That's the first thing I thought - pokeweed.

Yes, interesting this one. I had it growing in my garden when I first moved in - no idea what it was. It was the plant that got the most attention from the public during garden tours. For something which I later found out many considered a 'weed' it sure got a lot of interest and attention! I noticed that it would spread but easy enough to remove seedlings.

Just wait till the birds eat those beautiful blue berries and drop/mark your beautiful concrete or white siding.... But I agree it's a hearty plant with neat leaves and berries. I do not have a full grown plant on my place and I still get at least 30 seedlings a year in my gardens alone, not counting what starts in the grass and of course gets mowed. Thanks, birds!

garden tours are great fun.. eh ....

but i am surprised none of the tourers were gardeners enough to tell you its a noxious weed for most of us ...

they are poisonous in all aspects ... though there is a way to make salad out of them...

but the biggest problems is the berries look like pretty little grapes.. and attract children.... and that aint good..

glad you got rid of it.. and great job getting all the roots out ...

ken

Thankfully, most of the children who dare enter my garden are well enough trained not to put random things in their mouth, whether it be grass, manure, leaves, bird feathers, unknown berries, or what have you, I actually don't find it surprising at all that people did not know of it, and then some who did actually embraced it! Live, love and learn is what I say.

A weed is a flower growing in the wrong place.

littlebug - ain't that the truth!?

I have them coming up all the time, and if you don't get them small they're a pain to get out. Ironically enough I've killed the variegated ones twice now and the yellow 'sunnyside up' one is struggling, even though they're both normally as vigorous as the straight green...

We used to use the purple dye of the berries to draw on each other. As far as I know we all grew up semi-normally, but at least we were smart enough not to eat them.

Funny, I went to a garden centre (which was NOT dissing it as a weed, but selling it as a native perennial) and they had the variegated version in their display gardens. It was a mature specimen and quite large, like a 7 foot tree, and it was quite stunning actually. And they were SOLD OUT.

I visited a garden on a Garden Conservancy Open Garden Day this past weekend that had a variegated version of this one. It obviously seeds around as enthusiastically as the all green one and comes true to type by seed since there must have been 40 or so of all sizes in 1 1/2 acres. It appeared that the garden's owner let them grow where there was room and they would add foliage contrast, but removed them if they sprouted in an inopportune spot. The bright leaves made them easy to spot.