Desert Island Plant Challenge

Here is a fun challenge from shirls gardenwatch. Shirl asks the question, "If I was stranded on a desert island, what three plants would I take if there were no limits to growing conditions whatsoever."

For some, this might be an easy question to answer. However, for the serious gardener, it is extremely difficult! Please play along with us and list your three plants in the "Comments" section of this post.

Here are my choices. First, I'd want a substantial shade tree that could provide ample shelter and shade. It would have to be a Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana). Do you remember the tree that Forest and Jenny used as their special place in the movie Forest Gump? The same tree where Forest buried her under? That was a Southern Live Oak. Here are some pictures of some very old Live Oaks:

Photo by Tri Poodle

Photo by msmail

The Southern Live Oak is evergreen and provides very dense shade. The two trees in these photographs most likely are over 200 years old! I think the Live Oak would provide so much shade and shelter, that I could live very comfortably underneath it on any island!

The next plant I would elect to take with me would have to bring me great joy in its beauty. Therefore, I would pick a Tropicana Canna Lily (Canna sp. 'Tropicana'). They are big, bold and stunning to behold! In pots, they are even sculptural!

Photo by brier399

These canna lilys can grow as tall as six feet in height and have a brilliant orange flower. The leaves are striped and very exotic. A bold colorful touch to any garden, they command attention and are surely the stars of the show!

The next plant I would pick would be this ...

This is the Red Volunteer Daylily (Hemerocallis sp. 'Red Volunteer'). To me, this is one of the greatest perennials going! With it's bright red color and hardy disposition, this plant is the Scarlett O'Hara of the plant world! It is tall for a daylily -- 36" in height -- and is extremely tough, seeming to do well in almost any garden soil. It has a very long bloom time for daylilys, as well. I absolutely love it's bright red flowers that can grow as wide as seven or eight inches across.

I have two runner's up as well. I would have to smuggle these plants in somehow to my little desert island. First runner up is the Sango Kaku Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku'). With it's bright red bark and brilliant yellow fall foliage, this is a tree for all seasons!



Second runner-up is the Bog Lily (Crinum americanum). It has a lovely perfumed fragrance and big beautiful strap-like foliage. I'll take a big clump of these in any garden I have!



So there you have it. If I had to pick three plants to take with me on a deserted island, these would be my choices. What are yours?