seems you have come to love the bulletproof.. carefree .. run them over with a truck plants..

instead of those foo foo ones that need all that TLC ... lol

i will mull it over.. but i cant.. offhand.. come up with a boring plant ... hmmmmm .. there are definitely things i dont like.. but they arent boring... lol ...

ken

You are right, Ken, I also no longer find any plant boring. They just seemed boring to me before I really began gardening. And yes, I like the indestructibles much more now. Nothing like coddling something through several seasons only to get one or two anemic blooms to make you love an echinacea or a coreopsis!

So now I'm curious: what plants do you dislike, after years of gardening?

For me, it's heucheras. Yeah, I know, me and everybody else, but I really did ignore them for years. No flowers, no time for it, just like you said. Now, I have lots, mixed all in. My appreciation has definitely changed.

Petunias. I very rarely plant temporaries, but we have many new beds and needed a quick fix to visually stop the eye at the patio, rather than allowing focus on the as yet unfinished barbeque area. Husband likes petunias; I chose red. They look great, but are a pain to keep pinched.

Gazania. I used to like them, but then got bored seeing them everywhere. When we suddenly yanked the concrete out of the street strip, I needed something drought tolerant that could take a full day of summer heat and survive occasional feet. And, finally!, Lowes was selling single colors in 6-packs. A nice maroonish-colored group for $2 per six made a nice, inexpensive filler with some variegated agapanthus.

How about a companion thread about plants that have great features to offer, but you inexplicably can't stand them anyway? lol I have a few of those, too.

I would have to say coneflower - never really was much of a fan but for some reason I bought one few years ago and right away noted a goldfinch enjoying picking at it and that tickled me, so I bought a few more to plant a grouping, figuring I'd attract some birds, and realized I enjoyed the long bloom time and visual "weight" of the plants/blooms (White Swan and Magnus)

Gyr Falcon: HAHA I'm going to have to say the absolute first thing that pops into my head about can't stand them anyway is DAYLILY!

Do I dare say it? I never cared much for hostas. I thought they were something you planted when you gave up! Now I've grown to really like them. Can't beat them for shady areas.

I'll second the cone flowers (daisies too). Love them now!

This post was edited by booberry85 on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 20:55

Heuchera 'Palace Purple' for it's carefree habit & great contrast color to other part-sun foliage plants like hosta. Ditto Lady's Mantle for those gorgeous leaves on which raindrops sparkle like diamonds after a summer shower. Hellebores/Lenten roses for their early-season blooms & robust habit I'm just becoming acquainted with--have only had them a handful of years.

It wasn't so much that I thought 'meh' when I saw these. I just hadn't figured out my preferred 'look' until after I started actually planning & planting my garden beds. When I finally began to picture in my head what made me smile as I went walkabout the garden, it finally hit me that I liked what I'd created completely without conscious thought until I saw the final result. So it was probably more guesswork than design but I'm happy with how it turned out no matter what steps I took to get here. I believe the word for that is serendipity.

Husband likes petunias; I chose red. They look great, but are a pain to keep pinched.

'GF', you should give the Proven Winners Supertunias a try as they do not need to be pinched. The "Pink Bubblegum" variety has to be the most vigorous, continuously blooming petunia ever.

Great minds think alike!
Heucheras and hostas for me too. They just look good and never quit! they anchor the garden so nicely.

I love daylilies as long as they are not the stella-de-boring yellow, which I hate.

I didn't heucheras were "meh" but I thought a lot of them faded out very quickly and were hardly worth the time it took to plant them. I am very impressed with the vigor of the "heat=loving" villosas, such as Caramel. They came through a New England winter stunningly. "Brownies" gets huge and never flags.

shrubby salvias - many years ago, I was given a microphylla neurepia - I kept it for the aromatic fragrance and largely ignored it....until I was given another lavender coloured one. Having disliked many of the blue salvias, they crept up on me slowly....but now (thanks to their supreme ease of propagation) I have a dozen or so ranging from the pale lemon Claire de Lune, through to the deepest purple Nachtvlinder (night moth - great name, hey?) Blooming for at least 6 months, smelling fabulous, what is not to like (although, obvs, their hardiness is a tad suspect...but in my free draining soil they do rather well).

Thank you for the Supertunia suggestion, rouge21. I hear they are great performers. But my husband only likes the large-flowering types. And cost is a factor; I can buy 5 four inch plants, or 8 of the six-pack sized regular petunias for the price of a single Supertunia.

And I really dislike pink. The color range in the back garden is yellow-orange-red, with white and purple accents. Although, I confess, three pink trumpet trees were allowed in because they are magnificent in and out of bloom. But they bloom early, and I used some landscape tricks to keep them from clashing during their show.

