Why is it that we have no trouble expressing our dislikes, but when it comes to things we love, we’re more reticent? Last year I conducted a poll in the office to see which plants were ‘most hated‘ and blogged about the results. The response was incredible, with 95 comments to date.
But, as I tentatively start sowing seeds for my new garden, it strikes me that it would be nice to balance all that hatred with something that inspires us for the coming growing season. It’s nearly Valentine’s Day, after all.
I’ve never been fond of pink, blowsy daffs and gaudy geraniums. But I do love Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii. It’s so beautiful I almost look forward to winter so I can see its berries, while large swathes of English bluebells make me feel that actually, everything’s alright with the world. I also love watching bumblebees foraging in cranesbill geraniums, viper’s bugloss and the mountain cornflower, Centaurea montana.
And in the office? The response wasn’t as great – or as heated – as when I asked which plants my colleagues hated. Perhaps we prefer whipping ourselves into a frenzy over things we dislike, using plosive descriptions and plenty of exclamation marks. Being gentle and loving is never as exciting, is it?
Of those who did reply to my love poll, Kevin said he “wouldn’t garden without” Verbena bonariensis, Anne and Vic declared a soft spot for peonies, Daniel can’t decide between Parrotia persica and Crambe maritima, David currently loves Hedychium ‘Stephen’, Ross currently loves the parachute plant, Ceropegia sandersonii, and Guy loves trees. Just trees.
And what about you? Is your passion for plants you love as strong as for those you hate? Tell us about your most cherished plants. We might just inspire each other to try something different, if it ever stops snowing. Ooh I hate the snow…
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I love all the plants you mention and find it hard to have a favourite but I do love the good old michaelmas daisy.
My chaenomeles with its dark red rose like flowers well before the leaves never ceases to disappoint me. It is late this year because of the bad weather but the buds are about to burst. I also love snowdrops in their infinite variety and scrutinise my promiscuous spread every year for a good new one. We usually love whoever or whatever needs us so I expect many peoples’ favourites will be the ones that needed them most.
I garden in South Eastern US in Georgia. Solid red clay on Granite. You know I am a garden junkie as I get Gardeners World programs sent to me and I subscribe (at vast expense) to the magazine. My most loved plants are those that survive the ghastly soil and weird weather which alternates between drought and flood and 100 degF and 15 degF. My current, absolute #1 is Elaeagnus pungens ‘Clemson Variegated’ Variegated Silverberry, Silverthorn. Overwhelmingly sweet perfume in October/November. Great food and shelter for birds and small mammals. Evergreen/grey/yellow and 15ft x 15ft. (I left UK before metrication!) Best “plant it and leave it” shrub ever invented.
My dad always planted phlox, so whenever I see and smell it I think of him. I also love good ole honeysuckle, and I absolutely adore beech trees. We had a beech wood behind the house as a child and on windy days the trunks and branches would creak. I love their horizontal branches. I think cyclamen persicum is graceful, and philadelphus smells divine.
our snowdrops then daffs bluebells cowslips lovely all under trees take some beating in spring.
our snowdrops then daffs bluebells cowslips lovely all under trees take some beating in spring.
Btw, awesome post. Waiting for the next post!
I’m not sure if I’m a true gardener as I don’t know all the botanical names for things, but I love sweetpeas (possibly because of a story I read in a Brownie Annual around 42 years ago!), then lavender and it’s many varieties. I also love freesias for their awesome aroma but have never grown any and I love anemone de caen for their bright colours.
I think the reason we all find it difficult to name a favourite plant is because they are all favourites for different reasons whereas with plants we hate we generally hate them for the same reason.Plants that herald a new season like snowdrops,tulips, roses, callicarpa, holly give us something to look forward to.Scented plants like freesia, honeysuckle, lavender, lilies often come with memories.Other plants we love just because they survive and grow for us no matter what we or the weather throw at them – daffodils, peonies, hardy geraniums and trees that shower us in blossom, shade and leaves year in year out.Fashion and taste also affect our choice – dahlias, gladioli, chrysanthemum, pinks have all ridden the rollercoaster.
