By Gabrielle.
I read this interview of my friend, Jenny Komenda of Little Green Notebook, and I was shocked. Jenny, a crazy-talented interior designer and someone with impeccable taste, mentioned that she doesn’t like hydrangeas.
Whaaa??? Shock, I tell you. : )
Hydrangeas might be my all-time favorite flower. They change color with the soil. They last for ages. And they’re so generous with their blooms! When I first learned about them as a teenager, I remember aching that they didn’t grow in the hot deserts of my hometown. I would daydream of living somewhere lush and green where huge bushes of hydrangeas, in every shade of blue and the palest of pink, would thrive.
Reading Jenny’s interview got me thinking: Is there a flower that I don’t like?
Yes. In fact there is. Will you dislike me if I tell you I’ve always had a hard time liking calla lilies. They look pretend to me. Sort of plastic and over-designed. Like they should only be displayed in a super-modern office building. (Are they your very favorite? Am I offending you? Oh dear!)
I’m not a fan. But some of my favorite people in the world absolutely adore them. I remember helping one of my best friends with her wedding flowers and trying to get over my distaste for the lilies — and hold my tongue! — when she chose them for her bouquet.
Have you ever had a negative reaction to a flower? An object others consider beautiful? I must say, it’s an odd feeling.
Hydrangea images on Pinterest here, here, here and here.
P.S. — Even though we don’t see eye-to-eye on hydrangeas (a vital and important topic! : ), I adore Jenny Komenda.
Roses! They’re pretty, but they are the most cliche flower ever. I absolutely insisted on not having any roses at my wedding – the only demand I made of the florist. Of course, the corsages for our mothers had roses in them. *sigh* I just think they’re so boring and unimaginative. I don’t think I have a true favorite, but lilies of the valley occupy a special place in my heart. They’ve just so magical to me!
Me too! I dislike the cliche attached to red roses, especially the one’s with tight buds.
‘Sweet Juliet’ garden roses and ‘Café au Lait’ dahlias are so incredibly pretty. Love them.
I know that many people dislike sunflowers. Once I heard a designer characterize them as looking like weeds! There is a nursery close to where I live, however, that grows them in a field–and they are breathtaking! Photographers flock to take pictures of them every summer, and lots of engaged couples get their photos taken in that field.
There are fields of them here in France, grown for the oil, and they’re pretty spectacular when in full bloom.
I have always disliked peonies. Occasionally I can notice the fresh blooms and think they are pretty–but I hate when they start sagging on the ground, and I think I was scarred for life by the ants that always climbed out of the petals of the peonies in my backyard when I was a little girl.
So there you have it. But I like hydrangeas!
I love all the differing opinions here. In fact, I think you are the first with a thumbs down for peonies. So fun to hear everybody’s viewpoints!
I love peonies even more when they start sagging on the bush! It reminds me of the beauty of pregnancy, how being in full bloom is stunning but can seem like a heavy burden too.
I just need to pipe up and bang the drum for the much-maligned gerber daisy. i like them! i like traditional daisies too. i think they are both cheerful and friendly.
someone had to!!!! I don’t love them, but my dear friend adores them so they remind me of her. She is cheery and bright Whats with the tubes that they always have around the stem?
My understanding is that the tubes are necessary because the chlorine in the water makes the stems limp, which causes the flower to droop. I was told by one of my favorite florists that if you keep them in chlorine-free bottled water, you don’t need the straws, although I’ve never tried it!
My favorites are Hydrangeas, Lilacs and Lillys of the Valley! However, I am not a fan of Petunias.
Gabrielle,
We just love hydrangeas too! And we love your blog, which is why we want to feature it on our’s! Please keep the amazing articles and inspiration coming!
xox Liz and Lo {celesteandpearl.blogspot.com}
I am so glad that you’ve asked this question! I have been harbouring a hatred for stargazer lillies for years, and thought I could be the only one that would dare hate a type of flower, of all things. I can’t stand the way they smell and I think they are completely overdone and pretentious. I have a girl friend who loves them though and has sent me bouquets for my birthdays and the birth of each of my children. In that instance, gratitude outweighs the hate and I try to enjoy them for a few days before the smell makes me file them in the round bin.
What a great question!
I’ve never been a big fan of red roses or more I’m not fond of the idea that it’s the go to flower of romance. But I do love mums and peonies!
I don’t like azaleas. Everyone makes such a fuss over them during their blooming season, but they are just one big ball of color and not very exciting. Then, similar to rhododendron, you have that ugly bush to contend with the rest of the year.
No one has mentioned gardenias – I adore those!
I love gardening and flowers, but Bird of Paradise, is one I just don’t love. It is everywhere here in San Francisco, and I have grown and tended to it, cut it long-stemmed and short, and still just don’t like it. I’ll care for it, but not ever plant it.
My favourite flower has been white daisies ever since I was 10 and watched You’ve Got Mail. That was Meg Ryan’s favourite flower in the movie, and I loved her haha. I still love them now, for other reasons– their simplicity, how they’re not fussed over… I really dislike roses too. I see them as the “I’m Sorry” flowers.
Most of these comments point to my theory that liking or disliking a flower is primarily experiential. I hardly gave a thought to hydrangeas until my friend had them in their weddding, then I loved them! Carnations? Cheap High School Valentine’s flower sale, ridden with awkward teenage crushes. No thank you. Lily of the Valley & Lilacs? Ah, the sweet smells of home.
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just popping in very late: I DO like carnations!!!
…and it looks like I’m going to get them all ;)
This is so interesting! It’s gladiolus that I don’t like–so awkward and stand-offish. My family has strict instructions for none to appear at my funeral, where they seem to be ubiquitous, which is probably why I don’t like them. Strangely, my husband is very fond of them, but tolerates my dislike.
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I love hydrangeas they were my mothers fav. Quick tip to the lover of them …. If u want them to change colors just put an iron nail or spike in the ground by the roots the iron will effect color as it seeps into the roots…. Cant help but love my blue varigated.
I totally agree with Jenny! I have always thought hydrangeas were too froufrou. I get that you get a lot of bang for your buck with them, but it is a little too much for me. I couldn’t wait to click on this one because I was wondering if there was anyone else out there that admits to disliking hydrangeas. I can’t think of any other flower I have felt this way about.
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