Well here in france is like the uk in as much that the more professional garden centre's will have both the Latin names etc but the street markets just have a card with info on it but with little or no instructions as to what the plants needs are,
And as ive said many times its those people who dont know about plants needs that are buying plants off the concrete paving floor on a cold windy morn and taking them home without thinking when those plants had been loaded on transport !!! ie the night pre the sale and by the time they've got to the buyers home they're well damaged even if they dont look it.
As for the more displayed plants here,
Well the french are great ones for growing anything you can eat, you'll offten see a little piece of land in the middle of a country cross roads with veg growing, who owns it ?
Christ only knows
But its left alone and thats how life is here in this part of france, Im amazed the shops sell any apples/pears etc as you'll see so many fruit trees down a lot of country lanes,
Most homes have an orchard as we do, or a few fruit trees
The same can be said for mushrooms growing in nearly all the woods and if your unsure as to whats safe to eat the local chemist will check your collection for you.
Now as for flowers, the hanging basket / window box's and old ladders with a collection of geraniums "both hanging and bush type are the norm and this is because of the fact they can stand the heat and wont dry out so quick.
Its the one thing we really love about this part of france "you do get a long summer every year"
But the french do do some things a little different to the english, Such as they prune the rose stems by cutting across the stem and not on an angle like the british do,
the french say let the cut be approx 1/4 inch down the stem and allowing this as die back.
Well i hope D.F.ABOVE This has helped with your questions.
Interesting thought ... the continual confusion in the UK with geraniums and pelargoniums.
My French vocabulary never got as far as plant names ... have the French been more sensible and avoided any such confusion?
Are Latin names used more commonly en francais or does confusion reign supreme with some plants and if so which ones?
Same confusion re geraniums/pelargoniums here in France, @Dovefromabove . And the general public don't use Latin names either. Only the serious gardeners and snobs like myself do.
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And the general public don't use Latin names either. Only the serious gardeners and snobs like myself do.
Thanks both.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.