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danica_gw

If you could have only 1 flower in your garden, what would it be?

Danica
23 years ago

If you could have only one type of flower in your garden (annual, perennial or biennial), what would it be - and why?

My hands down favorite is mertensia virginica, "Virginia bluebells" - beautiful nodding bells that start out pink and end up being the most gorgeous shade of lavender blue.

What's your favorite?

Comments (126)

  • phlip
    21 years ago

    Oh wow that's a tough question!! There are soooo many but I think if I had to chose one it would be Meconopsis regia. It has scrumptious large very hairy leaves and I just love the formation of the foliage. Wow! Now can I mention the other million plants??? Philippa

  • junco44
    21 years ago

    If I could have only one it would be black-eyed susans, but I also really love burgundy and goblin gaillardia--even longer blooming than b-e s. Then there are my 4 kinds of coreopsis...Oh..it's so hard to decide.

  • strawberrygoat
    21 years ago

    The full spectrum of Rhododendrons!

  • sunhat
    21 years ago

    Good ol' fashioned blue hydrangea

  • seemyflowers
    21 years ago

    If I could only pick one flower, it would start with the letter D. My picks would be daffodils, day lilies, daisies,
    and dahlias.
    Chrystal

  • Loretta NJ Z6
    21 years ago

    Well I love my roses but since they are a shrub, they don't count.
    I love my Snowflake oakleaf hydrangeas but since they are a shrub, they don't count.
    I love my decidious azaleas, but since they are a shrub, they don't count.
    I love my magnolias but since that is a tree, it doesn't count.
    I love my witchhazel but since that is a tree, it doesn't count.
    So I guess its my columbine, or maybe the daffodils, oh wait, its my Coral Charm Peony, those toadlilies were refreshing, then there is that one dark foilaged hot pink dahlia I grew from seed...oh, then there are those little yellow dainty flowers on the Tutsan that turn into red berries, then dark purple with the burgandy and green foliage but that is a shrub and that doesn't count...

  • NthC_Gardener
    20 years ago

    It would be sweet peas for me. Nothing to beat the delicate look along with the heady fragrance and vast colors! Yep....sweet pea it is!

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    20 years ago

    Pee gee hygrangeas. And that is not all paniculatas, but only the common, grandiflora, or plain ol' pee gee. My all time favorite smell in the garden. Why can't they make a perfume that smells this way!
    And of course, the dried arrangements last til the next season.

    #2 is gardenia...ahhh!

  • Thirteensqirrlz
    20 years ago

    Only one.... I Looove roses, but I think I would have to go with Dianthus instead. They smell great, look great, and remind me of home. On the other hand, the question was "in your garden." Now, as for my lawn.... Hepatica, thyme, mint, yarrow, oregano, catnip, prickly-pear, yucca, native wildflowers... Never said the LAWN had to be only grass! Besides, it would make a nice contrast to my neighbors mini-wanna-be-golfcourses!

  • User
    20 years ago

    Peony!

    Heart-stoppingly beautiful blooms (I love my "Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt") and the wonderful "dear rosy snouts" of emerging shoots in spring (thank you, Gertrude Jeckyll for that image); artfully dissected foliage all summer with great fall color.

  • whisperingpines
    20 years ago

    Salvias and Daylilies and Columbines and....... Sorry I got carried away.

  • Lady_Lisa
    20 years ago

    Roses, I have a beautiful Mme Alfred Carriere that has survived against all the odds and two ruby red, highly fragrant bushes that were here when I moved in so I have no idea what they are, but they're glorious! Also, Helichrysum. My house is full of bunches of these small jewel-like flowers hanging from light fittings and edging the top of my kitchen cupboards, they're easy to grow and I love them!!
    Lisa

  • bamboogrrrl
    20 years ago

    Peonies. THATÂS a scent IÂd wear everyday! I just wish they lasted longer, but maybe I can extend the bloom period with many varieties So far I have my great-grandmotherÂs unnamed 10 pink ones, that have traveled from her house to my parents house to my house. I also have bunches of Festiva Maximas, a bunch of el-cheapo unnamed ones from White Flower Farms, and last year I got 6 "Silver Dawn" peonies. Have two tree peonies, but for some reason, they have never taken off like the others. Peony season is my idea of paradiseÂ

  • Robin_FL
    20 years ago

    I can't choose, but it would be a toss up between orange blossoms, gardenias or frangipani, all of which I have growing out there and don't know how I would have just choose one of them!

  • yborgal
    20 years ago

    Bush daisies. They are so generous with their blooms and are so easy to grow.

  • bungalow_mikee
    20 years ago

    Have you people even ever seen a Camellia Japonica??
    Maybe not the right cultivar!?

    I'd would tear up 100 bushes of roses to plant ONE Camellia.

    hehehe

  • gardenlove
    19 years ago

    Sacred Lotus.....They are worth growing for their magnificent leaves alone...but when they BLOOM....Oh my goodness...they will take your breath away!!....Oh there is no way I could only have one though:)...I would HAVE to squeeze in the Climbing Iceberg Rose(a Clean White floribunda, sometimes with the palest blush of pink)or Climbing New Dawn(Pale Pink), together with a Gorgeous Blue variety of Clematis winding its way through it(Such as The President, Ramona,General Sikorski,Mrs Cholmondley, or Perle d'Azure)...I would have to sneak in the Old garden rose garden, and some Helleborus growing happily along with the violas..I guess I did not stay on topic, but to me, Flowers and plants are some of Gods most miraculous calling cards....its too hard to only pick one!!!!...haha....I am SO excited that spring is just round the corner...take care all!...GardenLove

  • Susan Garrison
    19 years ago

    I love all flowers, but I simply cannot imagine a southern garden without azaleas.

