So regarding the mint discourse, I’m an absolute fan of plants that I have to wage war on. Which is why I plant the mint without any sort of barriers and let it do its thing. It’s invigorating. Do know what other veg/herb plants also do this? I want to have a garden that’s constantly at war with itself.

emi–rose:

systlin:

systlin:

Raspberries/blackberries. 

Strawberries. 

Tansy. It’s lovely, and forms a neat clump, and then seeds itself around your garden with about seven million tiny seeds, 150% of which germinate. Please help, I’m drowning in tansy over here.

Iris. Old fashioned iris, to be specific. Orris root, dried, is used to fix perfumes in potpourri and perfumery. 

Soapwort. 

Many old-fashioned roses, which will sucker all over the place into an impenetrable thorn hedge. (My Goal around the yard, and why I planted Hansa, which is doing a lovely job of it. Also, tasty hips and flowers.)

Zucchini. Any squash, to be fair. 

Daylilies. 

(All parts edible, buds and root bulbs particularly tasty. Form neat clumps and will outlive you, your house, and possibly the human race)

Hollyhock. Decorative and edible. Ground root is a good dress for bruises, swellings, and ulcers. 

Ostrich fern. Loves shady damp spots like Genghis Khan likes conquering, and the fiddleheads in spring are absolutely delicious. 

Wild grape. 

Chives. 

Wormwood; similar situation to the tansy. Please send help. 

Fennel and dill, which, if you let go to seed, will seed themselves like tansy. 

Violets; delicious and indestructible. 

Yarrow. 

Cucumbers ARE a squash, btw. 

And many of them have useful medicinal properties!

I lived for six years in a cottage that my late grandmother had planted out almost exclusively with a)agapanthas, b)honeysuckle, c)morning glory, and d)a climbing rose that wanted to take over the world and had very sharp thorns. I wanted to garden. I did my best to garden. Some years I even got some nice crops of vegetables and the outside of the house didn’t look like garbage. But I never won, I never managed to control the infestation, and when I moved out, the garden was still full of all four things. I HATED MY GRANDMOTHER FOR THIS. By all means, plant a few things that spread themselves around, but not four species at once in a tiny garden that are all trying to kill a)all the other plants and b)you/your pets/all visitors/the house itself.

The rose, btw: