Hmm, this makes me realize I don't get rid of many plants at all! I did yank out Artemesia 'Oriental Limelight' this spring - it just looked rather weedy and unattractive...and it hadn't even started on its quest for world domination yet. Actually, the thing I wonder is why did I buy it? All I can rationalize is because I didn't already have it, I guess.
Oh, I can think of one other I've been telling my neighbor I'll soon be giving her (and should do so before I forget) - 3 plants of Dame's Rocket. I shook out my seed bag out back, and hoped to see something interesting and exotic this spring, but that's what I got. Way too floppy for me.

I've already taken out some more adenophora and a bit of yarrow, but i think that will be it other than moving things around a bit. There's not a lot that i don't like in my gardens, and the only thing that has been a problem so far is the adenophora. I like it, but it's been spreading way too much!

Not going to rip out anything BUT I will be moving some things. I've got a dianthus that is behind a columbine and that really doesn't work! LOL

Actually, yes, I do plan on ripping out the Blue Flax.... maybe next spring and I'll give it to my friend who has always wanted a Blue Flax. Maybe I'll sprinkle some Blue Flax seeds in a different area that could use some colour.

I've got a lilium of some sort that is growing literally next to a platycodon. Which one to move?

For the rest I'm just waiting for more perennials to get into the "leaping" stage!

LOL, and I can't get enough of blue flax.

On my list that either have been removed or soon will be are Painted Daisies, most shasta daisies, most of the Lambs ears, and the blue fleabane (Erigeron). And unless something wonderful happens to three Honeysuckle shrubs next year, they're also on my list to remove. Evans Cherry - OMG, the suckering on these is driving me nuts, not to mention every other year they die back almost to the trunk - I hate these trees and if the task weren't so daunting I'd have dug them up this fall but I think I need to tackle them when I'm really PO'd at something - I'll need all the adrenalin I can get, I think.

"Blue Queen" Salvia is on the hit list... it will be showing up on Freecycle if I can get to it before the snow flies. It looked so much better in the garden center than it does in my garden. Rethinking the good old fashioned Shasta daisies too, who knew they'd get so tall! There may be a shrub or two that should be very afraid as well, depending on how ruthless I'm feeling.

I went back out with a bit more of a calm demeanor and decided that I need to take one more out, although I didn't get to it today. Myosotis "I'm not sure what" Forget-Me-Not. I received the seed for free in the mail and the flowers are almost microscopic. Just not showy at all. Looking in the A-Z Encyclopedia, there are many species of Myosotis and they have really nice clusters of flowers. Does anyone know if this is just a first-year thing and the flowers will be bigger next year?

Shauna

Aster sedifolius has to go, fortunately we have found a taker for it. The garden centre were we bought it described it as 30 cm tall. At present it is over 1m and spreads out for 4 feet.

It is a very nice plant, but not where it is. Then there are the Polemoniums. The only ones we had seen were P. reptens and were totally unprepared for the 70 cm plants that I started from Seedy Saturday seeds, they will go to the back of the border. Then there are several Geranium praetense plants. I knew that they were big, but they were the first hardy geraniums I was able to start from seed and I had 100% germination so I was reluctant to just dump them but now they hide the rest of the bed. I will try to move 1 or 2 them to a spot further back. Then there is a day lily. Supposedly ÂKatherine Woodbury it is not but an ugly pinkish orange that clashes with everything else near it, and is not worth the space for the paucity of bloom.

Wow Leo that is a large aster! It's nice but I could see how it's too big.

Today we got halfway through clearing an area at the east side of the yard that is a dumping ground of whatever wants to grow there, including 3 half-grown elm trees (5' from the neighbour's house - it's only polite), lilacs, and the tallest non-productive saskatoon tree I have ever seen. I did find a nice little voluteer dogwood in there, which I will be moving into another bed.

I didn't have the nerve to do it today, but I think I am going to haul all the purple & white irises out of my south foundation bed. I will keep a few around the yard but they spread too fast!!

And, I plan to rip out the caragana hedge along the front sidewalk and turn it into some kind of mixed rock garden next year. I have been collecting boulders already.

Funny you posted this today, Shauna. We are finally having a day without rain, and even some sun, so I was out there ripping out a large flopping clump of yarrow. It's a very pretty color, dark pink, but I can't find a spot where it will stand up. Plus it has only been there a couple of years and had already spread to about 3 feet in diameter.
But now you're worrying me about the oenothera biennis. I just planted Oenothera tetragona 'Fireworks' in that same bed. Is it going to become my next problem?

I think you'll be really lucky if the Oenothera tetragona winters over, and the previously-mentioned Oenothera biennis is a biennial, but both may reseed if they bloomed this year.
I've had a love-hate thing going with yarrow, A. millifolium. Well, not exactly love but tolerate? I relent every few years and plant some, then end up ripping it out in a couple of years, as it spreads all over (and because the flowers often fade unattractively). I'm currently in the "just planted, letting it spread" stage again, LOL!

Oenothera tetragona 'Fireworks' - this one is a short species....make sure its in well drained soil, it doesn't like compacted soil, otherwise it will rot, good luck over wintering it ;)

IMO, I like Myosotis alperis - Alpine Forget-Me-Not, blooms mid spring to early summer.

I'll be ripping out those daylilies that never bloom for sure, same with the Shasta Daisy's, Yarrow and some Tansy. Thin out some Lamb's Ear, Nepeta sibirica ÂSouvenir d'Andre ChaudronÂ, Nepeta mussinii Catmint, Valerain and Delphiniums.

Sharon

My apologies. I had the wrong Oenothera. Oenothera lamarchiana is what I had. I just went and found the seed packet. I'm not sure where I got the idea it was Oenothera biennis, but that is what I had written in my log. And Oenothera lamarchiana is an annual. LOL. So I did all of that ripping up in frustration for nothing. Oh well, it needed to be taken out anyway. The seed packet also says it self seeds freely and it is "an ideal plant for out of the way areas that are usually left as wasted space" - hence, between the shed and the fence. LOL. Well, I guess I don't have to worry about it coming back, anyway. Fortunately, it had not gone to seed yet.

Looking up Oenothera tetragona 'Fireworks' in the A-Z states that it belongs to a species that grows 12 - 36" high and has a spread of 12". That is much better than the 4 1/2' that mine reached.

Shauna

I did a major rip-out this spring in an effort to make room for new perennials. Lots of Iris, Daylilies, lamium, ajuga, non-performing roses (Champlain) and all duplicate perennials went. Ruthless thinning and reducing the size of things like Monarda, Heliopsis, Asters etc. Hauled many wheelbarrows away. Of course, I couldn't just throw them away so they got replanted in various places behind the barns! LOL.

So... have very little to toss this fall. A few more daylilies and Amsonia tabernaemontana. Some reseeded phlox panniculata that invariably shows up as blah lavender. Moving Arisaemea triphyllum and Mitellas to the west woodlands by the bucket full. Way to much success with their reseeding over the years.

Took out one whole row of Saskatoon Berry. Just can't put up with the mildew it gets anymore. Have yet to tackle three more shrub/hedge rows which would be better done with a backhoe but don't have one of those so I guess I will just have to rev up my engine.

Couple of comments. I avoid Achillea millifolium at all costs. It is a vicious spreader in my sandy loam soil. Not a problem for people around here on clay. Myosotis also reseeds to the point of massive invasion so got rid of that years ago. Oenethera tetragona I have kept but each spring I severely prune the clump to keep it in bounds. Grows about 18-24" and is a nice long bloomer. No Tansy...it is on the noxious weed list here. Artemesia vulgaris 'Limelight' was well on its way to world domination (to quote Lori) so I moved it into the hollowed-out center of a Basswood stump. I smile every time I walk by it....imagining it is strangling itself to death in that confined space. Warms my heart! LOL
Jan

Timely post! Yesterday I finally set to the task of moving plants to make hte front garden more organised. It was a perfect day for it - overcast, wet soil but warm.
The goats beard was hiding behind the 8 ft false sunflower; the scabiosa was hiding in the false indigo; heucheras behind all sorts of taller plants. Too many plants put too close together when they were babies.
We are extending our fence which meant moving a whole bed of perennials somewhere else. That will take a few weeks as I decide where to put my lilies as they were in an ideal spot already.
Moved the sedums, echenacia, bee balm, snow in summer, various dianthus to the front garden.
Pulled out tons of yarrow, mountain bluet, weeds weeds weeds!
Then the spent veggies - tomatoes, peppers, beans..
I have at least 6 garbage bags worth of piles on the ground and anticipate at least that many more by the time i am done. I'm determined to get this done in the fall as opposed to the spring when I usually get around to it!
Hopefully I'll have the energy to get bulbs in before frost.
This yr has been good to me. Often this time of yr I am fretting about getting everything put up , dealing with tons of unripe or ripening tomatoes. This yr everything grew and ripened so early I am done most of my canning. I only have to wait on the peppers I picked a few days back to ripen in the box. Gives me a few days to decide how I will can them.
I love the fall. You can clean the garden at your own pace and whatever you don't get done gets covered up by snow! No worries again - until spring!!
Tina

Lori, you sound just like me with the yarrow, I have a few of the A. millifolium, a red, some pink, and another blah colour that looks good for a few days and then fades so badly. They are wonderful filler plants in some places, but then the second year they do SO much more than just fill. This has been their spread their wings and flop year, so many of them are being yanked out. Still, I know if I see a certain almost scarlet flowered one sometimes, I'll probably buy it! * The name of it escapes me now, I think Christopher Lloyd listed it somewhere in a book and it looked so cheery.

I also have some nepeta that have become much too happy where they are and many of those will have to go. They reached about six feet this year, and I do like them, but they have overpopulated like proverbial rabbits. Natch, they are right next to some of the above mentioned yarrow, and have been threatening some smaller plants.

The evening primrose, being the very tall and floppy one, has also been busy for the past couple of years. I usually rip out several every year and let the rest go, they are in a garden which is semi-wild and I don't mind a few of them.
But they sure do like to pop up everywhere.
I don't have the latin names of some of these so called old timers because I've had them for years and way back then I'm afraid I wasn't too worried if I lost a tag or two.
Faith

I'd be happy if I could just get rid of the quack grass!

I have a lot of overgrown angelica that is going to go and more weeds around the back yard.

I didn't get very far with the perennial beds this year because we were away at the time I needed to be on top of things and a garage rebuilding job kept me away from another area for work.

I am rather grateful to annuals in containers at this point that at least give me colour all season until I can get the beds in order and organized to have colour and interest all summer.

Does anyone have any ideas about what I could do with asperagus that a previous owner planted at the front of the bed? I don't want to lose it, but it it sure does block the view.

Marion

North53 if your yarrow wants to flop either cut it back hard when its about a foot high or in the spring dig it up cut it in half and replant.They will stay nice and short and sturdy wont flop .The red yarrow you mention might be Paprika.

Not ripping out a heck of a lot, but my Therese Bugnet rose definitely needs some cleaning up and some of the suckers removed. ItÂs too overgrown and hasnÂt bloomed well this year. Good privacy though, as it blocks the view from the street. I already planted a pyramid cedar in that area, so eventually I may just remove the rose completely.

I also have to remove lilac suckers which keep growing under the fence from the neighbors yard.

I was debating on removing my royal star magnolia, but I go through that every year. ItÂs just that it survives, but hasnÂt grown much beyond 2 feet. But, it does have nice leaves and I donÂt think I want something too tall in that spot, so maybe it will stay.

This year I might not winter protect my hollies as much as I did last year, want to see if they can make it on their own. I donÂt know why, but I bought 4 of them last year, so if I lose a few and have to remove them in spring, so be it.

Also my coneflower at the front of the house always blooms and looks great, then wilts and dries up. The other coneflowers survive fine, so I think I will remove this one in case itÂs diseased.

My blueberry sundae daylily is one year away from being tossed. No blooms last year, nor this year. I will give it one more year. I gave one to my Mom as well, herÂs got one token bloom.

Glen

Marion, have you guys on the western side been as wet as we are here?
Man I finally got around to moving the stuff from the front bed down to the sunny side bed and man was the grouns saturated. When I dug out the Irises I could hardly lift out the clumps they were so heavy from the waterlogged soil sticking to them.
I haven't found anything yet that needs removing, but so much stuff was started from seed this spring and hasn't bloomed yet...so next year look out!
Starting stuff from seed is a funny thing....you get tons of stuff you feel so so about but only 1 of something you would love to have. I ended up with a ton of Achillea, mixed colors....I like the bright fuschia and red ones but there is a peachy one that is just blah. My one Delphinium is finally bloomed and I really like it but it is definitely going ot have to be moved to the back of the bed. When I planted it I didn't know what it was and the leaves were so flat to the ground...who knew the spike would be almost 4" tall! Its pretty much eye to eye with me!

I guess I'll have to wait and see what pops up next year.I suppose this is the downside of starting all this stuff from seed!

I broke down and dug up one of my tender roses last night - wasn't sure if I was going to do it, but it was just awful all summer, maybe 5 off-colour blooms on ugly PMed foliage and a big ole lime green sucker growing up off the back. Words can not describe how ugly it was. I think it was supposed to be either Montezuma or Electron, except that my actual Montezuma did really well this year. Anyway, it had a root like the CN Tower and took me 20 mins to dig out, but now I have space for two new roses next spring... shopping time!

Black Eyed Susans. Of course I do it every year . . .
Also my Hibiscus Kopper King. I love it, but Im tired of fighting the JBs for it, and its gotten way too huge.