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effective control is to remove the plants while they're seedlings. Use a total weedkiller, such as glyphosate. Avoid spraying on a windy day, or when the weed's near other desirable plants. all over the gardenall yearMore advice on removing weedsWillow herb

, as it prevents them from flowering and setting seed. Use a total weedkiller, such as glyphosate, spraying directly on to the plant. Avoid spraying on a windy day and near other desirable garden plants. all over the gardenearly spring to autumnMore advice

Valerian, Centranthus ruber, is a pretty plant that produces bright pink-red, fragrant flowers from late-spring to late-summer, but it also produces masses of seed that germinates all over the garden. Butterflies love it, so if you want to encourage

Willowherb, or fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium, is a pretty plant that looks at home in a wild garden, but will take over any domestic garden, spreading by seed and tough underground roots. Left unchecked, it will invade the space of other plants

Creeping thistle, Cirsium arvense, is a pernicious weed that will quickly take over your garden unless kept in check. Winter is the only time of year that offers a reprieve, but for the rest of the year the best way to tackle it is to dig it out

Fat hen, Chenopodium album, is an annual weed loved by butterflies, and whose young leaves are delicious in salads or cooked like spinach. However, it will also quickly colonise open ground and spread through your garden if left unchecked - a single

and produce thousands of plants in its short lifetime, quickly spreading through the garden. Pineapple weed will spread and root in any open ground - even in compacted earth and paths - competing with plants for nutrients and space.Hand weed or hoe out

Vinca major or periwinkle is a pretty, low-growing plant often with pale blue flowers that is used as a ground cover plant because of its mat-forming properties. However, it can be very invasive, and will rapidly spread around the garden

rampant and can grow to 2.1m in just one season, overwhelming any garden plants in its way. It doesn't colonise gardens by producing seeds, instead it sprouts from very small sections of rhizomes.Weaken the plant by cutting off the top growth every two

climber, which invades your garden, smothering any plants in its path.Dig, dig and dig some more! Every piece of root left in the soil will grow into a new plant, and the roots can venture down as far as 5m. So you need to be really thorough as you dig