I’m being very nosy again! You’ll never guess why
So what are your top 3 flowering plants? Why those ? Are they shrub, climber, annual, perennial? What size? How fast does it grow? How much care is needed? What conditions does it seem to like?
I know I’ve done a similar thread a while ago “how do you choose “. The more I ask, the more you lot will teach me about plants. I need to learn fairly quickly. I’ve got a lot of ground to fill
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My top 3
Lupin - I like these because lots of different colours, big bold shaped leaves & flower spikes. Perennial. Very little care needed.
Sweet pea -I like these because lots of colours, beautifully scented. Annual. They seem quite happy just to do there own thing for the summer.
Snapdragon -I like these because of childhood memories. lots of colours & sizes of these. Annual/ perennial? Some come back, some don’t . They seem happy they grow ( you see, I can’t answer my own questions properly
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Think I’ve just worked out , I quite like not knowing what colour the flowers are until they open
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My 3-ish are all perennials or self-seeders.
Daffodils - bright yellow happy flowers to greet the spring - perennial bulbs - but you know that (snowdrops and crocus too)
Calendula - bright orange, sunshiny, tough as old boots, self seeders.
Camellia - shrubs, evergreen, flower through winter and spring. Don't mind a bit of hacking. Seem to like acidic soil. Early forage for bees if you grow the simple flowered ones. Flowers make a mess on the ground when they drop and white camellia petals turn brown so don't look as good as pink.
Hmm...hard to decide, but:
* Roses - adore the scent, and they have a lot of nostalgia for me. They're not the easiest things to grow, as they need careful pruning and can suffer from disease, but they're fairly hardy and there are a multitude of varieties to suit almost any situation, from small pots to border shrubs to enormous climbers. A rewarding project for the keen gardener!
* Hardy geranium (aka cranesbill) - pretty little perennials for any summer border or bed, with fascinating "catapult" seed pods. Tough as old boots, grow almost anywhere and require very little care.
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* Horned pansy (
Viola cornuta) - fell in love with these cute little things recently, as they flower for months and months on end (some varieties right through the winter), and they even dead-head themselves! Perennial, but often grown as an annual - I have mine in a hanging basket where they're safe from most frosts and can be moved around to give the garden a splash of colour where it needs it.
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For me its got to be:-
Polyanthus- seems to flower for about 8 months of the year and loads of different colours
Chysanthemums-Brilliant as cut flowers
Limanthes (Poached egg plant)-Colourful, easy to grow and a good green manure.
I know I am only allowed three but Apple blossom and Rhododendrons are a joy when they are in flower.
Hmm,
3 Hardy Annuals
Cornflowers - can start these in the Autumn and give lovely early color
SnapDragons - similar reasons to SP, but I also love to start in the Autumn so gives me things to do in the GH over winter
Scabious - same as snaps.
3 Perenials "flowers"
Roses - just love them for scent, and their blooms. Suit my gardening style.
Knautia - similar to scabious but returns year after year, comes from seed and are reliable and flowers the whole season.
Dahlias - because they are fabulous
3 Shrubs
Physocarpus :nine bark -
easy to grow. Looks amazing when in flower
Black sambuca - fills a good sized space, love the colour of the leaf and the flowers are beautiful
Cornus Kousa - beautiful flower. Mine hasn't yet
Sorry that was 9 but they are different groups?
I find it hard to give an answer to this question, as one of the reasons I have never tried to specialise in any one variety is because I like so many, but I think the three use most of are first Oriental lilies, lots of colours, and the perfume from them is fantastic especially on a warm still day, second begonias both non-stop and trailing, as they are self cleaning (self deadheading) and don't require a lot of attention, third is fuchsia, lots of diffrent colours and with a bit of work lots of diffrent shapes