Garlic mustard. Kill it.

What Cecily said, with the addition that you don't want to let any of it go to seed, and you might want to use either heavy mulch with several layers of newspaper or cardboard under it or a pre-emergent or both since there will be lots of seed in the soil. You will be battling the garlic mustard for years based on my experience in my mom's garden, but it is manageable.

My experience with 'mystery' gardens is that it is easier and more profitable to first ID the weeds and start pulling. Then over time ID the plants.

Ugh, yes, get rid of it before it goes to seed! :)

I suspected that it was something horrible and that it would be something difficult to eradicate. It might be easier to take out the good plants, save them in pots and start over.

Here are a couple of more that need ID's please.

These three are a shrub - some type of sumac?

The first 2 pics look like Aconitum (Monkshood)

2nd set looks like Stachys (Lamb's Ears)

Arum italicum

Your second post Centaurea montana? and Oriental poppy.

Yes quite probably Sumac.

I thought the second set were similar to Lamb's Ears but they aren't silver. I have read that Arum italicum is invasive? He has it planted in full sun so perhaps that curtails it spread somewhat.

Based on the poppies, Arum italicum, garlic mustard, Bachelor's Buttons and sumac - the previous owner liked the quick spreading plants which isn't good for me. Once again, I am back to the 'take out the good and start over' concept.

Additional advice on the garlic mustard. Do not put any of it in the compost. It can set seed from the flower stage even after being pulled. Most people put it in black plastic bags and send it off.

I agree with Peren.all on all but the one between the poppy and the Arum. I think it might be hawkweed, Hieracium aurantiacum, which has fuzzy leaves, and has new growth that is rather upright as in your photo but as it ages flattens out. Spreads through stolons and seed, so if that's what it is, you don't want to let it go to seed.

The last two look like ailanthis (Tree-of-Heaven). Google it to see pics. This is an invasive pest tree. I have it alongside the street and have been hacking it, poisoning it for 2 years. It is very persistent. It has a nasty smell and will take over.

#7 could be New England aster. My 'Purple Dome' looks like that now and it's quite long-lived.

I agree with the idea that it is generally much easier to install a new mixed perennial garden rather than renovate an old one.

Still it's great to see that some of the clumps above are mostly cleared of weeds. You can see weed seeds already germinating around the fall monkshood.

Clearly there's some long-lived oldies in the garden. I don't see the perhaps more flashy flowering perennials that aren't so good at fending for themselves.

You probably know that the oriental poppy (showy perennial) dies back after flowering and can leave a big gap in the bed.

Digging out perennials from weedy beds and potting them up, in my experience, often means digging out and saving weed seeds too; also true of pest (personal taste) seeding spring bulbs like Chionodoxa and Puschkinia.

The sumacs I've dealt with had a horrible habit of running and coming up all over flowerbeds and even in the lawns.

Thanks all. I read that the garlic mustard is nasty stuff and needs to be put into plastic and sent to the tip, so that is what I have been doing. Apparently, it is best to pull it and possibly leave some tap root than it is to dig it out as this causes it to 'stimulate' or 'refresh' itself according to several studies that I read.

Hawkweed? That is another new one to me. The two homes that I have had before this one didn't have any gardens so whatever has been in the gardens, I have planted so my experience with the invasive ones has been limited. The houses before this one were also in urban areas but this one is in the country where the seeds have more freedom to fly around; either that or the previous owner put them there. Even the tree is a pest!

SunnyBorders, some of the larger clumps are free of weeds because I have been weeding like crazy, there is just so much to do and so little time that I am afraid I won't be done in time to transplant mine. As I pot up the plants at my previous home, I am taking care to plant them properly in pots so that they can survive in them for a while if need be.

I agree re: Chionodoxa and Puschkinia. They are pretty but I do not like plants going where I do not want them to go.

I have several more that I will post later today - right now it is daylight and I have weeding to do!

Not much progress...

Some more, I thought I posted these yesterday but apparently not!

1. Delphinium

2.Oregano

3.Not sure but suspect an Epilobium*

4.Best guess Centaurea montana. Second guess Lychnis coronaria

5. Iris with Geranium robertianum* amongst them.

6. Best guess Campanula" species

7. Best guess Duchesnia indica"

* considered by most to be 'weeds'

" consider as potential 'weeds'

Hi floral,

Thank you for your comments, I appreciate your efforts.

