How does your garden grow?

[robpendragon]

I know, I know this is not a PSE question but this forum is filled with the most wonderful & intelligent people in the......not buying it huh? Anyway, can anyone tell me what this is? My wife is from England & to her everything to her is a tomato plant ( & yes she says it like Tah-mah-toe) so she's clueless, anyway before I rip this bugger out of my walkway (the plant , not my wife) Is this a pretty plant or a weed?
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1UOxTOFZKuWkAeCacypbOAhbKqHvX_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1UOxTOFZKuWkAeCacypbOAhbKqHvX)

[TonyW]

Haven't a real clue but it looks to me like something that would turn into a tree if you let it grow so you probably don't want to try :) .

Tony

[Red Sky]

Rob- You know, a weed is just a plant that is growing in the wrong place,right? I'm no expert but it kind of looks like a peony. My wife, with English blood, insists on having a couple of them in our garden (calls them "old lady flowers.)

[Kathy]

I have to agree with Steven ...... both about the weed thing and the Peony ..... a beautiful plant.

I know of one gardener who thinks of "weeds" as "volunteers" :)

Kathy

[willpresley]

If you allow it to grow beside the Iris plant you may be rewarded by a large flower that you can take pictures of, yes!!!!

[quillabee9]

Rob, Let it grow a bit and see. It looks interesting. You can always dig it up and transplant or otherwise dispose of it.

[robpendragon]

cool, thanks. The wifey just pulled one out of the ground & the root looks like a carrot.

[EJB]

( & yes she says it like Tah-mah-toe) so she's clueless,

You have a very forgiving wife, particularly as you can't yet pronounce some fairly normal English words:D

[AngelicKim]

Rob, I have several Peony bushes and your "weed" does look like what my plants lood like when they come up. They are beautiful when in full bloom but they do tend to attrack a lot of big black ants.

[Red Sky]

Kim- From what I heard (on the peony) the ants are an important part of the blooming process; they get the flower to open or something like that. Probably not what you want to see though when you take a vase of flowers into the house!

[AngelicKim]

Steven, the Peony was one of my Mom's favorites so I learned early that if you want to cut them and put them in a vase, after cutting one of the blooms off you hold it upside down and lightly tap the stem to knock the ants out. They do say the ants are a crucial part of the blooming process but there sure does seem to be an extreme amount of ants around them. I guess I shouldn't complain. At least they aren't fire ants like they have down south.

[douglas m scott]

I thought the ants were just an Indiana thing.
doug