Spritzhenry's Inbox

I have jenny Pym and a deep purple double that I think may have come from you or I bought it at Reighton gc. I don't have a pale double. I have single V. minor in blue and the white and the white is a variegated leaf.
They have both slowly covered part of a bed where S parks the van and until I have the time to do anything else at lease it s keeping the weeds down.

it'll match the colour of the stone behind it then!

if it sets seeds can I be cheeky and scrounge some ? please pretty please?

you are so much further on than me. its the cold up here you know ;o)

and genuinely meant. you have an excellent eye for colour combo's.

Can't remember now Spritz - it was a really popular one though.

yes I know but at least I know what to look out for. The Jekyll one is bouncing into the lower stems of the climbing hydrangea and looks pretty at the moment. :o)

I can sort of see what is special but not in my preferred preference either. I prefer clean colours rather than 'muddy' ones.

Not only it can overtake your garden but it can overtake several acres of your forest. As some people show the blue bell forest floor, ours is covered with vinca. We have both vinca minor and major. I also have a problem with Lysimachia nummularia (creeping jenny) Several wheelbarrow loads every couple of years. I have to be careful how I dispose these plants as they want to grow where I pile them.

Now I have a bone to pick with you lady!!! You very generously gave me 3 of these vincas. mind you so far so good. I think you may have warned me about Gertrude ! They are not a nuisance yet :o)

that's a lovely coloured pea, mine is two tone pink.

mine is clumping quite well Andrew but not as far one as this one.

this is lovely spritz. non of my aquilegia have any buds yet

Scotsgran there was a long blog about thugs , I think it was last year - we all seemed to have at least one! Min e is the pink geranium too - have steered clear of vinca although its so pretty. Spritz, just reading about your barrowloads made me feel tired! and i thought I had had a busy day in the garden...

now this is gorgeous, such subtle colours that work so well together.

very different spritz. Are you not keen? Its an unusual shade of pink almost into beige isn't it?

As soon as I saw this I knew it had your signature all over it. It is so pretty Spritz. well done.

I bet it will look stunning, hoping for pictures ;0)

I went looking to see if there is a page in goypaedia for potential thug plants. I did not find one but I did find your struggle in 2010 to keep it under control. It is so easy to take your eye off the ball and Vinca just shoots away. I can hear how delighted you are to be able to design a new bed. It will help dispel the frustration at all the hard work you have done and all that still needs doing. You have our sympathy but we enjoy the challenges and solutions you show us.

Don't seem to have a problem with my Vinca - yet, but Geranium ' Love Lace' different story.

I'd say a lot of us have a few cautionary tales to tell Spritz, its a lesson thats often learnt the hard way, I do have quite a few patches of vinca but luckily mine is in the dogrun area, anything in there has to be of the bounce back variety, thankfully I was never tempted to move any into the main garden, my biggest mistake is a daisylike plant that I was given many years ago and planted a piece along one side of the fishpond, it spread rapidly and some has entangled itself amongst the hydranga so no chance of removing it completely, I pull handsful of it out on a regular basis as its trying to spread amongst the gravelled bed, obviously I daren't use a weedkiller anywhere near the pond, it does however look quite attractive when in flower...
That bed is going to be lovely when all in bloom, I know its no consolation but I too have lost my nice looking winter nails and now have short gardeners ones, just cannot get on with the gloves, lol.....

My problem is also a small pink hardy Geranium that I fight each year. My Vinca is growing where I want it to at the moment but I will keep an eye on it.

Gorgeous soft colours;0)

I have vinca minor which has just started to "take off" thanks for the warning.

Its biding its time Urbanite....untl you're not looking ?

I bought Gertrude Jekyll last year to disguise the edge of my pond. It doesn't seem to be doing much of anything yet this year - should that be "I'm happy to say that it doesn't seem to have taken over yet"?

I can confirm that vinca 'Illuminator' is just as bad. It was suppressing weeds at the back of the border, but nearly suppressed everything else as well. Now thinned to one crown.

I have a pink hardy geranium which is a thug, it is called Claridge Druce, and they pop up everywhere even in cracks in the paving, and they have sturdy roots that are difficult to pull out.

Yes I agree very difficult once established to control I think the common name is Periwinkle even if you think you have dug it all out you only have to leave a small amount of root in and away it goes again.

This one's a good clumper spritz.