How do I get rid of these alliums?

I've never seen a poppy in that area as I think they like better soil.

That's probably why they always did so well in corn fields.

In my experience (I have a small acreage as well as a garden) areas that are left entirely to themselves get taken over by docks, nettles and brambles. No doubt supporting all sorts of animals and insect but not a thing of beauty...

I'm sure that some management, such as grazing or mowing is a absolutely necessary.

M0nica

I have a 30ft square area, which has essentially had nothing but an annual cut for the last 30 years, although I did pull nettles out the first year as they threatened to take over.

It has been interesting to see how my 'rewilding' plot has gone. The one thing it is not, is a beautiful wildflower meadow, As time progresses it has been taken over by different plants to the almost total exclusion of everything else, first buttercups, replaced by dandelions, replaced by daisies, eplaced by cow parsley. I wait to see what will replace that.

Mine's been taken over by hawkbit. I thought at first it was coltsfoot but the leaves are different.

Last year I had a couple of viper's bugloss but they don't seem to have appeared yet this year.
A clump of oxeye daisies have appeared this year too.

I did fling a few wildflower seeds down a couple of seasons ago (poppies, cornflowers and oxeye daisies) but realised it's probably better left to chance as the ground is very poor.
I've never seen a poppy in that area as I think they like better soil.

MaizieD I agree, my patch except in the period when it has a full flush of fowers (this year, cow parsley), is not a thing of beauty, but it cannot be seen from the house. I am very belatedly putting insect houses on the adjacent fence because. I suspect, while not a thing of beauty, it has a better population of insects than a carefully maintained 'wildflower garden'.

I feel that your patch is true rewilding, too, MOnica 😆

I was thinking about all those gorgeous roundabouts which were very fashionably planted with multicoloured wild flowers a few years ago and which ended up looking less than gorgeous after a year ot two...

I think that it's a bit of a con when people buy things like seed bombs and aren't warned that the effects are transitory.

I do think it's interesting that a 'managed' patch (however lightly) ends up looking far more attractive than a truly wild and untouched one...

Maizie, i have always assumed wild flower meadows were carefully created, or carefully grazed over 100s of years. That is why I set out to do a piece of true rewilding, just letting a patch of grass do its own thing and see what happened.

I cut mine once a year in the late summer and take off everything I cut and compost it.

However I do feel that my patch is true rewilding and not a carefully managed affectation.

I think that next year I will try the covering up method in the problem areas with holes for the shrubs to grow through. How long will I have to leave it for, though? A year, two?

Oh, I missed that you mentioned an annual cut. What time of year do you do that?p

M0nica

I have a 30ft square area, which has essentially had nothing but an annual cut for the last 30 years, although I did pull nettles out the first year as they threatened to take over.

It has been interesting to see how my 'rewilding' plot has gone. The one thing it is not, is a beautiful wildflower meadow, As time progresses it has been taken over by different plants to the almost total exclusion of everything else, first buttercups, replaced by dandelions, replaced by daisies, eplaced by cow parsley. I wait to see what will replace that.

I think the idea that 'beautiful wildflower meadows' will materialise if you let nature take over is a work of romantic fiction. They need to be seeded initially and then take lots of work to keep them looking as diverse and beautiful as they did in the first year or two. Left to themselves, as you describe, MOnica they tend to revert a few dominant species.

Do you mow your wild patch at any time?

I have a couple of troublesome spots - where I really should dig out the bulbs.

Instead, due to back problems, I've covered them with weed fabric then boards to cut out all the light. The boards are disguised by gravel and I've put some pots on top, so it looks like deliberate displays.

I have actually bought Japanese Anemones after the ones moves from my mother-in-law's garden just disappeared!

Lots of these so-called "invasive" plants don't like our garden.
Even various mints have had to be replanted... except one tiny pot of Lemon Balm - which totally takes over if I'm not on top of it very early in the season!

This year I have horse chestnuts coming up everywhere even in the middle of plants. Thanks Squirrel 😂

Contrary to most of you I hope mine spread, I’ve only got a few put in two years ago.

