What's in a name?
A few weeks ago, I was reminded of the late Ken Aslett whom I had the pleasure of meeting whilst at Flatford Mill Field Study Centre many years ago.
He was a lifetime plantsman who said that learning about wild flowers helped him make sense of plants he grew in his garden.
Following his lead, here are a few clues of my own which I hope you find helpful too, starting with the delightful Thrift or Sea Pink which is found along many parts of our coastline. It's Latin name is Armeria maritima. The maritima part of its name means 'growing by or in the sea'. This tells us that the plant is tough as it can withstand wind, salt and poor soil, and very little moisture; a fact bourne out when you consider that it often grows on cliffs!
So how does this help us with garden plants?
Well, any plants which can survive in these conditions in the wild, will do well in our increasingly dry gardens.
One such is Sea Kale, Crambe maritima, with its wonderfully curled blue-green leaves and masses of small white flowers, and the Eryngiums which are related to Sea Holly, Eryngium maritima.
Moving inland, Meadow Cranesbill grows widely throughout England and Wales, its Latin name is Geranium pratense, and the second part of its name means 'growing in meadows'.
Many of you will be familiar with the huge range of herbaceous geraniums available from every garden centre and nursery, such as Geranium pratense 'Mrs Kendall Clark'. Its name tells us that it will be best planted in a meadow-like spot, open and sunny and not too dry.
If you'd like to know more about wild flowers, why not take a guide book on holiday? Some of the smaller ones fit into a pocket—the Mitchell Beazley and Collins Gem guides are both compact. Other guide books are arranged by flowering times, or in plant families. Have a look and see which suits you best.
There is help too with plant names, and I find the easiest book to use is 'Gardener's Latin' by Bill Neal. It is an alphabetical list of Latin used in plant naming. For an in-depth study of Botanical Latin, the all-time classic is a book of the same title, by William T Stearn.
Call Mary on 01892 667708 for a no-obligation chat
or email mary@msgd.co.uk.
