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Creativity Quote by Kim Wilde

"Performing, I can take it or leave it. Horticulture is far more challenging. I'm absolutely fascinated by it"

About this Quote

It lands like a throwaway line, but it’s a quiet dismantling of celebrity logic. When Kim Wilde shrugs off “performing” with “take it or leave it,” she’s not pretending music is meaningless; she’s puncturing the assumption that public adoration is the pinnacle of a life. The real punch is the pivot: horticulture, a pursuit coded as domestic, patient, and unglamorous, is “far more challenging.” She’s flipping the hierarchy that props up pop stardom.

The subtext is about control and consequence. Performing is repeatable and scripted; even spontaneity is rehearsed. The audience will clap if you hit the chorus. Gardening doesn’t care who you are. Plants respond to time, weather, pests, soil chemistry - the kind of feedback loop fame can’t provide because it doesn’t flatter you. Calling horticulture “challenging” is also a small confession: she wants difficulty that isn’t manufactured by industry drama or chart pressure, but by reality itself.

Context matters: Wilde’s not an outsider taking shots at the music world; she’s someone who’s been inside the machine since the early 80s. That credibility makes the line sting in a satisfying way. It reads as midlife recalibration rather than provocation: trading the performative self for a craft where attention is private, progress is slow, and success is tangible. Fascination, here, is autonomy.

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APA Style (7th ed.)
Wilde, Kim. (2026, January 17). Performing, I can take it or leave it. Horticulture is far more challenging. I'm absolutely fascinated by it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/performing-i-can-take-it-or-leave-it-horticulture-48905/

Chicago Style
Wilde, Kim. "Performing, I can take it or leave it. Horticulture is far more challenging. I'm absolutely fascinated by it." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/performing-i-can-take-it-or-leave-it-horticulture-48905/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Performing, I can take it or leave it. Horticulture is far more challenging. I'm absolutely fascinated by it." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/performing-i-can-take-it-or-leave-it-horticulture-48905/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

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Kim Wilde on Performing vs Horticulture: A Personal Reflection
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About the Author

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Kim Wilde (born November 18, 1960) is a Musician from England.

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