Daylilies, mxk3? Oh, my. ;-) Although I admit to having a love them / do these things even deserve garden space roller coaster relationship with daylilies.

One of my biggest are pelargoniums. Beautiful flowers...but the foliage makes me cringe.

I'll add my voice in defense of daylilies (altho' I agree RE the Stella d'Oro--eewww). Daylilies were part of the garden when I moved here but were left alone the first few growing seasons while I formed an opinion about them. I decided, based on the fact they're zero maintenance, reliable perennials un-bothered by any garden pests they could remain. I confess I've actually added a handful of new ones in more dramatic reds than the pale peach or yellows that my brother planted--in straight rows, like you'd plant cabbage--30+ years ago.

Petunias, I always hated deadheading and pinching because they were sticky. Now I plant supertunia. They do have large flowers (perhaps you were thinking of calibrachoa with their tiny blooms) and come in several colors including a dark red one and a puple with dark veining, which are my favorites. Pricing is a concern but I have found a couple of places that sell them a bit cheaper.

Meconopsis cambrica. They are much longer lived than Iceland poppies, and they thrive both in sun and in shade. Can you imagine cheerful yellow, orange and red Iceland poppies growing in shade ?! I love them in spite of selfsowing. I keep the doubles and weed out the singles.

I second the hate for daylilies! Gotta give a little backup, here! Can't stand them, don't like them, can I say I really hate them again? I was originally thinking Marigolds were at the top of my hate list when I read the side post suggestion, but when mxk3 said daylilies, I was like, Oh yeah, that's the one!

I know I'll get "WHAT????!!!" posts for this one, too, but Lamium is another on the hate list. Every single time I see it anywhere or see a post about it, I can't help but think to myself "You know that's basically a weed, right? I can pick some for you in the grass in my front yard..." :)

Always hated petunias, too. The no-deadheading thing does make them a bit more attractive, though (but only a bit). I know they are superbloomers, but my grandmother had those every year I think since I was born and I..just...can't...take them anymore. Meh....

This post was edited by funnthsun on Sat, Jun 8, 13 at 16:23

As stated above, I never cared much for Hosta either and have only a handful, but that might change. The more I see the more I like, but I still think they're probably the most overused plant on the planet. But at least I'm contemplating getting more. A few years ago I never would have considered that.

Kevin

Quote:
" I'll add my voice in defense of daylilies (altho' I agree RE the Stella d'Oro--eewww). Daylilies were part of the garden when I moved here but were left alone the first few growing seasons while I formed an opinion about them. I decided, based on the fact they're zero maintenance, reliable perennials un-bothered by any garden pests they could remain. "

While I do not HATE daylilies, I would question some words in this quote , like zero maintenance , reliable perennials unbothered by any garden pests. None of those apply to modern daylilies they sell here, only to some historics. Some of them take several years just to settle down, while you ask yourself each day : will it live or die?? And then produce 1 fan a year. Or grow without ever blooming. And they rot just like irises do, especially after hard winter. If they survive, they get those thin grassy leaves like seedlings. Some of them just start again as a seedling each second year. Not to mention those larvae eating the flower buds from inside.
So no, they are not unbothered and reliable. Those days are long gone. Just like with the hostas.

This post was edited by wieslaw59 on Sat, Jun 8, 13 at 17:26

I know there are 'plain' plants that I appreciate very much. Not many that I appreciate more now then I used to. I seem to only purchase plants that I'm very happy with to begin with. And sometimes the opposite happens. I love them until they start underperforming or causing problems and then I am disappointed with them. That would be a different list.

But, I definitely used to have very little interest in Hostas, but now I have more interest. My neighbors grew a very common variety that I didn't like the appearance of and grew them in straight lines on either side of their walkway without any other companion plant and that one instance was probably the biggest reason I didn't like them. But I've added a couple over the years and they definitely are workhorses. I don't have problems with slugs yet, probably because I haven't got a ton of them planted together. But I would like to increase what I have. What made me change my mind? Well, Hostas have improved over the past 20 years. Then there are so many versions of them. And I didn't really appreciate them until I grew them and discovered how carefree they are (when you don't have slugs), and how faithfully they come back after winter, and how pretty they are when they unfurl in the spring, and how effectively they shade out weeds and how many places you can put them in even the darkest corners, and how they get larger and larger every season and yet don't travel and become a nuisance, and how they disappear above ground in winter and don't mind having snow piled up on them, and how easy and fun they are to grow from seed and how much of a big large leaved impact they have, like few other plants and how it is the first plant you think of when you want to add some contrast. So, I have grown to appreciate them more. :-)