I have the same with Japanese Anemones - they pop up in the lawn and all over the place.

Esmay

After digging up /cutting back as many as you can - try this :

Cover them with thick black plastic bags and weight them down carefully .

I've had to do this to the incredible army of weeds , which come under the fence from my reclusive neighbour's garden - not tended for 30 years .

Good advice.

Similarly, when we wanted to kill vegetation, we covered it with heavy black plastic and a heavy layer of bark or mulch.

After digging up /cutting back as many as you can - try this :

Cover them with thick black plastic bags and weight them down carefully .

I've had to do this to the incredible army of weeds , which come under the fence from my reclusive neighbour's garden - not tended for 30 years .

I inherited Japanese Anemone when I moved here and find that they're dreadfully invasive. I rip out any new signs of them but still keep finding them poking up between pavers and in different parts of the garden. Never put any part of them in your compost bin, they spread like weeds.

AskAlice

PamelaJ1 Thank you - I can sympathise with you also. we have woods at the bottom of the garden which are full of sycamores. Each spring we both spend hours pulling up thousands of seedlings! Between those and the alliums I am at least keeping fit with all the bending and digging!!!

If we didn't take charge of the seedling trees we'd be living in Sleeping Beauty's Forest!

My aliums don't seem to spread much and I wish they would.

Goodness only knows, would you like some Japanese anemones? Mine's in a pot, Pamela and that's where it is staying.

Don't ever plant oregano, in a pot or anywhere! It's a thug.
So is feverfew.
So are those nice little blue grape hyacinths

Planted two bulbs of these, they did nothing, so planted a wigelia in that spot, cut wigelia back last year, to the ground, hey ho, up pop the allium, Christophii, they've been breeding underground quietly, love them , so do the bees, , they can stay.

Totally really more than so annoyed at my neighbours Sycamore tree this year! Usually have to weed a few aeroplane seedings. As they are affectionately known. This year I have weeded millions. Weed killed hundreds of thousands. They are still appearing. Hey ho. The tree has a conservation order on it. Hopefully not too many more to weed.

Don’t ever plant arum italicum pictum!

I have a 30ft square area, which has essentially had nothing but an annual cut for the last 30 years, although I did pull nettles out the first year as they threatened to take over.

It has been interesting to see how my 'rewilding' plot has gone. The one thing it is not, is a beautiful wildflower meadow, As time progresses it has been taken over by different plants to the almost total exclusion of everything else, first buttercups, replaced by dandelions, replaced by daisies, eplaced by cow parsley. I wait to see what will replace that.

I'll try to post some pictures, to give you an idea of the scale...

Acres of flower beds would be lovely...but my garden is 50ft by 30ft. I do grow lots of bee friendly plants, have raised veg beds and a 6x6 greenhouse and my garden is by no means manicured, but these alliums have rather taken over! You can have too much of a good thing . I had similar with muscari and did do the dig, dig, dig method but I am getting older and my back is complaining.

I can't use anything too toxic as I have a tortoise and although I have tortoise-proofed the bed in question, there is always the chance that she might manage to climb over the barrier. Tortoises are notorious climbers, believe it or not!!!

Germanshepherdsmum

That sounds brilliant Norah. The roses are wonderful too this year. All very natural here though - I would never win an award for garden design. Almost everything seeding where it wants is welcome - forgetmenots, alliums, poppies, aquilegias, foxgloves, cow parsley, hardy geraniums, English bluebells, valerian, toadflax, you name it. If it seeds somewhere that means it’s happy there and that’s fine with me.

Thank you, our gardens are lovely.

We have many traditional, old fashion 'you name it' flowers.

The roses are now fantastic!

My husband seeds clover in the midst, for nitrogen (and pretty). Same as with crop rotation and clover in farming - sustainability.

I throw coffee grounds on some plants, tea leaves on others, daughters' egg shells, and use huge pots of gathered rain water. I also compost veg waste and dig that into the soil when ready.