Thug Alert

Some years I succumbed to the charms of the winter honeysuckle with its delicate and fragrant winter flowers. Having just spent the best part of two days prising its tough-as-old-boots roots out of the border I would recommend that it isn’t planted – except where nothing else will grow. Starting as a small plant in a 1 litre pot (as illustrated in the photo perched atop the roots), it sent out runners and popped up in several places. It’s boring in summer, grows very large and I’ve decided should be relegated to understorey planting in woodland.