Lunaria is a plant I've grown more and more to appreciate. It is completely carefree to me. I never do one thing for it. It is biennial and reseeds and I love the natural way in which it congregates in the back edges of some of my borders. And how it germinates and produces the baby plants this year that will be next year's blooming additions to the border. They are a great filler without being a nuisance. I rarely ever even pull one out, but they are easy to pull out. They are pretty in bloom and interesting when they set seed. And they bloom at a time between the first major blooms of spring and the next June burst of blooms. They bloom in shady, dry areas where little else will and in partly sunny areas too. They never have had insect damage or disease. And I just don't have to give them a thought but they show up and contribute at their time.

wieslaw59 - I'm awfully sorry to read they don't sell daylilies where you are that are care, pest & maintenance free. The daylilies growing where I am fall completely, 100% into that category. Each of the mature clumps in one full sun bed take up fully 3 feet of space and the bed sports a full 30 such clumps.

The few new ones I've added myself also fall into that category. They were purchased & shipped from mail order nurseries in various parts of the U.S. but all have proven to perform as well as the existing mature clumps. All produce multiple stems, buds & blooms throughout the season, year after year. I have them growing in all my garden beds whether north, south, east or west facing.

Yellow salvia Suzie? Hmmm....Had to look it up. Of course, couldn't find the variety you names, Claire de Lune, but Plant Delights has a yellow salvia that may need to be in my garden. Thanks you for the idea.

kay

Re Petunias: I admit, when my husband wanted to fill in the new bed quickly with petunias, that I did not take the time to research the new strains. They have developed many new ones since we used them other than commercially, and I should check into their properties before next year. He asks for so little say when it comes to the garden, it is only right to bend on at least the 'tunias.
------------------------------
Jayco, since you also asked about dislikes, I hope it is ok we expanded on the meh discussion in your thread, by also talking about our changing feelings the other way about perennials. It is quite interesting and thought provoking to read the varied responses.

I'll show an example of why my feelings about various plants can swing back and forth by using daylilies as an example (since it seems to be one of the hot love/hate picks).

I used to be a great enthusiast for daylilies, purchasing many different ones through mail order. But then I grew bored and moved off to planting more of other perennials. When we moved, I did bring some daylilies and planted them together in a bed out front, but I didn't really plan to expand their area.

When we removed the concrete and made planters in our back yard, I saw a daylily that caught my eye at the nursery; Cleda Jones a reblooming 30" plant with 6" yellow-gold flowers. And I knew where I wanted to use it to carry over the yellow from the Tecoma stans on the opposite end of the back yard, and to jazz up the base of the red flowering Tecoma 'Bells of Fire', because their flowers are concentrated at about the 3.5-5' level.

That single 1 gal. H. Cledra Jones grew very quickly in one year, and became a focal point by what I call the pit patio. And now I find myself wondering what other daylilies I can add to become focals earlier and later in the season. Such a fickle gardener, I am!

The added photo shows Cledra Jones between the tree and the fire pit. Without that one plant, right now that section of the patio would look flat.

I'm with you, Gyr Falcon, about the day lilies. Now I want only ones I particularly like, which means the less exciting varieties don't get space. But they are also completely care-free for me.

Linaria -- me too! Love how it pops up all over and looks terrific almost everywhere.

By all means, carry on with the discussion of dislikes -- that's also very interesting.

One main thing I've grown to dislike (or at least to be irritated by) is the huge double- flowered peonies. While I love the scent and the flowers themselves, they always , always end up looking awful flopped on the lawn after any rain or wind.

Well though this post has now morphed more into dislikes, I still want to mention one of the plants I've grown to appreciate.

When the clump of bergenia was dumped on me by my sister who was rescuing various perennials from someone who had purchased a home with an extensive perennial bed and who had no appreciation them, I'll admit I wasn't really impressed. But that one clump has taken hold of me. I now have it in about 5 locations, and have given many pieces to admirers. I've recently discovered it's the perfect plant to use on the east side of my house where I hardly ever go, but try to keep tidy and attractive for the neighbors sake. Since they need so little care and don't allow weeds to invade them they're perfect there. Of course I love it in my shade bed also.

I totally agree about the groundcover sedums and love solomon's seal too.

I agree about bergenia, north53. It is a rare pink-flowering plant that gets garden space. There was a patch growing under some trees in a house we rented more than 25 years ago. With every subsequent move, some bergenia from that house moves with us. I have added several other species, white and red-flowering, last year. If you have some photos of how you are using the plants, I'd love to see them. I don't have a good combo-plant wih them right now, so I am kind of fishing for ideas, too.

Deleting double post.

