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It's all in a name

GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
in Problem solving
I can remember being attracted to any plant that had purpurea in it's name. It is a word that I love to say out loud. Would you buy a plant for it's name only?  Perhaps you look for 'grown in the UK' or whether or not it has an AGM? There are some new introductions with very silly names in my opionion does this put you off?
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Names of plants can put you off too. There was a really amusing thread many years ago based on off putting names of plants. Two I remember are a Cliff Richards rose and I think there was a baked bean heuchera
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Found it 
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/815005/plant-names/p1
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    I had a grass called Heavy Metal, which is the silliest name ever for a wispy, wavy thing. 😁

    One of my lobelia varieties this yr is called Sailor Blue, which I like as the flowers are blue and white.

    I am not keen on anything with "blue" in the name if the flowers are purple in reality! 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Never fancied crocosmia Lucifer no more than I'd fancy staying in hotel room no  666 
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Grown in the UK or an AGM would help in my decision to buy a plant but a silly name wouldn’t put me off if I like it and it likes my sandy soil! I’m more interested in whether the plant will be resistant to pests and diseases and whether it’s hardy and drought tolerant. Plant labels only give scant information so I generally ignore them and do some research elsewhere!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    Any plant tagged superbum sounds a bit saucy.
    Rutland, England
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    edited October 2023
    pansyface said:
    I like plants that have a story behind their name. As a child, I always loved the rose called Peace. My ma told me that it had been named to mark the end of WWII, but in fact the story is much more complicated than that.

    It was produced in France in the 1930s and given a different name, but the grower sent pieces of it to the USA so that it wouldn’t be destroyed by the invading German army. It was kept alive by the Americans and renamed after peace was declared.

    I find modern rose names to often be cynical money making. Happy Birthday Happy Anniversary and Many Happy Returns - I ask you!



    Adding to this story, the breeder Francis Meillard asked Field Marshall Alan Brooke if he would agree to the rose being named after him. Modestly, he declined and offered the name Peace instead. In Germany the rose is called Gloria Dei. 

    On the topic of rose names, the shop Dorothy Perkins is named after the rose Dorothy Perkins which is named after the breeder Charles Perkins’ granddaughter.
    Rutland, England
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    Adding to the 'Peace' story I think it was Harry Wheatcroft who was famous for introducing it in the UK. His Nursery was only a few miles from here now a GC part of a large chain. I remember a large black and white photo of him just as you went inside. He had this wonderful handlebar moustache. I am sure there was a time when most gardeners grew this rose. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    “ . I am sure there was a time when most gardeners grew this rose. ” Sales exceed 100 million. It was my favourite rose in my parents’ garden.
    Rutland, England
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718

    Foxglove has an interesting origin, possibly, and there is nothing lupine about it. Fox is a corruption of folk, as in little folk or fairies. Those flowers would fit snugly over their tiny hands.
    Rutland, England
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