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karin_mt_2

If you were a perennial...

karin_mt
10 years ago

Here is a topic that occurs to me while weeding.

If you were a perennial plant, what would you be? What plant traits are manifest in your personality?

Would you be one of those plants that is flashy with long-lived bloom? Or would you be subtle and serene with a short but much-anticipated flowering? Would you be rugged or perhaps more diva-like? (but worth it of course!) Do you prefer to be well-fed or does a lean life suit you better? Tropical or winter-hardy? Deer-resistant? Do you have piles of offspring or are you more restrained in your reproduction? (yes this is supposed to be funny).

So, if you were a perennial...

Comments (13)

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    I would have leaves so pretty, nobody would care if I made flowers or not, but I would, and make plenty of nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds all summer.

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    10 years ago

    I think someone has been out in the sun too long and has maybe cracked under the stress of a garden tour? Just kidding of course!
    Today I feel like a plain green hosta. Just a lump sitting there. Not much going on other than photosynthesis. If things improve I might push up a bloom stalk around lunch time. It won't be very impressive and as a matter of fact I think some people just trim off my bloom stalks and just return me to my green lumpiness.

  • wieslaw59
    10 years ago

    I could never be a tropical, temperature above 25 C kills me. Super hardy dazzling blue delphinium, because I'm tall and I have piercing blue eyes, so it would fit to me.

  • karin_mt
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Yes, Kato, that is exactly right! I was weeding a patch yesterday that has a weed that I think goes by the nickname "mother of thousands" for the way it seeds around. That particular weed always makes me think of this question.

    Plain green hosta lump, eh? I think you need more coffee, or, umm, some Mircale Gro.

  • christinmk z5b eastern WA
    10 years ago

    Wow, this could get interesting.

    Humm...well I know I wouldn't smell very nice, especially after a long day at work, LOL. That rules out roses and most pleasant smelling flowers. I use antiperspirant and take showers so thankfully no one could call me a skunk cabbage...

    I never have/never will want kids, so that obviously means I am not a fruit-bearing plant right?

    Sure hope I'm not short-lived, but you never can tell. I am at peace with that if it is so. Just please don't make me a biennial. Biennials tick me off. MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY!!

    It would be bad-*ss to be a carnivorous plant. I'm not a vegetarian, so that might work. Plus I take a perverse pleasure in killing spiders and nasty bugs, so it fits. Oh yeah, I've also got a voracious appetite and LOVE to eat, but I have got to be on a no sugar, low-carb diet though, so for my own good you better not overfeed me. Carnivorous plants can't do rich soil! ;-D

    Maybe I would be a cactus in the morning ((before that second cup of coffee kicks in- I'm not a morning person!)) and then morph into something else later on. I am a fairly upbeat person most of the time.

    I don't mind being in the sun with a bit of protection (without sunscreen I'm like turkey bacon- I burn easily!). I love loafing around in the shade on a hot day though, so I'm versatile! I can do mostly sun to shade.

    I am NOT a desert plant- I like moisture!!! I like being in the water, so perhaps a pond plant of some sort? Or maybe algae? It depends on how hard it is to get me out of that water I guess.

    I like making people laugh, but I'm not sure what plant that would translate into. Usually I only laugh at plants when I'm trying to shame them with their poor performance record or other failing....

    I'm fairly fashion-forward when appropriate. I don't like TOO much in-your-face color and prefer something subtle. Ooooh! Maybe I could have variegated foliage?! I adore plants with variegation...

    I really loath Potentilla, so please no one call me that! I'm not totally useless, so couldn't be a houseplant. Plus I don't like being indoors much when it is nice out.

    I'd love to say I was a gorgeous rare shade gem from some exotic place, but that seems a bit far fetched. I'm ordinary.

    Okay, I'm a Bellis perennis. That's been my email address for awhile now too, so I suppose I've always associated myself with this plant. It is/I am common, slightly annoying by my prolific habit once established, and I hate your lawn and wish to take it over. ;-)
    CMK

    This post was edited by christinmk on Tue, Aug 6, 13 at 13:23

  • Ruth_MI
    10 years ago

    Monarda Raspberry Wine. Colors outside its lines, always on the run, and plays reasonably well with others.

  • GreatPlains1
    10 years ago

    delete post

    This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 2:08

  • Campanula UK Z8
    10 years ago

    a wild rose - sturdy, but delicate, prickly (and then some) with great hips.

  • GreatPlains1
    10 years ago

    delete post

    This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 2:09

  • karin_mt
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    LOL, the great hips, Campanula! Christin MK, wow, you did some soul-searching there!

    See, this is precisely the witty, introspective dialog I was hoping for. Nice work my fellow gardeners. Please keep it coming.

    I'm mulling my own plant-persona over in my head. I'd like to say I'm a Siberian iris. I am not Russian but I do love cold weather. I'm tall and slender, but not as refined or elegant as a Siberian iris - I'm a little more rough and tumble.

    Perhaps a species rose is a better fit. Something healthy and rugged, reliable but not glamorous. I'd like to think I'm not prickly but DH might have something to say about that. :)

    Maybe Rosa glauca - only a little prickly if mishandled, and she looks great in winter and does not suffer dieback from the cold.

    I think I'll go with that one for now...

  • Thyme2dig NH Zone 5
    10 years ago

    Christin.....LOL!!! Love your thoughtful post!

    "great hips" ......Hilarious!!!

    This is a fun thread. I want to be a plant that can punch a deer in the nose and pinch a woodchuck on the behind, but I'd probably have to live in a Dr. Seuss book for that.

  • judyhi
    10 years ago

    I would be a day lily, loyal and dependable, but with faults. Criticize me too far, though, and I may only live at your friends house (remember when we were divided?) Or, I may cause you a lot of hassle by getting in your way and having my offspring and their offspring etc. come to live with us and you'd have a difficult time getting rid of us. Got it?

    Thanks for the post, Karin

  • gardenweed_z6a
    10 years ago

    ...I'd be a Hellebore/Lenten rose, just beginning to bloom as the winter snows began melting and Spring was a much-anticipated bright hope. Not too showy but impressive for being the first thing to bloom when the rest of the garden had yet to awaken. Elegant, tidy & carefree, enjoying both the lingering cold of late winter and the gradual warming of longer hours of sun + warming temperatures. A sturdy, hardy feature in the perennial bed, taking center stage when most of the garden is still sleeping. A source of elation that once again the winter season was giving way to the joy & anticipation of spring.

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