This post was edited by Gyr_Falcon on Sun, Jun 9, 13 at 13:23

This thread is great. I love hearing everyone wax poetic about a plant they have come to appreciate. I've been looking up the ones that are new to me so that I can see what all the fuss is about. Interesting!

When I first planted the gardens at our house I was allll about flowers. All flowers, all the time. My primary concern (aside from cultural requirements) was how long it bloomed and in what colors. The results in June and July were utterly spectacular. But August-Sept were dreary and there was little structure in the beds to maintain year-round interest. So what I have come to appreciate are plants with architectural and textural interest. These days I am avidly planting shrubs to provide a framework for all the perennials. As a result I am also taking out quite a few perennials to balance things out. I'm also adding more foliage plants for their steady hand in keeping a large bed looking good.

So my new best friends include many plants I would not have considered 10 years ago: ninebark, sand cherry, dwarf spruces of many kinds, heuchera, dwarf honeysuckle, etc.

These evolving relationships are a big part of what keeps gardening constantly fun and challenging over the years. I always feel ~3 years from being really done - and that time frame has never changed. I wonder if it ever will?

In my area, nepeta is ubiquitous. In most places it is used, it gets horrible soil, no care and no supplemental water. And yet most clumps are in full bloom for 5 months+ per year. Is it the plant's fault it is overused? It is so fast-growing, easily transplanted, easily multiplied and so compact and pretty in nursery pots that I am not at all surprised by its popularity. Still, I resisted for as long as I could before adding any to my own garden.

I now have 'Joanna Reed' which already almost 4 feet wide by a little over two feet tall after being planted from a tiny mail order division last July. Close up, the flower spikes are much longer, denser and with larger individual florets than either 'Walker's Low' or 'Six Hills Giant', but from a distance the overall garden effect is much the same though the flowers are a bit more on the blue side. It is also supposed to be sterile was given a perfect 5 star rating in the Chicago Botanic Garden nepeta trials. The first flush shows no signs of fading and yet the plant is already producing secondary buds that will ultimately be taller than the primary flush. The plant will probably build up to 4 feet tall or more by summer's end.

I also have some Nepeta nuda started from seed which have not yet flowered. They are growing well but are not nearly as vigorous as 'Joanna Reed'.

Is nepeta my favorite plant? Not by a long shot. But I have come to love its abundant display of blue-violet flowers and ease of care. Many are also enjoyed by pollinators but most of our insect friends will overlook the nepeta if something more appealing like an allium or calamintha is in bloom nearby.

I have heard lots of good things re "Joanna Reed". It is good to know that it is doing well for you.

I also appreciate nepeta for its ease and the way it fills in spaces so quickly. I will now look for 'Joanna Reed.' Thanks, Ispahan.

I am also going to plant some bergenia, so thanks, North53. I have never had it in my garden.

Hellebore. used to think it was Hella bore- ing. (hee hee)
... the leaves are so attractive it almost doesn't need lovely flowers-- but it has them (the new purples are so nifty). And it's easy to grow, comes back bigger and bigger each year.

Heucheras for me. I used to wonder what it was all about, they look so boring. I did buy one which is kind of the color of dirt, but then I saw the lime green ones and see what they can add to a garden in the way of brightness.

On the way out for me is hostas. I like them, but in my zone you just cannot win against the snails and slugs.

Hosta. But it was less "meh" and more "not a chance". I only had shade where I lived before and the idea of foliage foliage foliage frustrated me. I wanted COLOR and not just in the spring. I wanted a SUNNY garden. So I disliked shade plants in general, but hostas in particular because I had only seen the solid greens and green/white versions. Now I have two hosta beds and hostas in other beds as well. BUT I also have sunny spots for my "sun garden", so I can appreciate a shade garden without losing my echs, daisies, blanket flowers, etc. I don't know if I would have gotten interested in them if I hadn't inherited a few BIG (NOID) clumps when we bought the Cottage though.

I second what eclecticcottage said... Hostas were mine. As booberry85 said, they seemed the plant to get when you want to throw in the towel, especially here it seems. It wasn't until I got more into gardening that I started to appreciate them. Not to sound like a snob, either, but driving around, looking at houses with hostas in the landscape, now I can see when, where and how they're used either correctly or not. I still agree... I think a lot of people use them when they give up, have no clue, just want to be done with it, etc. but they do serve a great purpose and if used correctly can really make a garden.

I also have to say... I'm terrible about thinking of using shrubs and things. When I first started this gardening thing (yes, gardening thing... to emphasize the insanity) I thought "who needs shrubs". Well, turns out... me. The one area that I redid that features a shrub is probably my favorite garden, so now I'm going back to other areas and reevaluating what shrubs I might be able to move in ha ha

Garlic.