My career has, so far, involved working with both nurseries and private gardens. I’m also involved in plant trials and, without wanting to sound too big-headed, I have a reputation as someone who knows a thing or two about plants.
There’s one question I struggle to answer; what actually makes a good plant?
F&F: Flowers and Foliage
I think it’s important that a plant should have good flowers and foliage. Often we have plants that have one or the other, good flowers or foliage, but in an ideal world we should aim for both. I’m not saying that the foliage must be exciting in itself- some plants just don’t manage exciting leaves- but the foliage should be neat and presentable through the season.
Heptapleurum (Schefflera) macrophylla- with leaves like this who cares about flowers!
Even the finest flowers are hampered if they must associate with disappointing foliage. Florists have the option to essentially replace poor foliage with better material from other plants, removing bad leaves and adding ferns, eucalyptus or any other foliage to help the arrangement. We gardeners plant good foliage plants in close proximity, but it is never quite as good as growing a plant with good leaves in the first place.
Some plants with exceptional foliage have terrible flowers. This can be an issue with variegated plants; sometimes you find good foliage but flowers that don’t work in harmony with the rest of the plant. Foliage and flowers that clash colour-wise can be a bit too brash in the garden.
I struggle to like Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ but it’s a fairly reliable garden plant
Foliage should either act as a good foil for the flowers or, in some cases, the flowers should not interfere with effect of the leaves.
Health And Resilience
A plant that looks good at the nursery but drops dead in the garden is not a good plant.
Resilient plants with good vigour and health should be the holy grail of plant breeding, and by and large they are. However we are periodically subjected to plants that are disappointing under normal garden conditions.
A big issue for plant breeders and gardeners can be defining what actually constitutes ‘normal garden conditions’. Soil conditions, winter and summer temperatures, and even variables like winds, seldom (but occasionally do) change dramatically over a small area, but a little difference can affect the plant’s health and survival quite dramatically.
Crocosmia ‘Emily McKenzie’ is a nice looking plant but hates winter wet
I feel, and I know a significant number of gardeners will agree, that plant breeders and nurseries can be a little adventurous when it comes to just how cold hardy plants are for our gardens. Some plants are hardy if they’re absolutely dry for winter, for example, while others are hardy and reliable if they have a long summer to make and ripen new growth before the winter.
Salvia ‘Pink Amistad’ is OK but lacks the boldness of its purple-flowered kin
There are also plants that are technically cold hardy in that they will survive cold winters but then don’t flower or perform the following year. What’s the point of a plant that survives the winter but fails to thrive in summer? We expect to put a little effort into keeping our plants happy but anything that’s constantly needing life support isn’t worth growing.
Aura
This might seem a little irrational but a good plant stands out. It has a certain personality or aura around it; if you spend a lot of time around garden plants you develop a keen eye.
I visited a dahlia trial several years ago and one plant really stood out. It had dark leaves that were held well on the plant, and its vibrant pink flowers were held on stout stems neatly above the foliage. The proportions of the plant just looked right.
Gardeners seem to love petunias but their flowers get easily marked by water
I have the advantage that I spend a lot of my time around different plants, and this is definitely helpful.
The more plants we see, learn about and experience for ourselves, the more confident we can be when it comes to identifying the best plants for our gardens. Sadly there’s no way to shortcut the need for experience when it comes to such things, but neither is it the case that you must have a large garden and decades of experience to exercise good judgement.
Observe. Note. Learn
Observe the plants around you. Note what you like or dislike about them. Learn how others use plants well, but also identify where plants are grown badly and aim not to repeat those mistakes.
Every garden, public or private, is an opportunity to see plants that you might be unfamiliar with. Nurseries have plenty of plants on display, albeit that they’re usually a bit smaller than you might see in gardens.
It’s not just about seeing new things either; familiar plants grown in different ways and combinations yield a wealth of information for the curious gardener.
An accidental combination of plants at the nursery, but this would look great in a garden
Be curious. Reach out and ask about things, find labels, seek out the plants you don’t necessarily know already, and push yourself to look at plants that you might be tempted to dismiss as uninteresting.
Why do you like or dislike a certain plant? Have you been disappointed by the plant when it’s small but like it when it’s big? Or conversely does a plant look good when it’s young but then become disappointing with age?
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ offers much but delivers little, especially compared to other hydrangeas
Every observation adds to our personal knowledge and understanding. Learning to be critical about, but not necessarily criticising, plants and gardens is a useful thing to do. It seems to be a dying art in these days when marketing companies and influencers compete to tell us all what to grow and do.
Making personal observations and forming opinions is a vital gardening skill, but it definitely pays not to be too rigid in our likes and dislikes.