7 plants that can invade your neighbour’s garden: These fast-spreading growers can creep across boundaries, send roots beneath fences turning a beautiful backyard into an unintended gardening battleground

Bamboo is a favourite for quick privacy screens, but the running types spread through underground stems called rhizomes, which can travel well beyond the spot where they were planted. They can pop up in a neighbour’s lawn and even push through paving. If you love bamboo, choose a clumping variety instead, or install a deep barrier, around 60 to 75 centimetres, around the planting area, leaving a little above ground so you can spot any escapees.