The prominent middle one looks like a hedgehog, imagine if I grew a baby hedgehog tree. 

Also I am looking for plant ideas. We're in the process of having a new lawn laid and have created 2 huge flower borders down either side in front of the conifers. I want to put in them perennials that won't grow higher than 12 to 18 inches, but are very pretty. Any suggestions?

Try asking here  Cinds

https://www.gagajoyjoy.com/topi...s-chat-room?page=481

It looks like some sort of bean to me. 

Silly question, but you didn't ever think of looking up when the seeds fell on you?

I'd love it if it was a hedgehog seed

Hope they are lawful

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/neigh...plants-and-seeds.htm

I did Rexi, but there were that many trees and shrubs, we just couldn't tell where they were coming from. I thought they might have been from a giant palm tree, but it's not at all palm like now it's growing.

Well they're here now and growing merrily.

This link might be helpful.

http://theseedsite.co.uk/db1.html

Then again, it might be useless.

*points to Yogi*

They are Castor Beans.

Well done, Joe.

they look like the beans that my ex father-in-law used to grow-he put them in his soup-he's bajan & his saturday soup was lovely

how i miss that man & his soup

i said soup far to many times then

soup

So, just to clarify, was he making soup with them?

Ooooh Thank you Joe. So does that mean I'm growing a castor oil tree. *imagines an elderly non-constipated life*

Have you not seen Day of the Triffids ?

I've just googled, and to be honest I don't recall any plant that looked like that in the villas garden. I would have noticed as it looks leaf like and colour similar to a Japanese maple.

I think about it every time I see this sign.

is it weed 

I wouldn't know

Conifers are thirsty buggers (or put it this way, they deprive other plants of water).  That aside, I recommend lupins and peonies - nice shrubby plants, perennial and easy to grow (pretty prolifically).  

Hebe is good too.

And Nepeta.

You don't live in rented accommodation do you Cinds, your landlord being Baron Hardup?

Legalise It.

Thank you, I did know the thing about conifers, which is why our garden man made the border much wider than I had intended. But I am happy if it means I can grow stuff in front of them.

No, why?

Ahh no big green thing growing out of the lawn then>

Ooooooh I've just googled. The seeds do look similar.

Excellent 

Also, and I know they're seen as an old people's plant, but there's some really funky hydrangeas out on the market now.  They'll put up with most soils and are easy to prune into whatever shape you want.

At the minute they're still in propagating trays. BUT, my little green house type cupboard arrived today. I was intending to grow tomatoes, but now I might get something much more appertising.

I'll give up on what I like to call 'my sense of humour' because..

A: It's not that funny.

B: I had seen off a bottle of shiraz.

C: You may never  have been to a kids Panto.

The castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It belongs to a monotypic genus, Ricinus, and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of castor and its relation to other species are currently being studied using modern genetic tools.^[1]

Its seed is the castor bean, which, despite its name, is not a true bean. Castor is indigenous to the southeastern Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Africa, and India, but is widespread throughout tropical regions (and widely grown elsewhere as an ornamental plant).^[2]

Castor seed is the source of castor oil, which has a wide variety of uses. The seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides, mainly ricinolein. The seed contains ricin, a toxin, which is also present in lower concentrations throughout the plant.

An unrelated plant species, Fatsia japonica, is similar in appearance and known as the false castor oil plant.