How have your gardening tastes changed over the years?

Emerion

I’ve been looking into getting my first heuchera in the last couple of days, and it has occurred to me that I wouldn’t have liked them at all when I first started gardening. Back then, I liked leaves to be bright green and “leaf” shaped, flowers to be daisy-shaped and preferably pastel coloured, and  I loathed all evergreens. I would have thought that heucheras were garish and fussy. I still like daisy flowers and green leaves, but I seem to have broadened my horizons a bit. I can see the benefit of a nicely-shaped evergreen for structure, especially in winter. Nothing and no one will ever persuade me to give begonias house-room though 😁. Which plants did you detest in your wild youth, that you have come to appreciate now? And vice versa.

Captain_Chaos

I am even more generalised than disliking specific flowers. I had no interest in gardening AT ALL. About 10 years ago I replaced a slabbed back garden with soil (badly) and planted a lawn from seed and planted some rhubarb about 4 years ago. That's it.  During lockdown, I started to watch Monty on a Friday and my interest took off (now a magazine subscriber too). We moved house and I planted some garlic last year, which should be ready later in June. Currently growing some chilis, sweet peas and sunflowers from seed on a windowsill. Trying to remove the (never ending) dandelions from the lawn and just ordered our first greenhouse. I want to build a raised veg bed alongside it. Lots of plans now.:)

Nollie

My tastes have changed in terms of colour. I used to dislike all yellow flowers, now I have yellow roses, orangey/yellow heleniums and recently bought a rudbeckia little goldstar. I am softening towards peach/apricot. I detest with a passion coral tones and don’t think that will ever change. I recently ordered a salvia orange presse hoping it would actually be orange but it was the most disgustingly lurid coral lipstick shade - I binned it immediately.

I used to dislike roses now I am completely obsessed with them and have around 40, so that’s a fairly major change.

My taste in plants has broadened - the longer I garden the wider my appreciation of plants I might have dismissed previously. If it fits well within the landscape - feels right in terms of having a ‘sense of place’ - and performs well in my specific climate and growing conditions, it’s a winner.

Palms, cacti, tropical plants and zonal pelargoniums all fail the sense of place hurdle - they just look comically wrong here. Alien invaders in my rural, woodland setting.

I wouldn’t ever, ever, EVER give houseroom/garden room to a begonia, that’s a lifetime ban on purely aesthetic grounds.

raisingirl

I used to think that there were plants I don't like. Then I moved to a cold, windy place with a (really) big garden and found actually that I like any plant that is willing to grow well, flower/fruit reliably and not demand my constant attention. I prefer the ones that don't attempt world domination but I'm willing to make compromises, even with those

Obelixx

My tastes have changed with the gardens as we've moved.   What I could do in a standard, north facing 30s house plot on Harrow clay in the 80s is very different from what I have now and in between there was the Belgian garden thru the 90s, noughties and half the teens.

Different climates, different soils and a vast range of plants now compared to what was easily available in the 80s as well as greater experience so I'm willing to try different things. 

B3

I've taken agin tulips, lilies and erysmum.  I now like single blooms rather than doubles  I prefer delicate leaves  but punchy jewel colours for flowers. Any yellow darker than primrose is a definite no these days.
I would no longer paint my garden furniture cobalt blue , even though it makes some flowers and foliage ping .

Emerion

I don’t like coral flowers either. Apart from personal taste they seem to clash with just about everything else that I have.  

Nanny Beach

My tastes have changed with my gardens,I used to hate dahlias and bright flowers, nothing I don't like now

BenCotto

That’s an interesting question, @Emerion, but I don’t think my views have changed much. I suppose I am softening on orange flowers but the list of plants and, especially, garden decorations I cannot abide is as long and as snippily expressed as ever.

pansyface

I’m just grateful to have anything to look at that isn’t sucked dry by aphids, doesn’t get canker or frostbite and is ignored by the badgers, the pigeons, the mice and the slugs.

Emerion

And what would that be @pansyface?😁