Plants you're crazy about but impress no one else

here is mine. It is Pavonia Hastata, related to hibiscus. I adore this plant but when I show it my friends, they're just not that impressed. Do you have any underappreciated plants?

Definately! Particularly the tiarellas or foamflowers. Nobody seems to really appreciate these beauties :(

Dea

I have a soft spot for the look of hedge bindweed, which I know must be killed as soon asyou see it near your yard, and most people hate.

I actually like dandelions. They're bright and cheerful. They're a useful herb. And they're very hardy. Unfortunately, I don't have dandelions in my yard, just awful green weeds that choke out my other plants.

And I guess other people don't like lily of the valley as much as I do.

I have a couple huge philodendrums outside and no-one is as impressed about them as I am. Maybe because they're so common and don't have pretty flowers. They're just great green architectual plants with humongous beautiful leaves.

This message was edited Aug 26, 2006 9:30 PM

You know there are a lot of folks locally who don't share my love of Hostas especially when I tell them I paid $50 for a tiny one. That's one of the reasons I love you guys so much - partners in crime, if you will.

Brenda

Fly you took the words right out of my mouth. LOL I just love my Philo too. No one else seems very impressed with it though. I do love the huge pretty green leaves and the overall look of the plant. It's true you have to have the right spot for it to make an impact but I love mine.

I also like my Spiderworts (tradscantia). The pretty little blue flowers are attractive in my opinion. My Mother pulls every one she sees out of her gardens. They come up voluntary here.

I also love my hostas. This is another plant that my Mother and dd don't show much interest in.

Funny how gardeners have different tastes in plants.

White_Hydrangea, I'll send you a box load of dandelions if you like! In about 8 weeks I'll have tons of henbit too!

LOL

X

Silver Mound Artemisia. When kids hang out with me while I am in the garden, they always want to know about "that furry plant". I tell them what little I know about it, and that they can "pet" it any time. Usually leads to questions about the other things nearby, like the iceplants I have interplanted with the artemisia so the pinky flowers on the iceplant poke up through the artemisia, and the lamb's ears, and the butterfly bush....

Call it a "gateway perennial" -- I get the kids hooked on interacting with the plants, and next thing I know they are asking for cuttings of mint to take home to mom. "It smells just like gum!" (LOL)

Elephant Ears.....I take friends over to them and say "look at the size of this leaf!", and all I get is a blank stare, nothin, dead behind the eyes! These plants are just the coolest plant, and they really do look like elephant ears!

Cactus, I have a garden of hardy cactus and I am so proud of it, when I
show it to people the reaction is, So why do you grow cactus?

Cactus in Mpls... I would be impressed!

Yes, We have 2 native cactus plus I have purchased 5 other hardy cactus from High Country Gardens. I keep looking for more. They loose their moisture in the winter so they don't freeze, then in the spring they plump back up.

fly_girl, wrong on the philo. it does bloom . lookie here http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/11287/

Wow Vossner, I hope mine gets a flower like that! Thanks for the link

Gosh I didn't know the Philo bloomed. Thanks for posting that. Very interesting.

I love my Rain Lilies. Zephyranthes and Habranthes, I have a few types.
Most of the year they just look like border grass, but then in late spring or early summer when the rains start I get quite a show. They don't require any care and we even mow over them sometimes. They are wonderful planted in mass. The only time anyone pays attention is if they happen by when the ones in front are blooming. Even then they aren't well admired for some reason.

Voss, I have a pavonia similiar to yours (might be the same) and love it. I thought mine was a braziliensis but I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time.

I have a good friend and outstanding gardener who loves Poke Weed. She grows it to use the branches in floral arrangements.

I think barziliensis is indeed part of the name.

zenpotter, my daughter loves cactus, could you dmail me the names of the ones that grow outside? I would love to surprise her with a few.
Connie

fly - I LOVE your philodendrums... I want philodendrums and EE's on my property but haven't gotten them much yet.

I thought of another one, wild black berries, I was going to get their scientific name off plant files, but it's not there. I have one in my yard, I'll have to add it.

Thanks rena, I'll see how to propagate it and see if I can send you a piece.

cegoins You have mail

I love wild blackberries... hard to find now days with all the construction taking away all the old land

Nothoscordum -- false garlic. Tiny little white wildflower, a lily, also known as crow poison. Grew fond of it when I was a kid and could pick all I liked, made flower garlands for my hair and gave bouquets of it for my mother. It's so unassuming.

I've taken some heat for this but I like Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). It's a nice little native that doesn't bother anybody but it does have a distinct aroma that some people find offensive.

I like the look as well. I don't grow them though.

I like my St. John's Wort but no one else seems impressed. I have 2 months of a ton of beautiful yellow flowers in the early summer. This year I have transplanted it and I'm afriad that I might have killed it. Poor thing just doesn't look happy.

I ended up with some of the SJW on a lower tier than I had it last year... I didn't plant it so it must have self seeded.

Jack my 25 y/o 8' Ficus. He has survived many moves. I'm very fond of him. Everyone thinks I've lost my marbles!

MySharona ~ Marbles? Not to worry, we are all in that game. Your Jack is magnificent. He would be a good candidate for this thread. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/629430/
I don't think I saw any ficus there.

Thanks Podster! I'll pop a pic of Jack at that forum. I also have Diane, but she's only 3 y/o. She used to look exactly like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree! Here's Diane now...
Oh and yes, long time John Mellencamp fan!!