TOP 10 PLANTS

I would be interested to know the top 10 plants that you could not do without, in your garden. This could include trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs, or annuals. My top 10 are:
1. TriColor Beech tree
2. Sweet Bay Magnolia tree
3. Bald Cypress tree
4. Tree Peony
5. Hosta (any variety)
6. Variegated Solomn Seal
7. Hydrangea (any variety)
8. Baptisia
9. Orange Tiger Lily
10. Lavender
There are so many more, but these are my favorites. What are yours?

Hmm not sure I could list 10 but a few are

Primrose
Hazel
Bluebells
Clematis
Rose
Snowdrops
Jasmine
Rosemary
Oregano
Mint

hmm well that was 10 already so I'll stop. Quite few herbs I could also add though. No particular order to that list though.

Those I could do without:
Privet
Dandelion
Hoary Willowherb

Off the top of my head:
Peonies
Bergamot (monarda)
Clematis
Lilies (hardy Asiatics, martagons, etc.)
Daylilies
Saskatoons (amelanchier canadensis)
Marigolds (tagetes and the small flowered french ones)
Hostas
Grapes (there are a few varieties that are hardy here)
Daffodils

Herbs, too - couldn't be without chives, oregano, lavender, rosemary, basil...

Rose
Hollyhock
Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart
Lilac
Zinnia
Sunflower
Johnny-Jump-Up
Daylily (old-fashioned orange)
Columbine
Iris
Morning Glory

Sorry, I know that's eleven. I just couldn't figure out which one to leave off the list.

Old fashioned lilacs
peonies
trilliums
spring beauties
irises
old roses
lavender
several varieties of thyme
tomatoes
strawberries
lillies of the valley
Naked Ladies
Petunias

A baker's dozen, not in order of most important since they all have to be in my garden or else it's not a garden.

Great topic to think about today. Yesterday on Long Island NY it was nearly 70 degrees. Today we have 1-2 inches of snow and now it is raining. Boo!
I retired last year as a garden designer and landscape gardener. In every one of my gardens I planted the following if space allowed.
1. Viburnum carlessii or juddi for scent by the front entrance.
2. Syringa meyeri 'Palibin' also for scent and it's shape.
Other favorites include:
3. Calicarpa dichotoma because I still can't believe a plant can have those colors in the fall - purple berries and yellow foliage.
4. Hellebores - just love them especially H. foetidus. Just look inside the flower and marvel at its simplicity.
5.Jasmine nudiflorum. Mine grows next to the pond and I can see it from my kithchen window blooming in Februrary (Jan. this year).
6. Polygonatum variegatum - yes! I agree. but then you must add:
7. Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich Fern) drifts! and...
8. Hosta 'Krossa Regal' lovely vase shaped and great mass, and...
9. Astilbe 'Bridal Veil' or 'Rhineland' I should stop there with the shade plant material or I couldn't add:
10 Rosa 'Graham Thomas' - my absolute favorite. But back to the shade garden and the bakers dozen...
11. Stewartia pseudocamelia - worth the investment of time and money for the future.

10 is not enough - especially when we dream of warmer weather!

I loved your list

Your list got me thinking again.
I always try to work a climbing hydrangea into landscapes that I do. If you don't have one, try it. They are a wonderful plant, and they don't damage a wall like other vines do. And when they flower, they are beautiful!
I loved your list too. I will probably be checking back to everybody's list for things to add to my garden this year! It won't be long now until the carlessii viburnums start to bloom. The only smell better than them is the Sweet Bay Magnolia. When it blooms, I can smell it from anywhere on my property!

Only 10?? Okay, then.

Lilacs
Peonies
Siberian Iris
Daffodils
Monarda
Rose
Bleeding Heart
Hydrangea
Clematis
Hellebores

If I could include vegetables and herbs, I would add Tomato, Pole Beans, Basil and Rosemary; and take out Monarda, Rose, Hellebores, Siberian Iris.

Lemon thyme
tomatoes
zinnias
okra
lavender
basil
lemon balm
magnolia
lemon verbena
clematis

My list is skewed by the fact I live in the Pacific Northwest, where we can grow almost anything.

Hellebore - as many as I can find
Rhododendron - from dwarf to tree size
Viburnum - so many wonderful varieties!
Mahonia - all varieties, especially Oregon grape
Clematis - spring to fall blooming
Acer (maple) - small ornamental varieties including Japanese maple, vine maple, Paperbark maple. (Norway maple and other thugs need not apply; sugar maple and other traditional East Coast varieties don't provide much color in this mild climate.)
Cornus (dogwood) - all varieties, from bunchberry on up. (Florida dogwood gets anthracnose here, but I understand a pink Kousa is now available)
Escallonia
Cyclamen - hardy varieties, not houseplants
Hemerocallis (daylily)

I must have

roses
zinnias
marigolds
tulips
daffadils
hyacinths
morning glory
lily of the valley
bleeding hearts and hostas

I don't always have these but I try

Hard to stop at ten!

shrub roses
peonies
lilac
viburnum - scented
philadelphus
clematis
ceanothus
hemerocallis
hellebores
sweet williams

From northern OH on the edge of a limestone quarry & surrounded by a lot of hungry deer.

Peonies
Shrub roses
daylilies
Forget-me-nots
Sweet William
Crysanthemums
Shasta daisies
yellow Marguerites
Bleeding hearts
Iris

Let's see...

1. Lilacs (but must have Miss Kim)
2. Roses
3. Hostas
4. Daylilies (but must have Stella d'Oro)
5. Bleeding Hearts
6. Coneflowers
7. Spiderworts
8. Asters
9. Asiatic/Oriental Lilies
10. Daffodils

* coneflowers
* ferns! (I'm a fern addict)
* columbine
* irises
* red twig dogwood
* clematis
* veronica
* hostas
* daylilies
* anemones

Trollius(my all time favorite)
Dicentra(the old fashioned pink)
Siberian iris
Delphinium
Hosta
Lillies(all kinds)
Ligularia(the rocket)
Ferns
Monarda
Geranium