No matter how hard we may try to tame her, Mother Nature always comes back to claim her turf.

Humans are just the weirdest animals. We have this gorgeous, generous planet thriving with life, and all we seem to do is to strip it, pave over it, smother it with buildings, and leave our detritus everywhere. It doesn’t seem very strategic – bite the hand that feeds us, much?

But the thing is, nature – and especially the plant world – plays the long game. From fast-growing vines that consume signs and structures to forests that invade junked cars to slow-growing trees that pay no heed to the manmade environment, there’s really no stopping the kingdom of plants. These photos prove the point.

For more on the wonders of the plant world, see related stories below.