the word weed has many definitions ... and one is.. something you dont want ... etc ...

but i never heard of a glamorized one.. lol ..

anyway ... i had to search the common name.. and it seems that you are talking about ajuga ... it would be nice to take the next step and actually ID which you have ... a pic or two will get you that ID.. here or in the name that plant forum. ...

on the one hand ... it can be a very nice ground cover ..

on the other hand.. you indicate it self sowed in your garden.. which means it does have proclivities to spreading around ... ...

but on the third hand....???.. you seem to find value in it ...

if you like it.. move it around ... you can always remove it later ....

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bugleweed&t=ffcm&ia=web

Good points, as usual, Ken. Your mention of 'ground cover' made me think of a better place for it (between a few stepping stones i just installed). I'll give it a try there and see how it goes.

Will try to post a pic today for the curious.

Also, will try to over-think less when it comes to gardening...especially when the plant is free!

It is a very popular groundcover here, in all its various forms :-) But like many groundcovers, it can spread aggressively under the right conditions. I prefer to keep it confined or as a single species planting, rather than mixed with other plants.

hl_60, some 5 years ago or so, I decided to plant Black Scallop Ajuga as ground cover in my mostly hosta garden. It is a beautiful dark purple and black leafy plant which has an amazingly gorgeous blue-purple bloom. When it did bloom, people stopped and asked what it was. It grows and spreads quickly. You can dig out pieces of it and plant it in other spots without too much fuss. Also it is durable enough to walk all over without injury to the plant. OK-----that's the good........the bad is that it does spread so much so, by the third year, you will start having to dig it out of places because it is beginning to choke out your plants. It will grow right through and around them. Slugs and cutworms love to hide in those leaves. So, last summer (2019) I decided I was going to dig it out completely. I was a huge task! It took days and days.....you see the the plant has that obnoxious root system where there is a "mother" plant and she sends out all kinds of long vines that create more mothers. (I'm sure there's a name....) The problem is the moms are darn near impossible to dig out. I certainly injured my shoulder before realizing I needed a "Root Slayer" which helped a great deal. I will have to be on watch early for any signs of ones we didn't get. Sooooooo, maybe that will help you make a decision. I'll see if I can find a photo.

And next year you will be digging them out again...

and next year...

and next year.

It isn't something we've managed to get out of the beds in decades of trying. (poisons are out of the question for reasons involving the federal government - seriously)

Zone 5b: Have struggled over years with numbers of garden perennials, let alone weeds. but have not found bugleweed to be unmanageable. My experience: it's been easy to keep on top of.

I also do not find it nearly as problematic as many other popular groundcovers. And most plants tend to grow rather rampantly in my climate :-)

Deer help control mine so its' rampant growth is a positive for me.

I regret anyone having planted it (when it shows up in my yard). And..if part of the common name is 'weed', you should probably beware.

Oh man, now ya’ll are making me rethink this.... :) here is a picture of the plant in question for those that are curious (or just bored from being stuck in the house!).

It is FREEZING here, so i have time to decide. Thank you all for the advice!

I have found it very easy to remove from good soil with lots of organic matter, although it spreads faster there, too. It is very difficult to remove from compacted clay soil. But in nice soil it all rips out in one piece, and it’s quite manageable. In hard soil you leave behind all the little stubs that will happily grow back.

personally, for ease of growth, and excellent carefree performance, I’m happy to put up with some maintenance. It’s evergreen here, and tolerates shade, drought, and foot traffic, and even where it spreads it doesn’t overwhelm larger plants because of how short it is. I can think of many plants that are much worse.

It's blooming here and the bees are enthusiastic.

I think that like with many plants, how aggressive it is and how difficult it is to remove depends on where you are and what your soil is like.

I wish it would spread aggressively for me. I don't know why but it has failed to thrive repetitively for me. I've planted multiple cultivars and just can't keep it. It just peters out.

I have found it is not at all tolerant of having fallen leaves linger on top of it. If you have it planted beneath deciduous trees that will certainly control it, at least that has been the case for me.

Here it is

It barely hangs on here but it is hot and dry and I don't irrigate so it does have a hard life. It comes up real easy here. I have one good sized A. reptans that was collected in Central Texas. Must have been from bottom land and not the uplands of these rough limestone hills. I get a sporadic blooming on wet years. Sometimes it dissaoears and then reappears a few years later. I am lacsidasical about it.