"Quis est nomen illius planta?" I heard that frequently during
the days of my open garden. It wasn’t spoken in Latin,
which is just as well as I probably wouldn’t have understood the question
anyway. My command of Latin is pathetic. Most often, the plants for which I do
know the botanical names are the ones that haven’t been given a common one, at
least none that I’m aware of.
The plant in question is Ipomoea lobata and it’s a member of
the morning glory family, except it doesn’t look anything like a typical
morning glory. Hence the Latin, except it made me sound so pretentious. I’ve
since learned, however, that it’s also known as firecracker vine or Spanish
flag, but since no one else appeared to know it by either of those names, I’m
going to make up my own. Henceforth, in my garden, it will be known as the
‘question’ vine.
Crocosmia is a great plant and deserves to be grown more
often. There are only a few varieties available, ranging from yellow to red.
Cultivars go by the names ‘Lucifer’ (orange-red) ‘Jen ny
Bloom’ (orange buds open yellow), ‘Meteor’ (yellow tinged with orange), ‘Red
King’ (red with orange-yellow center), and ‘Emily Mckenzie’ (orange).
‘Jacanapes’ is red and yellow while ‘Golden Fleece’ is lemon yellow. In a group
planting, they’ll pop out flowers for a month or two, and they’re also
excellent as a cut flower.
Crocosmia are small corms and are usually sold in time for
spring planting. Look for them in bulb catalogues if you don’t spot them at a
garden centre. They may not flower the first year, but then they reproduce
nicely. Interestingly, they’re not supposed to be hardy in this region, and
it’s often suggested they be lifted for the winter,
If you have any doubts about their hardiness, plant them against the house in full to part sun, but I have hundreds of witnesses who can confirm that mine grow just fine in the middle of the garden, and they all know the correct botanical name, should anyone ask.
It's a pleasure to share, to discuss plants, and to answer questions from so many garden lovers, like "What’s the name of that plant?" Why, I frequently replied, it's Anonomenthanum something or other.
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