The first one I do not think is Delphinium, I have had many in the past and it is darker than those. There are a few here, too and below are comparison pics.

The second one cannot be Oregano as I am zone 5 - unless there is an ornamental type??

The fifth one 'is' a type of weed in my opinion - I am sure of it as I have seen it before in my other gardens but I have never known what it was. Based on the google search of the name that you provided - you nailed it. Thankfully, it pulls easily.

It makes sense that so many of them are weeds/potential weeds due to the fact that the garden was alone for an entire season which enabled so many of them to spread and flourish.

Delphinium

The other plant

Well, I don't have personal experience of US zones but Oreganum vulgare is apparently hardy to zone 4 or 5a depending on which source you use. Is the foliage scented?

I see what you mean about the non-Delphinium. But I'd still probably go for something in the Ranunculaceae.

Have you posted these over on the Name That Plant Forum? You might get some more opinions. Name That Plant Forum

Your latest pic of "the other plant" is the one that I gave an ID of Aconitum to in this post, just a different pic of it.

Hi, Paula. Yes, oregano is hardy here. I grew it years ago at a previous property and it had a wonderful aroma.

ID on last pic..trollius or commonly known as globe flower I think...have one currently growing here...as floral-UK commented, in the ranunculus family.

You've got your work cut out for you there, Paula. Within a short time, You will have it beautiful...as you did at your last place, when you are done with it. Pace yourself. :-). Your hostas will do quite well in pots, even over the winter if need be. :-)

Last set, third picture resembles one I might have growing...an upright oenothera fruticose... that has reddish rosettes in spring. They grow quickly, are all elongated now and green. Anyone think so too?

Floral, I am in Canada but our zones are similar to the US - I think our 5 is their 4. Thanks for the tip on the Name the Plant Forum, I didn't know it was there. I assumed that there had to be an id forum but I was looking under 'I' for id.

Peren.all it is in a different flower bed, I didn't notice that it was the same plant but you are correct. So you think it is Monkshood and floral and Jo think it is Globe Flower. I will let you know if/when it flowers.

Hi Jo, does that plant look similar to your oregano? Thanks for the compliment on my previous garden. I was there tonight trying to get out the largest Hostas because they are due to leaf out and if I haven't been able to move them yet, then I will be in trouble! I agree with your id of oenothera fruticose I think I had that at a previous house - it spreads easily but is also easy to control; the name Sundrops comes to mind. I planted Oenothera missouriensis and I liked it, too so I think I will dig it up and bring it along. When I got back to this house tonight it was already after 9 but I had some hosta roots exposed so I tried to plop them anywhere to cover them over with soil for the night and of course, it started pouring rain. I ended up looking like a drowned rat lol; but the hostas should be okay which is the main thing. As a fellow hostaholic - you understand.

Here are the three of them together:

trollius

aconitum

In my garden

Same again

Lol, you know it! I've ended up a drowned rat too many times myself! When I couldn't see anymore, did I quit? Not me, I got an umbrella, a large golf-type one and continued single- handed, lol. Mud can be washed off. Hostas have to be saved!

Yes, Sundrops ... I've heard a few common names for it including buttercup, lol. My Mom gave me a piece so many years ago...I can't garden without having some around ... Like having her around, you know? Easy enough to thin out if you have too much. I'll be doing some "thinning", potting and giving some away.

Yes to your question re oregano.

As to my guess on globe flower, I'll take another look at the foliage tomorrow and confirm...it was an automatic guess...which usually means I recognize it but I'll double-check. Beautiful flowers! Well behaved plant.

Edited to say we posted simultaneously! I'll get back tomorrow...cross-eyed now, ha ha. G'night! :)

I used a streetlight so anyone who drove past my house must have thought I was/am a madwoman! Out there in the rain, covered in mud slinging plants around...too funny.

Here's my globe flower this am. What do you think?

Paula, your plant should be developing buds already, IF it is a trollius. Monkshoods have deeper green foliage, I remember shiny, bit thicker...mine finally died about 4 years ago and I didn't replace it. (Need hosta space ;))

I would trust peren.all's I.D. anytime as she is very familiar with, and surrounded by many, many beautiful plants. I'm distracted over here...going to another nursery to smell wisteria vines with my youngest daughter and there are hostas there!

