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Mystery Plants
TheGardeningBerry
Posts: 6
in Plants
I have recently moved into a cotswold stone property where the previous owners have created a tropical garden (one of their many crimes!) There are a number of plants which even my man is struggling to identify so any help wou be appreciated. I don't want to remove any plants which are beautiful in summer 
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1st. one looks like Euphorbia myrsinites.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Give them a chance! They won't be truly tropical or they won't survive in the Cotswolds, they will just be things that can give a tropical feel. They may be perfectly good plants that would still look good grown in more traditional ways
Thank you both, definitely right about number 1 having done some research, I've trimmed it back as it's taken over a public footpath but looks like it will flower so thats great! I think 3 & 4 are herbs now as they smell lovely but still unsure on number 2 ?
No 2 looks like a Sedum - assuming we're talking about the plant in a pot just below that wheel?
The last one has Hebe like foliage, but could also be a thyme. Difficult to see them clearly from the photos as I can't get a good idea of the scale.
No idea what the third one is. Too messy, but there could be some chives in there. Have you tried crushing the foliage on those two to see if there's any scent? Chives and thyme are both distinctive
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hi Fairygirl! Yes completely agree on the Thyme & Chives! I knew they smelt lovely but wasn't sure exactly what they were
I'm noy sure about the sedum (it feels soft nearly furry at the moment) but I'm leaving that one alone as I'm sure it'll flower it was more a question around the grass, it's gone mad and I'm not sure if I should clear some of it.
The plant to the left of the wheel in no.2 (with the greyish-green leaves) looks a bit like perennial cornflower, Centaurea montana. Or maybe lamb's lugs, Stachys byzantina. The brownish grassy plant might be a weed, or might be a bronze-leaved Carex perhaps...
Those plants with the small scented leaves are pretty well bound to be thymes, I think.
Sorry Sophie - didn't see your post until I'd finished mine. Furry leaves would fit in with lamb's lugs. If there's too much grass/carex or you don't like it, pull some of it up. It's your garden so you should only keep what you like.
Think you're right Liri - it does look more like Lamb's lugs (Stachys). I couldn't see it very clearly. If it's fuzzy, it's definitely not Sedum, so I'd say Stachys for that one.
I don't see any bronze Carex - only old foliage
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Maybe, Fairy... just thought the seed head to the right of the downpipe in picture 1 looked a bit carex-like... and the foliage on my Carex comans goes that colour in the winter. But you're right, of course - it could be old foliage of any number of plants, desirable or otherwise.
Maybe Sophie could resist removing too much until spring, when things will start to grow again...
The dry brown leaves look like the remains of an orange crocosmia to me.
The ones in front of the wheel, not the ones in the pot.