Is it a weed ? or not

As some may have guessed from my post about GC's logo flower i'm not much of a gardener but I try and I have fun while I'm doing it. but with the fact that I have been weeding out flowers for the last two years and leaving in what I have since been told is a weed I have decided that maybe I had better check some of the other plants that I have been weeding and some that I have been leaving. Please could you help me identify the friends and the foes of my gardens plants. thanks for your help.

Plant 1:





I have been leaving this one in from memory it produces some kind of pink flower there are buds being produced at the moment. it dies back to ground level every year and once it starts to grow it can go a bit wild. (possible weed?)

 

Plant2:



I though it looked a bit like a daisy but it smells funny so I have been weeding it out.

 

Plant 3:




Think it's a fern so have left it alone but it's getting a bit big now so had planned to dig it out. maybe move it else where if it's not a weed.

 

The first one from the leaf looks like it could be an Astilb,Yes it is a flower you would buy if I'm right.The second I can't see enough of, sorry

 

Plant4:




No idea what this is it grows and grows. no matter what I do I can't get rid of it. it produces those blue flowers on and off all year round including winter in the snow but it seams to strangle everything else around it and sends shoots up everywhere. whoever planted this should be shot. (don't tell me its a plant please ) any ideas on how to remove itor even just to contain it.

 

last one for now before you all get sick of me I leave this one in cause I think it is chearfull.

 

thanks fred so i'm not compleatly wrong leaving it in then. thats 1 to me 0 to the garden...

I'll try to get a close up of the second plant.

 

Just to give you an idea of what I am trying to take on. my garden is about half an ache in total poss slightly more. this by its self wouldn't be so bad if it was level and lawn. However my garden is three very different levels and is semi woodland with lots of trees and very steep slopes.

I don't just garden. I'm an extreme gardener. he he

below are some pics to try and help you understand it.

top garden:


looking down to vegi patch:


lower garden:
boundry to left is a stream



one of my three sections of cliff planting
(not quite finished yet)

 

Hi, Jen!
Second plant is feverfew - supposedly good for headaches, but if you've got too much of it, it probably gives you one. It's a wild plant.Third plant looks like a native fern, and the fourth one is Vinca - Periwinkle. Grows a lot here, and yes, it's invasive. It's currently trying to invade the farmyard, but so are lots of other things, so it's got stiff opposition...

But your last one is a "legitimate" garden plant!!! I'd leave that and keep the fern, personally. The rest could go...!

"Bon courage" with the garden - with the right planting, it'll be utterly stunning. Lots of work, though - and still would be even if it was level and lawned. Takes me at least a day a week to cut the grass here, even with a 42" cut mower...! (There's over an acre of grass - plus the rest. There's a small wood which has to be maintained, the buildings to look after, etc. - and it's a sloping site, too, though not as steep as yours.)

Looks like you made a great start!

 

Hi JenK Your yellow plant is called Lysmachia Punctata a long lived perennial and has a long flowering season so is a good plant for the garden.It likes damp conditions but we have it in a south facing border and it thrives very well.It can become a bit invasive.

Good Luck with the garden it looks great

 

In the first picture the leaf being held looks like one of the ground cover berries [Rubus]. They can be very ornamental in the right place and some have edible berries. I like it. the lysimachia punctata is also attractive, and the fern.
Personally I'd keep a plant if you like it and it fits in somewhere in your plan, even if it is a 'weed' - rightly said to be a plant in the wrong place.
With such a lot to do you may be glad of a few existing things. As Hyla a. says it could be great when you've finished!