I always feel like I have to preface posts here with a disclaimer so here goes: yes I am aware that the plants I mentioned in this post are not necessarily limited to the planting scenario I have given. No, there is nothing wrong with planting them if you don't have these type themed gardens. Yes, I do think they can look great in other peoples' gardens,- I am talking about my own personal garden and own personal taste here. It is not meant as slam to those who may have it, it is simply a discussion of what appeals to you on a personal level and why. ;-)

For me:
Japanese maples. Don't get me wrong, they are gorgeous and look awesome in the right setting. Usually I've always put collection over composition when it comes to plants. If I see a cool plant I don't have I want it, regardless of whether it will look harmonious with its bed-mates. But I can't help feeling that a JM, be it red or green leaf or other, lace or broad shaped, would look strange and out of place here. I can't help seeing it as a plant for Asian, modern streamline, or woodsy type settings, where it just looks so at home.

Hibiscus, for the same reason as the JM. They are nice looking things and I wouldn't hesitate for a moment if I had a "tropical-esque" themed garden or even a single themed bed of that nature. But here? Somehow it just doesn't "jive" as my mother would say. The old fashioned ROS would look more cohesive with my existing plants perhaps, but not the big "dinner plate" hibiscus.

Green-leafed ornamental grasses. I have come to love the look of them, but think they would look weedy here. Why? Because there are periods of time when I don't get around to weeding. ;-) I tend to use colorful or variegated foliage grasses so they will stand out. Somehow I feel that the more green leafed/prairie-type grasses look infinitely better in a garden that has that naturalistic feel or is a lot tidier (*ahem* than mine, LOL).

How 'bout you guys?
CMK

you will take ANYTHING .. just to fill space ...

even if it means spending 5 or 10 years destroying it.. once you understand the mistake you made .. lol ..

but.. i do remember the space limited days of suburbia ...

and that would bring back memories of lilac and snowball bush [some kind of viburnum]... growing bigger than the garage ....

so for me.. it was size potential ... who knew about rejuvenation pruning back them .. lol ...

forsythia also .... a lot of the old fashioned flowering shrubs .... ooooo... honeysuckle bush .... weigelia .... etc ...

this was all 60's and 70's ... now with all the dwarf.. and the variegated ones.. its not as bad ... [the variegation dwarfs them also ... compared to the old green monsters]

ken

I try to avoid planting things that are toxic to the touch which is why I've denied myself monkshood all the years I've gardened here and wasn't overly disappointed when winter sown foxglove didn't return one spring.

While the 6-8 ft. tall Miscanthus cultivars leave me unmoved, I love my dwarf ornamental grasses for their contrasting form/texture & elegant habit that makes them stand out at either end of my granite garden bench. Their gentle, arching form lends a softer look to the granite. I also appreciate that they retain their form through the cold weather.

Due to its invasive habit, I've eradicated all the burning bush (Euonymus alatus) that was growing here when I moved in. Can't say I don't admire its bold, fiery presence in neighbors' gardens this time of year however. I also removed the forsythia that was growing unchecked here 10 years ago.

I admire & covet Japanese maples in others' gardens but will honestly admit I haven't really hit on the appropriate location for one in any of my own garden beds.

Things 'Not allowed to the party' in my garden generally include anything I find annoying, too labor-intensive to maintain and anything that doesn't serve the needs of pollinators. I named my garden La Musardiere--which is French for 'A place to be idle.' Once I designed it, planted it, had granite walks laid down, I just wanted to step back and enjoy it.

I'm sure happy everyone else grows them because the flowers are one of my all-time-favorites, but I will not allow them on the property. Too big, too ugly when not in bloom, too many suckers etc. etc. etc.

Some of the dwarfs are slightly better, but they smell like burning plastic to me when in bloom - at least the ones I've encountered - but I'm not a lilac expert - maybe there are better ones out there. I'm just not motivated to find them.

Kevin

There are certain plants whose odor I find truly repellent. I could never grow Carol Mackie daphne due the scent (which I know many folks find appealing.)

There are a whole passel of plants I don't much like due to running tendencies (evening primrose or Bishop's weed), homeliness, or inappropriateness in my site (bananas?!) but I can't say that I would never under any circumstances grow them if I moved or had a site that needed a vigorous runner.

Things that I don't foresee in my garden - not that I wouldn't allow them, but at this point I just don't see myself having - are tropicals. They just don't do much for me. I can (and do!) admire them in others' gardens, but as CMK said, they would look out of place in my woodsy garden, IMO.

Dee

Forsythia and burning bush. I have battled these in the past at former homes and they almost defeated me. Never again.

Yucca. I've killed them at other houses, trying to again.

Zinnia. Once burned with powdery mildew, I won't forget it.

And my all time No.1: WISTERIA!!! I had a wisteria that I seriously had nightmares about - its tendrils creeping down the chimney, prying their way around the windowsills into the house. That thing was monstrous with a trunk bigger than my thigh.

Tall grasses: I have too much tall grass that grows wild around here. It drives me nuts popping up everywhere. I won't even plant ornamental grasses because of that.

we had barberry ... lining the driveway that my basketball hoop was on ...

who knew b-ball involved bleeding.. lol ...

what was the deal with metro detroit parents and planting barbed plants where the kids hang out .... lol

ken

Living in the PNW, we avoid a lot of the invasive problems other parts of the country deal with - no issues with barberries (which I adore), nandina (ditto), burning bush, honeysuckle, etc. I do have some personal dislikes I would never plant by choice - most rhododendrons (2 weeks of gaudy, in-your-face bloom followed by 11 and half months of a big green blob), rose of Sharon, shrubby potentilla, most junipers, flowering cherries and purple leaf plums (disease prone and as common as dirt).

But doesn't everyone have specific plant likes and dislikes? Wouldn't it be boring if we all liked the very same things?