hello everyone

I think this is a good idea but i would hope we could use both. the problem with common names is that some are very local.

when my eldest was 3 1/2 she came home from the nursery very upset. when asked why she told me Adam had put his sticky willie on her leg. I stayed calm and asked what did she mean. Adam early in the week had been running around lifting the girls skirts. she said i'll show you and took me into the garden and showed me a plant that i knew as cleavers or sticky buds. It has lots of common names of which sticky willie is just one. once my heart rate settled down i had a quiet smile to my self.

Half the time I don't know the common name... especially if we are talking rock garden plants or alpines. As Seaburngirl says common names can also be very confusing and can mean completely different plants in different parts of the UK never mind the US!

Oh Seaburngirl LOL!!! i think we could use both, i don't know many latin names but if you are looking for a specific type the latin name helps to clarify which one you want.
you do well Noseypotter with the Dyslexia, it seems to run in our family my fathers side seem to have a form of it none of them are very good with the written word.

lol seaburn i guess your all right but as you say bothe names would be good .thanx anyway bye for now take care

Most people know more Latin names than they think they do - narcissus, rhododendron, chrysanthemum, geranium, aubretia, crocus, cyclamen, iris, gladiolus, hydrangea to name but a few. And if you learn just two more every week, that's another hundred by the end of the year. Stick with it np, it will pay off in the long run

I sympathise, Noseypotter, but common names are just not common. As a simple example take the bluebell.
In England this is a blue bulbouse flower (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) found in woodlands and just starting to flower now.
In Scotland the bluebell is a campanula (Campanula rotundifolia)(harebell in England) which grows in grassland and flowers in summer.
The latin names are universal whilst common names can even change from village to village.
I will try to remember to add a common name if the latin is not obvious.

thanx for your help bulb

Did you know that most common English plant names were invented by the Victorians? (especially the group of poets and writers often referred to as the Ruskin group).
I thnk I will carry on with the Latin names as I have more idea what they are than soi dit common names.

yes i had an idea but thanx anyway boggy.they thaught of the name monkey puzzle yet monkies just dont come from the same place as monkey puzzles.i guess youve got to stay in your comfort zone .thanx anyway (snivel) i only asked lol

Hi NP! Sooooo sorry to be late, yep, I'll try to do that too! I must admit, some latin names I don't know the common name to, but I'll find out for you! xoxo

Sbg, what a giggle!! You handled that well!! Where I used to work, there was a cream bun with icing on, that everyone called the same unfoodlike name!!

lol