Non-Gardener builds an Observatory, Garden Railway and even Dabbles with Plants!

It's great to see spring bulbs appearing - promise of things to come @ArmyAirForce . The ones in your photos are daffodils, I think. Time will tell...

 

I only guessed Snowdrops because that's what my plant app guessed at!

 

Your plant app might know more than I do...

 

We'll see in the Spring!

 

I must admit, I thought daffodils as well, having been out this morning to check on mine!

Looking good though, you'll be pleased with your efforts come the Spring.

 

15th January 2025

I needed to go into the shed yesterday to get a ladder out. While halfway down the garden, I had a quick wander through the wood, and spotted three new bulb shoots had popped up. These are either going to be Snowdrops or Daffs. Most of this area is Snowdrops and Bluebells, but I did add a few Daffodils amongst the other bulbs. The fourth section of the following picture is along the side of the house. These are likely to be Daffs or Crocuses, but I can't find any pictures of this area from previous years with plants flowering.



Here's one of the Geraniums I mentioned in the previous post. You can see the pink/purple buds just right of centre. I have got some Geranium and Begonia seeds to get going, but was going to wait a little longer until my workshop warms up a bit.

 

Sorry to be picky but they are Pelargoniums in the bottom image, often mistaken for Geraniums and are very different. It doesn't help that many garden centres still label them as Geraniums.

 

They were sold as Geraniums. Why? Why not just label them what the actually are? It's bad enough that plants have Latin names; now I find out that the name on the label isn't actually what the plant is!!

Just checked and my plant app says, "Zonal geranium, a species of Pelargoniums. Also known as Garden geranium, Scarlet geranium, Bedding geranium, Fish geranium, Horseshoe geranium", so it is and isn't a geranium!! ( just figured it out, it 'Identifies' as a geranium!! )

 

They are nearly always sold as Geraniums but it's wrong and the argument has been going on for years. Latin/botanical names are used world wide but common names differ from country to country. For instance, we know 'Black Eyed Susan' here as Thunbergia (Latin). American gardeners use the same common name for a different plant.

Geraniums...

 

@Sheal is absolutely right, though its been such a confusing thing for so many years, the powers that be go around renaming many other commonly named plants yet they have still to fix this Geranium problem.

What surprised us more was the fact that your Pelargonium is outside and still surviving, they are typically classed as a tender plant, often dying off when its so wet and cold, more so in our northern climate.

When you say you have got Geranium seeds, assume they are really Pelargoniums, like the one in the pic ?
They can be difficult to grow , but worth a try.

Same with the Begonia seeds if they are the Semperflorens ? the seeds are like dust and are just sown on the compost surface.
Often find its easier to buy the little pots of these two plants as germinated seedlings that you often find in the garden centers in the next few months.

 

The thing is, geranium is a common name for Pelargonium, and no matter what the botanists do with naming, people will still call them geraniums. Nowt wrong with that (after all we talk about daisies and bluebells and other things using common names that can refer to many different plants), as long as we're clear what we're talking about when asking for or giving advice.

 

But if garden centres and those who produce the plants were to label them properly, that would filter through to those buying. Eventually, not only the Pelargonium/Geranium problem would disappear but the mistakes made with other plants too.

 

Surprised me too!

This is what we bought.

That's what we have been doing, but thought I'd give it a go out of interest. If they fail, all I've lost is the price of a seed packet!

 

Personally I'm a big fan of using latin names for plants, and I hope the latin name would be somewhere on any plant label or seed packet (if not I might not even buy it!). I'd rather see it more prominent, but maybe the marketing people have done their stuff and decided that it would put off some buyers, particularly for non-specialist, mass-market stuff like bedding plants. In general conversation/chat, using latin names can sometimes come across as a bit on the pretentious side, and maybe the suppliers are just using what they think is most widely recognised.

 

I agree to a certain extent Jenny. I think labels and seed packets should have the Latin name followed by the common name if there is one. The same could be done when speaking to someone that may not have the knowledge we have regarding names.