Ok, thanks then it's time for a hair cut. I sure would hate to see that bed full of nothing, well the asters are starting to bloom and the slyssum is doing well, but knowing the bb's will keep on till fall is nice to know. Thanks.

thanks for all your replies. I think you have nailed each of them. funny about the impatient, a few years ago I had a lovely impatient basket hanging above the bed where these 'wild' ones have appeared, so it would seem the seeds are from the tame impatient. I have kept a few and now they have bloomed, quite beautiful yellow flowers. Yes, Knautia, the flower looks so much like the pincushion-Scabiosa- I wonder if they are related. The Knautia has not spread and the Scabiosa have. Ladybells seems right also, there is a rosette with only a tinge of red, but I would not call them aggresive. However, bear in mind my zone. They do spread somewhat so I can imagine under more favorable conditions they would spread more.

It is a very tough plant and does tolerably well with dry conditions (our summers are hot and dry, though probably nothing like yours!). It reseeds, but not in a pesky sort of way. The flowers are large and quite lovely, though don't last terribly long. It is not a personal favorite of mine, since it looks rather scruffy after blooming and doesn't send up very much new growth even if cut back to the ground (that is my experience anyhow). Might not be a bad idea to plant it more toward the middle of the border instead of up front, where it is more noticeable in its less-than-attractive times ;-) CMK

plz add your location to your name ... on the members page ... if you plan on being around much ... sowing seed this time of year .. is hard .. e.g. here in MI its been 90 plus degrees .. and that isnt seedling heat ... if you get my drift ... they probably wont be able to get enough root down.. to survive the heat.. unless you can mist them every few hours ... its also why.. my beloved cornflowers.. have put out one flower .. and look rather anemic ... ill ignore them.. and see what happens ... if you have the seed.. whats to lose ... on ANYTHING you are thinking about cutting back .... just look down the stem.. and see if you can see small buds where leaves are attached.. if you see them.. they can be cut back ... also.. since you have a ... and i quote.. a gazillion of them ... cut a few ... and see what happens .... in a week ... if there are dormant buds ... in a week they will extend far enough to really see them ... ken