What is this? Tall green stems with small pink flowers.

Anyone know what ths is? Have been told its a weed and I should kill it off.... seems to be perennial. I wondered about pink knotweed but it doesn't seem quite right.

 

Nice one - my only concern is that it is growing close to our house, and was worried that it may have a root system causing structural problems, in which case it would have to go.

 

[Anecdote alert]

I love red valerian, and have been hoping for it to appear in my garden for years, both here and at my last house, with no luck. No luck that is, until a few days ago, when I noticed our first valerian on our property, growing out of the drain, so I'm going to have to pull it out.

 

I can't see that the roots would cause significant problems. They form a tap root, but they're not like trees with roots with a girth of several inches and a lifting force measured in tonnes. I've got one which I'll have to pull out of the drain, not for fear of structural damage, but just because the foliage might obstruct the drain.

 

Hallo Matt,
welcome to Gardeners Corner.
Isn't the service around here fantastic?
There isn't much that someone on here doesn't know.
Hope you enjoy having a stroll around,
Jenny namaste

 

Thanks all, you seem like a friendly bunch
I have just moved from a terrace house with a yard to a semi with a huge garden, and the lady who lived here before us was a VERY keen gardener. So our new garden looks absolutely fantastic but we haven't the foggiest what is in it or how we maintain it!
So, I'm sure I will be frequenting here for a while

 

Welcome to GC, Matt2962

Oh, if you've just moved to a well tended garden courtesy of a "VERY keen gardener" then you must, must, must post pictures of anything and everything:

a) it gives you ID on what you don't know and those here that *do* know will be able to give you the best advice on care/propagation/problems etc;
b) it gives 'beginners', like myself, inspiration (selfish, I know, but honest )
c) the sooner you learn what you have and how to care for it, the bigger the payoff on your mortgage for investing in a "mature" garden (If you let it run riot, it could take you years to recover its former glory )
d) no idea on the plant you've posted, but very much looking forward to seeing your whole garden!

 

How much would you like Clueless, I keep pulling it out of my garden and it's all over the island.

 

Its abundant round here too Sheal, just not in my garden, except in the drain now. It has a tap root though and tap rooted plants don't usually respond well to being moved. I might pop along to the local wasteland where its abundant and just pinch some and seef it takes.

 

I like it and hate to admit I had to buy small pot as I've never seen it growing wild anywhere in my area. That was a few years ago and now have more than I need!!!!!