We all want our gardens looking in top shape with a range of beautiful flowers and plants as we enter the spring. However, it's also handy to have plants that are easy to maintain without much fuss.

Most gardeners consider sunflowers, marigolds, spring-flowering bulbs and perennials as the easiest plants and flowers to grow. They also help give our gardens a wide range of amazing colours and scents.

But experienced landscape designer and architect Ward Dilmore is advising people against one specific plant this spring. He recommends gardeners to stay away from wisteria due to its invasive nature and need for constant maintenance.

Despite its beautiful flowers, wisteria grows rapidly and has the potential to damage other plants and structures. It can quickly cover and shade out other plants and flowers, depriving them of sunlight.

Wisteria can also rapidly take over your garden if it's not managed frequently and carefully. As well as damaging other plants, its strong vines can damage fences and even some walls.

Wisteria vines also have the capability of squeezing through windows and doors. Once they get out of control, their roots can be hard to remove.

Ward said: "This is a popular flowering vine requested by many clients. Wisteria can be stunning when climbing across a large arbor. It can also become very invasive, and so heavy and strong that it will break wooden arbors that it may be growing on if they are not strong enough.

"Once Wisteria becomes established, it grows very aggressively at the beginning of the growing season. It may be a good option if one is willing to keep it pruned by trimming it back each winter, though when left on its own it can become quite wild.

"Some great alternatives here in California are different types of Jasmine vine (Jasmine sap.) which can create an easy to maintain wall of fragrant flowers. Star Jasmine has the added benefit of being an evergreen."