I really think the last pic you show might be monkshoods by the way it grows.

Paula - I didn't write that I thought it was Trollius (Globe Flower). What I said was I thought is was in the Ranunculaceae family which Trollius is - as well as Delphinum and Aconitum. Flowers will tell us for certain.

If you could just rub and sniff the foliage of the possible Oregano you will know immediately whether that id is correct or not.

Jo - LOL!!! You are such a nurturing soul and I am so undeserving of your confidence. I know what I know but all things being relative there are several people here that have vast knowledge.

Floral_uk is an I.D. genius. She is smart enough to know how similar the foliage is within this certain plant familiy and will say that it is in the Ranunculaceae family for that reason.

I, on the other hand will sometimes leave myself open to being wrong by being specific. As Floral said the flowers will be the 100% deciding factor.

Well said. I Agree 100% with you re paragraphs 2&3!!! You are too modest, however....my confidence in you is well-placed ;-).

I enjoy reading this forum and occasionally being able to add my two cents, lol.

Can't wait for the pretty flowers, whichever they are.

I can't wait for the flowers, either. I really value this resource, it is wonderful to tap into the knowledge and experience of so many people, especially now being in the position that I am in, where I have plants in my garden, that I didn't put there!

Went to my other house today and the spring plants are gorgeous - Basket of Gold, Primroses, Creeping Phlox, Lungwort, Trilliums, Tulips, Daffodils, the Hyacinth - I really miss seeing them everyday. Oh well, once I get sorted out a bit better, I will bring them here.

How fortunate, and gratifying it must be to be able to bring so much of your garden with you. Good planning, Paula!

I believe that the plant that looks like lambs ears is actually rose campion. You also have some glorioso daisies in one of your pics (I think - the one above the iris/geraniums). The shrubs are definatly spirea. I lost track of what pic is what number but I also think you have some english daisies, spurge, and wild strawberries

I listed Lychnis coronaria (Rose Campion) in my suggestions above. It looks as if it should flower soon and we'll know for sure. It was my alternative choice after Centaure montana. It isn't at all like Lambs Ears imo.

I don't see anything I'd id as English Daisies.

An update. The vast majority of the garlic mustard is gone...what a job that was! My DH even began to help me, it was that bad.

A photo of the plant that looked like lamb's ear or rose campion. The grey colour doesn't seem to be as predominant.

Aconitum (Monkshood) I don't think this is Trollius because there aren't any buds.

Centaurea montana next to a poppy.

The 'oregano plant'

One small bed before and after photo. There are six beds this size and a large bed about 20' wide by 40' long, plus about 15 shrubs in their own beds and all of these beds were overgrown with garlic mustard. You can see one edge of the large bed in the photo below and a few of the shrubs in the background.

Congratulations on the Garlic Mustard :-) Keep your eyes open for seedlings from now on.

Your top photo in this latest set of pictures is indeed Stachys i.e. Lambs Ears. However, it shows a different plant from the one you posted in your other sets of photos. That one appears to have turned out to be the Centaurea montana I suggested in my first response.

I've read back through the thread and I can't see any reference to whether or not you have tried the scrunch and sniff test on the 'Oregano'. That would confirm/eliminate that id once and for all.

Thank you re: garlic mustard. I won't ever forget what that plant looks like!

The top photo is the same plant that I first posted; that is what it looks like now 2 weeks later. I think that is what you meant. What do you mean by 'that one' appears to have turned out...

The scrunch and sniff test, I am slightly embarrassed to say, won't work for me as I do not know what Oregano smells like.

Congratulations indeed Paula, that bed looks great!

You are going to have a terrific garden, between the plants you will keep from your new house and everything coming from your previous home.

There seems to be some confusion over your Stachys, I think because folks are looking at the set of pics from May 11th as opposed to the May 7th pic. Those square stems are a very telling feature of that plant. If they get full sun they should silver up.

So happy to see your progress!

OK - I've got the Stachys pictures sorted out now. I thought I'd scrolled right to the top but I hadn't.

Regarding the Oregano - it doesn't matter if you don't know what Oregano smells like. If it has a strong herbal scent that's a strong indicator since it isn't any other common herb that I know of. If you can't detect any scent then it is definitely not Oregano. It's just a way of eliminating that candidate. It's going to flower soon so that might also help id it.