light one afternoon. And moss. Oh, the moss. Frankly the lawn's a disaster area and I'd love to rip it up and do something more fun with it

And there are a few spindly plants in odd places that don't look like they're ever going to do anything... probably because it's so dark. I had to end the suffering of the lavender, because of some dubious planning that left it smothered by a rose and a honeysuckle. Oh, and tulips that grow behind the massive rosebush And I'm not such a mad fan of the hardy geraniums... even though someone else clearly was, and now they grow like weeds And I have a moderate disliking for the tree at the bottom of the garden, which is a) spiky b) doesn't produce anything edible c) drops berries everywhere which then start growing and d) unidentifiable If it wasn't for the birds, it'd be gone by now!