Mystery Guests

[SueA]

I wondered if anyone else has plants which just appear in their garden & they have no idea where they came from. A few years ago a tiny plant popped up from a crack in the paving stones & since then it has self-seeded around the garden. I didn't know what it was but have since found out that it is Viola labradorica & it is gorgeous(perhaps I should add it to the 'plants to take over my garden thread).Have any other grapes got any pleasant surprises in their gardens (plantwise I mean).

[nick the grief]

30' tall silver birch I never planted it & it either came courtisy of some composted bark or a passing bird

[smallblueplanet]

...and you never noticed it until it was 30' high????

[nick the grief]

never been whtat you might call observant I first noticed it in its 2nd year, at the time I was going through a non gardening phase, it lasted about 30 years then when I decided I ought to do my garden it was about 4' tall so I left it as it has great bark & loads of bird life. Silver birch is 2nd only to our native oak for the number of species of insect it supports, and not a lot of people know that

[smallblueplanet]

I like silver birch very much and used to have them when we lived in Derbyshire. Don't see many of them in the Vale of Pewsey, so this time we planted a native hedge (although I've seen silver birch used as a hedging plant they will stand being chopped/pollarded).

[Nicos]

SueA...I have that very plant in my garden too..only noticed it yesterday in my lawn under a magnolia tree. It's lovely, and I have no idea where it came from!!

Also get interesting cereals etc growing under the bird feeders Not grown anything illegal...thank goodness! but Trill birdfood ,I believe, used to used to cause problems in the past. I hope they carefully regulate it's contents in the interest of health and safety to the local birdlife.

Weeds in the oddest places are the only other unwelcomed guests!! (must take time-out to learn to post photos!!) - Anyone else got interesting places weeds grow, aswell as 'wanted weeds??'

[Birdie Wife]

In my last house there was couch grass growing in the guttering above the windows. The estate wouldn't let us go up ladders ourselves to take it out, Health and Safety. We did it anyway.

[SueA]

Never had a mystery 30' silver birch but had quite a few ash & sycamore saplings appear from nowhere!

[PJB]

I seem to have a few mystery guests. Probably my biggest surprise was a rose which is only about 30cm tall at present. I had never thought of roses as being self seeding for some reason. Got a few holly seedling this year around the place too.

[Alice]

Get on with the posting photos bit Nicos, we're all dying to see. If I can do it, anyone can. Follow the links to Picasa and you'll have no problem. See your piccies soon.

[JennieAtkinson]

SueA - I have had a few violas poke their heads up through the paving slabs, and they are so tiny and beautiful. But I don't seem to be able to manage to grow them in a pot. Do you think they need poor conditions?

Our most interesting visitor was a small group of montbretia bulbs growing in the guttering. They looked very pretty! Our house is very high (old manse etc) and so we didn't notice them until a friend asked if I was going in for unusual window boxes One had flowered and hung over the top of the guttering!

[SueA]

Jennie, I managed to uproot a little piece of the viola & transplant it to a pot but it seems to spread of it's own accord to various pots & patches so I don't think it minds where it grows. How on earth did you get monbretia up there? It must have been an enterprising squirrel or bird who planted up your gutter! I have seen buddleias growing in peoples gutters though -that seems to pop up everywhere.

[JennieAtkinson]

Sue we think the montbretia must have got into the guttering by a bird (we don't have any squirrels here). We were watching the starlings this morning building the nest under the car bonnet again (we lift the bonnet to stop them building but all it does is give us a good view of them carrying on building). OH had his car serviced the other day and the first item on the service said "removed birds nest!" We had removed one before we took the car to the garage - there must have been another one underneath!

[SueA]

Does Bill Oddie know about your garden Jennie? He could probably do a full programme about your bird life!

[fruit&vegvirgin]

white violets - always had lots of violet violets, but suddenly have a clump of white ones!