A Brief Explanation of Plants, April 2006

Horticulture can be a very daunting subject for many people. The use of Latin in the naming of plants can often dissuade aspiring gardeners from pursuing their hobby.

Having taught horticulture, I have experienced students ‘fear’ of these foreign words. However, as each academic year progresses students eventually grasp the language and embrace it. Centuries earlier, plants were named in Latin or order to describe the features of each plant. Most names usually refer to some characteristic of each variety. Let’s take as an example the common blackthorn; its Latin name is Prunus spinosa, the second name refers to its thorny nature. Another example would be Aucuba japonica, its common name is spotted laurel but its second name refers to its place of origin – Japan. In this article I’m going to describe some of the different groups of plants that are available in most garden centres. We will start with the largest which happen to be trees.

A tree is a plant, which generally contains one main central woody trunk. Examples of trees include Beech, Birch, Ash, Willow and Hawthorn etc.

Shrubs then follow this group. There is a huge selection of shrubs available, which grow in many shapes and sizes. A few examples are Potentilla, Box, Privet, Camellia, Hydrangea and Hypericum etc. This list is huge and offers the gardener a wide selection of plants.

Grasses are fast becoming very popular, their ease of maintenance and reliability added to their visual impact, has made them a popular choice for many gardens. They are different from other plants mainly because they produce their new shoots from the base, so height is usually not an issue. This group includes, Phormiums, Acorns, Millium Effusum, Festuca along with Pampas grass which can grow up to ten feet tall.

Herbaceous perennials can offer the gardener the most variety of colours for the summer months. An herbaceous plant is a plant that grows and flowers in one season, dies back for the winter and emerges again the following spring. Examples of herbaceous perennials include Delphiniums, Lupins, Primula, Foxglove and Hollyhocks etc.

The next group of plants concern the alpines. Deriving from mountainous areas these plants are generally low growing and free flowering. They do not like wet conditions and prefer a free draining soil; examples include Aubrietia, Arabis, Saxifrage and Dianthus etc.

Knowledge is required in choosing plants for certain locations. Size, shape, evergreen or deciduous, flowering time, soil type, positioning are all major factors that need to be established before planting. I will discuss these subjects and more in later issues.

Bob Reilly Dip. Hort

This article was first published in Athenry News and Views in April 2006