ID of some clay-loving foliage spikes, please?
Hello all, at the bottom of my newish - to me - garden there is a clay swamp! It contains at least three types of upright foliage spikes and I'd like to ID them, if anyone is able to help.
Here's a general overview of the area, which was quite barren when I moved in - there's a woodpile that was partially burned there last autumn, so the ground has been scorched. Clay being clay, it was very wet in the winter, and has now baked dry in the sun: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8907108/IMG_20150606_150423453.jpg?raw=1
The three residents all look a little similar - the tallest ones are about 4 foot or so. You can just see the dalek compost bin on the right of the previous picture for scale! Most of them have quite narrow, hairy leaves with a silvery sheen to them - I've seen lots of these growing by rivers but I don't know what they are. No flowers have appeared yet (biennial, perhaps?): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8907108/IMG_20150606_150522143.jpg?raw=1
A couple of them have broader leaves and seem to be splaying out into multiple stems now that they've got some height to them. Buds are starting to appear but haven't opened yet. These two look to be the same species, one has spread out a little more than the other: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8907108/IMG_20150606_151407388.jpg?raw=1 and https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8907108/IMG_20150606_151430732.jpg?raw=1
And finally there's a delicate little one not nearly as tall and thick-stemmed as the other two, with very thin leaves, and a scattering of pink flowers, which Google seems to suggest is some kind of willowherb, though it would be nice to confirm: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8907108/IMG_20150606_150709915.jpg?raw=1
Any help on names appreciated!
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No 1 is full of bindweed
The whole of the bottom of the garden is full of bindweed, it was quite an effort to try to find examples that mostly showed their own foliage instead!
Might I suggest you use canes in your plants. The bindweed will climb up the canes( you might have to give them a little helping hand) then you can dab them with Roundup gel and kill it.
We moved here 3 years ago and this is how I've been getting rid of it.
The tall fuzzy one is Great Willowherb and the last is a smaller type of willowherb but I don't know which one. Not sure about the middle two though
That's a very good suggestion, thank you - I wasn't at all sure how to tackle it. Right now I've "dealt" with the infestation by cutting a path through with a strimmer, but that's at the cost of damaging other inhabitants that might be nice.
There's cuckoo pint in the same area and I like the idea of having a woodland section in the bottom third. Preferably not woodland that's full of bindweed and brambles and nothing else, though.
Thanks Victoria - looks like Great Willowherb will be good for flowers in the next few months, the bees will be pleased!
It's quite a successful plant I have to tell you, likes damp ground. You might end up with more than you want
I've seen some nipplewort and herb robert as well. There's still one in there I haven't fixed though
In the sticks near Peterborough
The same could be said for the bindweed that it's in battle royale against, he he. I hope I don't have to resort to buying a goat.
Greater willowherb is great for wildlife - it's the foodplant of several butterfly larvae, including the Elephant Hawkmoth, so keep your eyes open
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.