Border full of forget me nots and raspberry canes.

Hi all,
We have a fairly large border at the back of our garden that I want to enlarge and tidy up in order to add some plants I am growing from seed.
At the moment it is full of forget me nots and raspberry plants which have self seeded and taken over.
My question is what to do with them? We quite like the forget me nots and obviously love the raspberry plants (but maybe too many now), so when can we remove the forget me nots? And If we do will they come back next spring?
Can some of the raspberry plants be dug up and given to friends and family? And if so, when would be the best time to do that?
Cheers.

 

Forget-me-nots have that name for a reason!
Yes they will come back next year from the seed dropped by this year's plants.
I have thousands in the borders atm. I pull them up when they get mildewed, but they'll be back next year.
They flower from the top of the spike downward.
By the time the lower flowers are coming out, those at the top have already dropped seed.

Raspberries can be dug up and moved, but you'll not get any fruits this year.

 

Will the new raspberry canes have fruit this year if I leave them? Or is it just if I move them?
Thanks.

 

If the canes flower in the next month or two then yes they will fruit this year.
Best time to move them is during the dormant period - Nov-March.

If they are Summer raspberries they fruit on the canes produced in the previous year.
If they are Autumn raspberries then they fruit on the canes produced in the same year.

 

Even if you pull out the forget-me-nots before they set seed (and it might already be too late) there's probably seed in the soil from previous years. If you really want to get rid of them you need to take them out ASAP and keep weeding out new seedlings when they appear. On the plus side, the seedlings are easy to recognise once you know what you're looking for (simple oval leaves with prominent centre vein).
The raspberries are likely to be suckers/runners rather than seedlings - it's what they do.

 

If you want to develop the whole area as a new bed go for it regardless. Dig out the raspberry canes and give them to friends and family who want them. It is not the ideal time to do it but raspberries are tough cookies. Do not expect any fruit from them runners this year but you may have a nice surprise from some of the canes. Burn, put in green bin or cut up into small pieces and put on compost heap the remainder. Forget about the forget me nots. Dig them out where you want to clear the soil. Some will survive until next year as there will be several years of seed in the soil.
If you are thinking about growing other plants alongside some of the raspberries, think again. They are very invasive and spread by underground runners everywhere, including paths. They really need their own bed.