Clématite for me now - unless chatting to OH and reminding him not to speak in front of them. He once made a disparaging comment in front of a montana and it had wilted by the next morning. Hard to make a montana wilt so he's banned from talking to plants now.
I'm sure some plants can understand human speech. My dad planted a passion flower which, in three years, covered a vast expanse of blank wall, but never flowered. "If it doesn't flower this year," he said, "I'm getting rid of it.". It had loads of flowers that summer. Not all plants of course. Verbal weeding would be so much easier on the back, though you'd have to do it quietly or the neighbours might object to the foul language.
Americans have no difficulty with sodium, tellurium, rutherfordium or any of the dozens of elements that end in -ium, so why can't they say aluminium?
Blame Sir Humphrey Davy, who in 1812 spelled it Aluminum when he first described the element, which was picked up by the American dictionaries. Only later did all his academic colleagues point out the inconsistency with the spelling of all the other elements and Sir Humphrey amended the spelling to Aluminium, but stable doors, bolted horses and all that.
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
Always clematis with the emphasis on the 'clem' for me. I don't like the 'a' emphasis but I know many people do. An 'ay' sound is just wrong - too American [like they way they prounce tomato] Apologies Blue Onion! Remember that many names are the way they are because they're named after the people who discovered them - Douglassi , Banksii, Wilsonii, Darwinii, Burkwoodii etc.
None taken! My OH and I spent the first few months of our dating relationship enjoying all the differences in our vocabulary.
We say tah-may-toe.. but how do you say potato? Pa-tot-toe?
With regard to plants listening to threats: I had a rose which didn't flower for many years. Within its hearing, I said that I was going to do for it. This was not a threat, but a statement of intent. A few weeks later, on leaving my house, I smelt a very strong rosy smell. I followed my nose and found a single rose the size of a supermarket savoy cabbage. I was merciful and it flowered prolifically for many years until the people who bought our house decided they would introduce concrete brutalism.
I was talking to someone from Hong Kong once who was saying how much she loved London. She said the shopping in Harrow was the best in the world. Whenever she was in Europe she would make a special effort to go shopping in Harrow. I was wracking my brain to understand what's so special about Harrow until it finally dawned on me that's how she pronounced Harrods.
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
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None taken! My OH and I spent the first few months of our dating relationship enjoying all the differences in our vocabulary.
We say tah-may-toe.. but how do you say potato? Pa-tot-toe?
A few weeks later, on leaving my house, I smelt a very strong rosy smell. I followed my nose and found a single rose the size of a supermarket savoy cabbage.
I was merciful and it flowered prolifically for many years until the people who bought our house decided they would introduce concrete brutalism.