" Lots of negative comments re tropical and Mediterranean plants."
I don't they are negative about the plants, it's just a matter of personal taste. Some people don't like Buddhas or begonias, I do. Some people love cacti, I don't. Each to their own - and as the title invites us to reflect - our tastes can change radically over time.
I don't dislike 'tropical' plants, or non native species at all. If you can grow them, and you like them, good for you. Personally I can't be bothered with the faffle of looking after them because in my garden, they would die without cossetting. Things as unexotic as dahlias and tulips are basically impossible here, except in pots, and as noted on another thread, I've drastically reduced my pots. I do have a couple of tubs of tulips, because, whilst they are effectively annuals and require a fortress of chicken wire to get them through the winter, I don't have to manage them, they will just grow. Dahlias, nah. Bananas and cannas - love them, can't have one. I admire them from afar. But 'non natives' generally? If they grow here, they are very welcome - agapanthus and crocosmia and hostas and hellebores and Japanese cherries and oriental poppies. As I said, if they will thrive, I will be happy to have them.
What I dislike about tropical gardens is the repetition on GW, as if there is no other sort of garden to have just now, with every single one of the gardeners saying 'I've never seen another garden in the UK which is like mine'. Bah. There's a really tiny courtyard one that they featured a year or two back, which was marvellous. Now can we have a few decent potagers, or cottage gardens, or heaven forfend, a decent rockery?
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
This might be controversial but tulips... Never liked them. I love open daisy like flowers so tulips just don't seem interesting when they're quite closed up. But this year I thought I'd try some just to put more variety in the garden and I chose ones with frilly edges and more open (sorry I'm not good at remembering technical stuff like names 🤦) and I really like them. So guess that shows me not to ignore a plant when there could be varieties that I should try.
I wouldn’t ever, ever, EVER give houseroom/garden room to a begonia, that’s a lifetime ban on purely aesthetic grounds.
A journey of wonderful discovery lies before you... the only trouble is that once you’re hooked on them, it’s so hard to propagate the blasted things. Maybe I don’t have the right facilities?
Changes of heart for me were partly prompted by reading Christopher Lloyd, which got me into bergenias and hydrangeas (both of which I previously loathed). Then I’d read somewhere that single flowered roses were something many rose-growers appreciated more over time, and I swore that would never be me. Now my favourite roses are all single-flowered. How did that happen? I am also much more into foliage than flowers these days, as I find that is paramount in a small garden.
@Mary370 are they Lady Jane or Peppermint stick? I have a small clump of the ones that are very similar but the white bit is more a pale lemon and I can never remember which is which @hatty123 have a look at species tulips - they are much smaller and like Mary's ones, some of them open very wide in sunshine and close up at night
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
@hatty123 I know exactly what you mean about having a distaste for Tulips because of associating them with the very blousy/over the top ones. Then a few years ago we were buying some bulbs, ended up getting some species tulips as raisingirl says, and they really changed my view. I'm still not keen on the really over done ones, but I'm more open to Tulips at all now. Wide open in the sunshine they have a very graceful beauty to them.
As for my own tastes, I used to have a rather close minded attitude very much along the lines of "if it only lives for a year what's the point" and was only interested in perennials, but now I wish I had room to try more of the annuals.
When I got my first garden in 2015 I thought I would want it to be very neat, well defined, straight lines, gaps between plants etc. Within a few years I realised I actually wanted lots of colour and everything all crowded together in glorious wildness!
I also thought that my aesthetic preferences would trump what was good for wildlife, but since actually getting in the garden I've become absolutely enthralled by the amount of life there, and I'm now all about the native trees, flowers for pollinators, woodpiles, a mini wildlife pond, I even leave some weeds to grow which I never thought I could tolerate!
@hatty123@raisingirl they are indeed speciies tulips, Peppermint Stick, supposed to be reliabily perennial and spreading.....fingers crossed. Planted last Autumn, absolutely thrilled with them.
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What I dislike about tropical gardens is the repetition on GW, as if there is no other sort of garden to have just now, with every single one of the gardeners saying 'I've never seen another garden in the UK which is like mine'. Bah. There's a really tiny courtyard one that they featured a year or two back, which was marvellous. Now can we have a few decent potagers, or cottage gardens, or heaven forfend, a decent rockery?
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Changes of heart for me were partly prompted by reading Christopher Lloyd, which got me into bergenias and hydrangeas (both of which I previously loathed). Then I’d read somewhere that single flowered roses were something many rose-growers appreciated more over time, and I swore that would never be me. Now my favourite roses are all single-flowered. How did that happen? I am also much more into foliage than flowers these days, as I find that is paramount in a small garden.
@hatty123 have a look at species tulips - they are much smaller and like Mary's ones, some of them open very wide in sunshine and close up at night
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
As for my own tastes, I used to have a rather close minded attitude very much along the lines of "if it only lives for a year what's the point" and was only interested in perennials, but now I wish I had room to try more of the annuals.
I also thought that my aesthetic preferences would trump what was good for wildlife, but since actually getting in the garden I've become absolutely enthralled by the amount of life there, and I'm now all about the native trees, flowers for pollinators, woodpiles, a mini wildlife pond, I even leave some weeds to grow which I never thought I could tolerate!