We all have our plant prejudices. I conducted a poll in the office today to discover the 'most hated plant' of the Gardeners' World magazine and web teams.
It's that time of year again when sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea and a seed catalogue is much more inviting than going outside and cleaning the greenhouse, raking up leaves or - as I found last Sunday - removing diseased, mummified plums from my mum's plum tree.
When browsing through seed catalogues recently I came across some pretty horrible plants. Take daffodils, for example. You can't beat the elation of seeing your first daffodil of the year in flower. But I don't think I'd like 'Replete', 'Mon Cherie' or 'Pink Charm' flowering anywhere near my garden. I've never been a fan of anything pink and frilly.
We all have our plant prejudices. I conducted a poll in the office today to discover the ‘most hated plant’ of the Gardeners’ World magazine and web teams. Kevin lamented: "flowers that are labelled as 'salmon' in colour are always hideous". I couldn't agree more. Google Geranium 'Salmon Princess' for a treat.
Abigail doesn't like pieris; Vic hates spider plants, although she concedes the way they make baby plants is quite clever (and she learned a new word: viviparous); Daniel hates ceanothus; Lucy can't stand the flamingo tree (Salix integra 'Hakuro Nishiki'); David thinks forsythia is "grim"; Emma from Marketing dislikes the smell of hyacinths; Adam is firmly sat on the fence and only dislikes "weeds", while Anne hates coleus, particularly in bedding displays. Are any bedding displays really nice, though? Do people actually like begonias, marigolds and impatiens or is it only municipal group plantings of them that get people worked up?
It's not just members of our team that have such strong views about plants. The inaugural Gardeners' World Awards revealed that we're a nation divided when it comes to the rose, placing it top of the poll of most loved and most hated plant. Other hated plants included marigold, leylandii, begonia, pampas grass, periwinkle and dahlia. And I'm sure by now we all know what James Alexander-Sinclair thinks of forsythia…
What do you think?
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