At the moment my favourite plant would be Fremontredendron ‘California Glory’as I look forward to seeing it’s swelling buds before it bursts into flower in May and stays in flower until November covering my neighbour’s garage wall beautifully.
Its not that bad. Likes are transitory whereas dislikes are permenent. Put the same question to food and it becomes obvious. I love a Mozzerella Basil salad, but not in the snow, but i hate brussel sprouts all year round.
I just love mesembryanthemums, (hope I’ve spelt it right)! I always do my seeds every year, missed them one year and truly missed them, they are so beautiful and never fail to get a comment from visitors to my patch.
I also love nicotiana for their fragrance and the milklady always commented on there fragrance early morning. Oooh can’t wait for spring/summer!!!
I love any plants that are in flower for a long time and as you can tell by my blog name I love Dahlia’s, not the big blousy ones, but the daisy flowered type like Bishop of Llandaf. Although I have well drained soil I dig mine up in November and store them in pots in the greenhouse. Then in March I bring them back to life ready to plant out in May after the frosts. Two years ago I bought four plants and took cuttings from them and now have twenty. I have also grown Dahlia’s from seed, which germinate very well and although they are supposed to be annuals, they still develop a tuber, so I treat these in the same way. Growing from seed you get a varied colour selection of both flowers and foliage from one packet. I now have over forty plants and because I bring them on in the greenhouse they flower from June until the frost comes, usually in November here in the south.
I can also recommend Gaillardia Goblin, I grew these for the first time last year from seed and they flowered profusely from June until the snow squashed them in Decemmber, even the frost didn’t stop them. Every time I looked at the garden they made me smile with their bright yellow and red flowers.
I agree with daintiness and wixy – I love lots of different plants for different reasons – the early spring flowers for hope after the winter, the fragrant flowers for sticking my nose in, the foliage plants like fatsia for interesting shapes,the fruit for being SO much better straight off the plant, the veg for surviving my incompetence and the onslaught of a million welsh slugs, the list goes on…. The ones I love most are those that were presents and remind me of the lovely people who gave them to me. But if i was only allowed one favourite plant it would be alliums – I think I will be eligible for a national collection soon.
I adore the bright yellow crocus which opened for the 1st time today, I was so pleased to see it against the cold brown mud I nearly cried. Spring is coming at last!
I love to see the snowdrops growing up through the soil. My favourite plant is the himalayan poppy, but so far i have been very unsucsessful in trying to grow it.
I love the spire growing plants;hyssop, veronica, veronicastrum, foxgloves. I love the smellies; mock orange, phlox, sarcococca.I love the troublefree plants
like euphorbia. I love my ivy bush because my robin lives in it.I love the cheerful coloured stems of the dogwoods in winter.I love my quince tree because of the fruit.
I love ferns, in particular the way they unferl there fronds – beautiful. A new favourite of mine is Scabious – Butterfly Blue as I bought 3 last June and they have flowered non-stop ever since, even through the snow! There flowers seem to glow in the late evening summer sun.
Dahlias in all their variety,lavendar for it’s perfume,snowdrops as they come through along with the crocus to prove nature really is wonderful, camelia, we have two bushes outside our bedroom window which provide shelter for dozens of roosting sparrows who start chattering as soon as the sun heaves up over the horizon. The only thing I miss out here in France is the 2foot thick stone wall which my greenhouse leant against, my geraniums went on the top shelf until Spring, I’ve lost them all again this Winter, ah-well back to the drawing board.
My absolute favorite since I was a child gardening, is Godetia grandiflora.I once grew a 20ft border was just those in it.Stunning!
I agree with you about Callicarpa bodinieri.var.giraldii,the berries on it very beautiful.I am not a lover of purple colour in the garden but these,and iris,I make an exception for.Also I adore aquilegia.The more the better in the garden!
also, I have a great love of Dicentra spectibilis(Bleeding Heart). Very delicate and pretty growing under my Prunus amanogawa tree.
My Favourites would Have To Be Alliums and the sword lily.
