Never say never!

In a recent post Chloris over at The Blooming Garden wrote about Taste in Flowers.  In her post she touched on varying tastes in flowers over the years.  It was considered a brave post by a few.  Me included.   I had prepared a post a while back but was a bit apprehensive about hitting the publish button.  It's easy to read blogs and not comment on a particular plant we don't like or wouldn't grow in our garden.  It thought you'd be interested in reading on how my taste has changed even in such a short space of time.     

When my gardening journey began back in 2011, I knew very little other than what I had picked up attempting to grow a few plants in the teeny tiny garden of my old house.  I didn't have a specific style in mind, somewhere between cottage and a rustic look just about covers it.  My gardening style is still in it's infancy and is constantly evolving.  I am really enjoying learning.   It's mostly through trial and error and from what I pick up reading blogs.  I am not big on reading gardening books.  Already I am much more appreciative of a plant growing healthily and happily in the right spot is far more worthy of our precious garden space than one that is sickly, struggling and ready to drop dead at the drop of a hat.  I'm willing to bet that I am not alone in the fact that some genus of plants have grown or crept up on us.         

I used to be scared of roses!  I know that will make some of you laugh but I really was petrified of them.  They come across as awkward and unforgiving plants.  Where to snip, how to snip and when to snip.  There are so many different opinions on how to grow them and take care of them successfully.   For me, as a beginner, I don't mind telling you it all made my head spin. 

The initial framework 2011

I decided one day to take the bull by the horns and jump right in with both wellies, so to speak.  If I was going to attempt to grow a rose, I wanted to try something a bit different and made the decision, after coming across a gorgeous image of a rose being grown against a wall espalier style, I just knew I had to give it a go.  Now, I didn't have a wall in the right place but my back fence was screaming out for some sort of cover and seeing that it wouldn't take up too much precious ground space, why not?   Lets give it a go.  I did suffer a bit of a set back in the first year.  I was disciplined and spent many an hour or so tying in the stems and by the end of the summer, although I had no blooms what I did have was a carefully tied framework with which too work.  In the winter storms of 2012 my back fence came

crashing to the ground and with it went the Rose.  It was severed at the base and all my hard work was lost.  I erected a new fence but hadn't held up much hope for the rose.  Would it regrow come spring?  Indeed it did and I spent the next 18 months tying and snipping again.  This was my eureka moment, I realised that roses were not as difficult to grow than I had previously imagined.        



Rose 'Félicité Perpétue'

My second attempt was also on the vertical - a pair of climbing Wedgewood Roses over the seated arch.  The scent drifting around as I relaxed was heavenly.   I was a bit shell shocked one day when I answered the door and Jim (a neighbour) called round as he just wanted to tell me how beautiful my roses look from his upstairs window and they had been a real pleasure for him as his mother loved pink roses.  He thought of her each morning as he drew open the curtains.  How sweet is that?     



The Wedgewood Rose

Encouraged, I added another pink rose to my collection.  Rosa Princess Alexandra of Kent drew me in when I saw her gorgeous blooms and scent when I happened across her in the GC.  She just had to come home with me.

Rosa Princess Alexandra of Kent

The style of garden I am trying to create would be, I think, quite incomplete without roses.  I am so glad my initial apprehension has gone and I gave roses a chance.  What ever was I scared off?  I've fallen hook, line and sinker for roses.  So much so I've added another 9 to the garden this year.  They are of course deserving of their own post but here's a wee sneak preview.

Rosa Port Sunlight, Fighting Temeraire and Lady of Shallot 

I used to walk around GCs, often with my mother in tow, take one look at all the Fuchsia on offer and think why?  No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't see the attraction.  My mother loves Fuchsia and we would often have the discussion about me growing them in the garden for her.  My answer was always no!  However, earlier in the year, I was kindly sent some Fuchsia cuttings by Helene over at Graphicality UK.  I had explained to Helene that I did not particularly care for Fuchsia but my mother absolutely loved of them.  She encouraged me to give them a go, convinced I would be converted.  Upon receipt of the tiny Fuchsia cuttings, my mother promptly told her friend, a Fuchsia fan herself, that I had finally relented - she came home with a good sized pot of yet another Fuchsia.   I am truly amazed at just how easy these plants are.  They are no bother whatsoever.  An online gardening friend offered the advice to feed them with tomato food, other than that, they take care of themselves.  How right both of them were.  They truly are no bother at all.  They are all doing well and take pride of place on the back step.  I must admit they are growing on me!

Various Fuchsia

I touched on the subject of right spot, right plant at the top of the

Out with the pink!

page.  My next choice kind of came into the garden by way of necessity rather than choice.  Part of my garden that occassionally suffers a wee bit of waterlogging makes choosing plants rather difficult.  It doesn't regularly happens and over the past few years I've given up on many plants.  After doing a bit of research, Astilbles seemed to be the perfect choice for this spot.  My image of Astilbes was mass planting by local authorities of feathery pink and purple blooms.  They just we not me!  They were not the look I was after.  However, trying to keep an open mind, I managed to source some that would not break the bank and if I didn't like them, I wouldn't be so worried about ripping them up and tossing them out.  They thrived and did remarkably well in that particular spot in the garden.  The pink/purple was still bothering me but upon coming across a white flowering variety in a local GC, I decided to replace the pink with white and pair it with a yellow flowered Ligularia (another plant I had seen and not found a particular fondness for).  This combo really has done well in the garden and now I wouldn't be without them, not in a million years!

Astilbe Deutschland and Ligularia The Rocket

I added another Astilbe to my collection, I like this one too.  A dwarf Astilbe, A. Red Sentinel looks good at the front of the border, I think.

Astilbe Red Sentinel

Yellow flowers tend  to remind me of huge swathes of yellow daffodils in springtime.  I am not a fan of huge in your face yellow daffs.  I know from previous blog posts that opinions are divided on the yellow daffodil front.  As a compromise too not growing yellow daffodils, I first tried some white flowering daffodils, they were far easier on my eye and then soon followed some species and dwarf Narcissus.  I still don't grow any of the large narcissus that many of you love and I don't see that changing in the foreseeable. 

White, dwarf and species Narcissus growing in my garden

As I sit here contemplating on how to end this blog, I could easily go on forever but I thought the perfect ending would be to open the floor to my readers.  How have your tastes changed over the years?  Is there a group of plants or maybe just one in particular that you did not particularly want to grow or maybe you were gifted one and have learned to love it?  Maybe like me, you never will grow a shrubby Potentilla or covet after a carefully tended display of summer bedding.  Do share, if you have written a post or would like to write a post on the same topic, please leave a link in the comment box.  We'd all love to read it I'm sure.