  • Dottie B.
    19 years ago

    This is much too difficult to pick just one...LOL...but I will...Hosta

  • neocon
    19 years ago

    B L E E D I N G H E A R T ........just because they are the most amazing bloom I have ever seen......and mine are beaking ground as I type this.

  • becky_jean
    19 years ago

    Oriental lilies; they are so interesting looking and the smell is just hypnotic!

  • wettoad
    19 years ago

    jacob cline monarda gets my vote

  • angel_kittys_mom
    19 years ago

    Only ONE? That's just not possible -- roses, peonies, clematis, and chrysanthemums, if I absolutely have to narrow it down. Add scabiosa for its non-stop, all summer blooming.

  • tuanh
    19 years ago

    Amaryllis-Hippeastrum!

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    18 years ago

    Dianthus with the evergreen/blue gray foliage that forms a mat and looks great year round.

    Sue

  • oscarthecat
    18 years ago

    A daylily called Gem. Steve in Baltimore

  • ARUM
    18 years ago

    Feverfew. :) Arum

  • gardengirl_sd
    18 years ago

    Interesting question...mainly because my 2 picks I don't even have! It would either be Morning Glories or Plumeria. Me thinks I need to work on that! haha

  • loveroftheleaf
    18 years ago

    Phlox of most any tall variety but my fav is 'Nora Leigh' for its vareigated foliage and wonderful fragrance. 2nd choice would be Oxalis (Burgandy Shamrock with pink flower)

  • hornedone
    18 years ago

    BLUE EYED DORAS WOULD DO JUST FINE ha ha ha

  • phylrae
    18 years ago

    Roses/Oriental & Orienpet lilies/Spuria & Siberian Iris/Crazy Daisies/Peonies/Bleeding Hearts/Lupines/Double Daffs/Double Sunflowers/Rudbeckias & Zinnias

    Like Lay's potato chips, nobody can have just one! :0) Phyl

  • gardeniarose
    18 years ago

    Moonflowers.

  • natalie4b
    17 years ago

    Lilac!

  • paisley43
    17 years ago

    I would choose which ever plant that would drive out my creeping charlie!

  • halaeva
    17 years ago

    It would be Hibiscus- Syriacus- Rose of Sharon 'Blue Bird'

  • ARUM
    17 years ago

    Feverfew. I know, it's really an herb, but I just LOVE it! :) Arum

  • carlanne
    17 years ago

    Daffodils because they ask so little, start blooming here in February (12/30 this freak winter) and go on and on until mid May. Pest proof, and multipliers. They give me an excuse to tour to pick, and deadhead and admire every day. Nice also as I lose the energy to garden.

  • flowrgirl1
    17 years ago

    Its a toss up between irises and roses. I love them both. I think i will have to go irises though. Wait, no, roses. irises. roses. irises. roses. I dont know.

  • roseclaire
    17 years ago

    With a name of RoseClaire....you guess!

  • entling
    17 years ago

    Anemonella thalictroides pink form. I love the burgundy emerging foliage, the perfect little flowers, the columbine-like leaves, the neat seed heads. My only complaint is that they die back towards the end of summer. I just can't have enough of them. The double forms are great too.

  • lilacs_of_may
    17 years ago

    If shrubs count, it would have to be lilacs. If it has to be a flower, I'd say lily of the valley.

    But there are so many I like! There's at least half a dozen that I wouldn't want to cross off my list: roses, peonies, pansies, irises, daffodils, tulips, crocuses....

  • kristal
    17 years ago

    How am I supposed to choose one after reading all of your posts?? Not Possible!!

  • cranebill
    17 years ago

    Acanthus mollis.

  • alyson19
    17 years ago

    SUNFLOWERS!!!! and wild pholx. Sorry, I had to do both those. I just love them both so much!!! : )

  • corydalisenvy
    16 years ago

    For me it has to be baptisia australis - brilliant twelve inch spikes filled with light and iary floiage and then amazing pea spaped blooms that dance in the gentle breezes of spring. Even the black pods of the seeds are attractive.

  • natalie4b
    16 years ago

    It changes every season. Today - Japanese Anemone.

  • sandee
    16 years ago

    Gladiolas!!!!!!!!!! They obviously are my favorites.

  • ingulphus
    16 years ago

    Lonicera - a vigorous (to the point of invasive) plant, but not at all fussy, takes dramatic shearing and pops back, and I will never tire of the fragrance. I keep it in bounds by growing it as a standard, which has the extra advantage of keeping the flowers at a convenient height for sniffing.

  • ohgirl
    16 years ago

    Banana flowers, Uh Ohh, wait..., do they count?
    Moonflowers, oh, right, they're only at night!
    how bout' Sunflowers? No too tall.
    ummm daylilies? no, too much deadheading.
    ummm I cant pick!!!!!

  • hdladyblu_2007
    16 years ago

    irises,heavenly blue morning glories,colombines,camellias.that's the least i can narrow it down to.and johnny jump ups,they are such perfect little flowers.

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