I love most plants but especially Roses Peonies,Dicentra Spectabilis Alba, Hellebores,Tete a Tete,Clematis etc etc I absolutely hate “Elephants Ears” and cannot stand the smell of Sweet Peas and you will not find any red flowers in my garden
I’m with most of the others – liking different things at different times of the year.
Am rather fond of the first of each genus – the 1st snowdrop, early daffs, tulips, hyacinths etc because they herald spring & lengthening/warmer days, when all the foliage seems fresh & new.
I also love blossom-time on apples, pears, prunus.
Then I keep buying lilies for their gloriously large flowers & knockout scent, even though I have to keep them in pots & hunt/destroy lily-beetles every day!
And finally, like Dahlia lover, I enjoy growing Dahlias from seed. They don’t seem to need too much help & it’s always a late-colour surprise because for some reason I can only find mixed-colour packets.
hi katie,im sorry this has nothing to do with flowers,but could you tell me if palmate newts are protected[as someone has told me today that they are...]the reason i ask is that i have them in my garden and if they are protected what should i do,they have been in my garden about 4yrs and i have 4/5 newts.i have checked on line and they are definatly palmate.
Katie, you’ve really struck a chord here because like most of the readers of this blog I have no trouble tapping into what I love about the garden — my passion for gardening is what keeps me coming back to it every year, despite the imperfections and disappointments. There’s not much I don’t adore about the garden, but a strongly growing climbing rose like Etoile de Holland or Gloire de Dijon, deeply scented and fanned out against a warm wall, is my ultimate garden pleasure. (I was just blogging yesterday about the fact that I’ve vowed to grow vegetables this year, but all I can think about now at rose pruning time is my precious climbers!)
Apart from the roses, I always seem to be besotted with whatever is the flagship plant of the season that’s not here yet — dreaming of tulips in February, thinking of my flaming Virginia creeper in June, and so on. I think I could do with living in the moment a bit more!
Sheila Averbuch – Stopwatch Gardener
Thanks for all your comments. I like your point Wixy, and agree that we love different plants at different times of the year. But I still think people are more likely to express their dislikes than loves. Perhaps the list of plants we love is just too long to bother? Sarah, I’ll get back to you re your newts. Kate
most of us have a childhood memory, born in central London my Dad used to buy Mum the wonderfull smelling bunches of sweet peas,now in rural Somerset I am able to grow in abundance,and on the same track again I have acheived flowers on a mimosa growing in the conservatory the fluffy yellow bobbles in a scent just like the old days.You are never too old to try.
i’m 29 and two years ago found out i had diabetes and learning to cope with it i stared gardening. my first plant i got was a yucca plant, its big and bold with the most stunning big flower,next fav is fuchsias.
i’m 29 and two years ago found out i had diabetes and learning to cope with it i stared gardening. my first plant i got was a yucca plant, its big and bold with the most stunning big flower,next fav is fuchsias as they come in loads of colours and sizes.i’ve also been given some land from coucil to show children from schools in rossington how to grow,cook veg and with the veg will be having a bingo afternoon for over 60s the veg will be the prizes.
I love any plants that are edible, such as nasturtium and herbs. Nettle soup is a particular favourite!!
my favorite flowers are roses, and sweetpeas I like all flowers and shrubs, that have a fragrance.
I love verbena ,so structured but gentle. Alliums, blue delphiniums(though cannot cope against slugs in this garden),sweet peas, geraniums so versatile, lavender , cornflower and the so easy to grow cosmos .
Ilove planting plants in the gardan.Ilike all flowers,shrubs but not very good at keeping them alive dont think i plant the right flowers,shrubs.
Could anyone tell me which pulmonaria was mentioned on gardners world that was a new variety that was tolerant of full sun and where I can get it.
Just started gardening the last few years and all the time there is something new that becomes my favourite. I feel like its the first time I’ve opened my eyes and looked around
I have a bit of wild land around a house in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, it’s not fenced in – is there anything I can plant there that wont need much looking after and which visiting sheep wont be interested in eating? Thanks ( ever hopeful)
I have chose 4 Clematis Freckes, Ruby wedding Frangrant oberon and Armandii all evergreen they are needed on north side if garden will this slow there growth or dose anyone knows any better ones must be evergreen .