Most of the time it's tulips. They're classic, not overly fancy, come in a ton of colors and a few different petal shapes if you need something a little extra, and they just remind me of spring and the shape makes me happy.
The one I like that's out of my league is the fuchsia. I wanted one for a few years, kept forgetting to buy one, and last year I finally got one. It was about double what I like to spend on plants because half of them die because I'm an over-waterer. The fuchsia lasted a week. ๐ฃ
This thing looks magical though, and I still can't believe it's from this planet.
They're just so versatile. Even a single one has great minimalist beauty. A nice bouquet adds a burst of color to match or complement a room. And their straight, controlled shape can make beautiful displays or patterns outdoors. I also enjoy them at all stages of bloom too.
Hellebores (aka Lenten Rose) because they flower early in the spring, and their flowers stay for a few months and change color during that time.
I also love Virginia Bluebells because the blossoms are so durn pretty :)
For flowering shrubs, I love lilacs. I planted four of them along the side of my house. They were maybe a foot tall when I planted them 7 years ago, and now they're at least 10 feet tall. The blooms are so fragrant - I love opening the windows to let the scent into my house.
For annuals, lantana are one of my favorites and every year I put a bunch of them in my pots and planters. In some zones they're perennial and invasive, but in mine they die out in autumn. They have such bright, happy flower clusters, it always makes me smile to see them :)
Gardening season is starting soon and I'm excited in case you couldn't tell!
I've always loved a Frangipani (especially the white ones)
I have a soft spot for flowering trees, and these always remind me of fun times by the coast (plus some part of me thinks they look like a delicious forbidden food).
Gardenias. My grandmother had a huge gardenia tree/bush monstrosity that my mom took a cutting off of when grandma died. That cutting turned into the same tree bush monstrosity in my backyard.
Lilac. Growing up, my childhood home had lilac bushes all around the edge. I used to build forts underneath like it was my own private space. The smell of lilacs brings me back to my happy childhood.
Black-eyed Susan. They grow in big bunches and expand outward each year in a ring where the seeds fall. Just a simple flower that stands out in late summer in my area and lasts through fall. It's low maintenance too.
I don't know that they deserve favorite because of what they are, they don't even have much of a smell! But there is just something about them I love, and maybe it's memories or how "wild" they look as they grow in bunches. It reminds me of wildflowers in a field.
I love the colours. These flowers grow naturally where I leave in southeast France. They're very resistant and bloom all year long. They where my father's favourite and mine too.
Snapdragons. My wife sometimes plants them to attract bees to her vegetable garden. The sight of bee butts wriggling to get inside those flowers never fails to make me smile.
Smell-wise, night blooming jasmine. Effortless beauty, rain lilies and the black eyed susans. Pollinator attracting, I don't know what it's called but there is a lanky bush in my backyard with flowers like morning glories and when it blooms, it is a bee club, absolutely stuffed full of bees. So many bees come to that one plant every year late summer.
Couldn't tell you my favorite, but I could easily tell you I absolutely HATE rafflesia because it kinda creeps me out in a similar way that mushrooms do.
By usefulness: Yarrow, it's an incredibly useful plant. Helps with bleeding, heartburn, indigestion.
By looks: Bird of Paradise Flower, lives quite a long time when cut from the plant.
Scariest: Poison Hemlock, it's everywhere. And you wouldn't think much of it.
Even scarier: Giant Hogweed. It's like Poison Hemlock, but apocalyptic in size.
Best smelling: Wax Flower
Least favorites
Limonium, it smells like cat piss.
Roses due to thorns, plus if you don't get them in water ASAP they tend to get air bubbles in the stem that makes the plant die faster.
Gebera Daisies; they have a very weak stem.
2inch Carnations, because they break at the nodes
I used to be a florist and my hobbies involve foraging.
Roses, but only the heirloom types that have a scent. Their shapes and colors vary widely, but they are so satisfying to my soul, I'd fill up acres with them if we didn't need to raise food. Bit finicky to grow, bit of a challenge to maintain them.