Japanese gardeners love cherry blossoms, but in China plum blossoms are even more revered. Our own home gardens in the U.S. contain many flowers that originated in China, especially our beloved peonies and chrysanthemums, azaleas and china roses.
I had not realized until recently that Cymbidium orchids, which are popular indoor plants here, are also native to China.
Incidentally, Dendrobium orchids that are native to the tropics are the most popular orchids in Australia.
The most popular garden flowers that Americans plant in gardens are zinnias, which are native to Mexico. The deer don't eat annual zinnias, marigolds, or lantana, which make all of them exceptionally popular in home gardens in the U.S.
The five most popular perennials grown nowadays by American home horticulturalists are hosta, roses, and daylilies (but deer love all of them). In deer-infested sun gardens, black-eyed Susans and salvia-both of which have a large number of cultivars-are preferred.
In shade gardens, ferns that are deer resistant, as well as hellebores, bleeding heart, epimedium, and astilbe are the most popular in Midwestern gardens. And, of course, impatiens is a long-time stalwart worldwide in shade.
