RHS Latin for Gardeners: Over 3,000 Plant Names Explained and Explored: More than 1,500 Essential Plant Names and the Secrets They Contain

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Some things were obvious over my years of gardening, but this book explains the breakdown of the plant name and it is quite interesting. Full of expert instruction and practical guidance, Latin for Gardeners will allow novices and green thumbs alike to better appreciate the seemingly esoteric names behind the plants they work with, and to expertly converse with fellow enthusiasts.

Its charitable work includes providing expert advice and information, training the next generation of gardeners and promoting the ecological, aesthetic and psychological benefits of gardening in an urban environment. Stearn is my botanical hero; so I am glad to see that Parker lists his Botanical Latin (first published in 1966) in his bibliography. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. RHS Latin for Gardeners: Over 3,000 Plant Names Explained and Explored - Lorraine HarrisonLondon: Mitchell Beazley, 2012, Hardback. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the UK's largest gardening charity, dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening.I would love to see another edition from the author, maybe with the title- "Latin for Gardeners II-3,000 more plant names explained and explored. I learned that a tomato Solanum lycopersicon is from the Greek lyco "wolf" and persicon "peach" so a tomato is a wolfpeach, but here the genus name Solanum was ignored. I still have much to learn, but plant names are so interesting – not only the Latin words, but also the botanists’ names that are so often used.

Aided by this book, every gardener, and their garden, will benefit from uncovering the wealth of information that lies within the remarkable world of Latin binomials. And while mastery of the classical language may not be a prerequisite for tending perennials, all gardeners stand to benefit from learning a bit of Latin and its conventions in the field.As gardeners I think we should all get to grips with botanical Latin because it is an international language that we can all communicate in. He gives examples of multiple names that existed for many plants and were used until the binomial nomenclature was adopted in the 18th century.

First, the book only includes species names so at best you will only have half (the epithet) of any particular binomial.I was pleasantly surprised how many I had guessed correctly, such as Cymbalaria muralis (“growing on walls”), and the information hidden within these words delivers excellent guidelines for planting… if a plant is from Buenos Aries it will like heat and sunshine, right? Good collection of Latin names, though I couldn't find all the specific epithets that I was looking for, even some fairly common ones. And while mastery of the classical language may not be a prerequisite for pruning perennials, all gardeners stand to benefit from learning a bit of Latin and its conventions in the field. This allows gardeners to make new connections and discoveries in a way standard alphabetical lists don't permit. It is rewarding to figure out the meaning of a plant name – it also really helps me to remember plant names!

I love this site, full of top tips for growing your own and lots to appeal to those of us trying to do it on a budget. For instance digitalis “grandiflora” has smaller flowers than the common foxglove (but bigger than the other yellow foxgloves).No negativity, no-one criticises what some would think is an easy question, just loads of help and encouragement delivered with a smile. However, I didn't know what the Latin names were based on so this book was fascinating in learning those details. Each name is clearly defined and accompanied by a pronunciation guide, and the pages are filled with attractive botanical illustrations.