By Weeducks
Northumberland,
United Kingdom 
Hi all
Anyone know what these 2 plants are. The shrubby tree has been in our garden since we bought the house in 1992...however it is only in the last five or so years that it has taken off and now rather spreading and large. Previous owners of our house are Dutch so could be an imported plant. The flowers have a lovely faint scent and as you can see the branches are red.
The second very prickly leaved plant came in a packet of cottage garden seeds and look very like a WEED and not too desireable one at that!! No flowers yet but as the plants grow taller they have an ability to hold water in puddles round the stems...dreadfull if this was a malarial mosquito breeding country! They seem to thrive on nothing which was why I bought the mixed seeds just to fill a gap temporarily! Could it be Prickly Lettuce?
Any help in identification of both would be gratefully received. Think the photos have landed in my photo page again...not too good at this
10 Jun, 2010
Answers
Had another look, reminds me of Elaeagnus from the leaves - any thorns present anywhere? and by the way , I can't see anything with red stems in your pictures.
10 Jun, 2010
The prickly thistly thing is a teasel. a wild flower that grows tall 6ft and has a purple flower that opens in rings. then the seed heads form very prickly seed heads that finches love .
10 Jun, 2010
Thank you to everyone who responded.
Have just looked up Styrax on internet and think this is the most probable of everything I have seen to date. However looking in my tree books I still have a little doubt as the flowers are still not quite right and the bark is definitely reddish rather than brownish.
So glad that I have teasels..silly me I had forgotton I had sown some teasel seeds a couple of years ago late in the season and, as they are biennial, voila!! I know I wanted to encourage more goldfinches into the garden. I am so happy!! :)
10 Jun, 2010
I added a response under the "Styrax" pic suggesting Osmanthus instead - check that out, because I don't think the flowers are right for Styrax either!
11 Jun, 2010
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I think the white flowered shrub/tree might be Styrax japonica or a Styrax of some kind, no idea about the other one.
10 Jun, 2010