Wealden Times | WT184 | June 2017 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Garden Perfection
City Escapes provide domestic & commercial garden solutions
Iris ‘Magnétisme’
made up we realised that all the essential knowledge
concerning the plants in it was there. All plants are in a
family e.g. Rosaceae which encompasses an enormous
array of plants including roses and the flowering crab
apples which include so many garden favourites.
Once the family name is established, a plant is known
by its Genus and its species e.g. Rosa rugosa. These are
always in italics as a sort of etiquette and the Genus name
always begins with an upper case letter. The species name
usually is very useful in recognising a plant in that it does
tell us perhaps a structural detail of the plant or maybe it’ll
tell us the plant’s place of origin or its habitat or maybe
its habit of growth. All essential knowledge for finding
that perfect plant. For instance, Geranium sylvaticum
prefers some shade as it originates in wooded areas whilst
Geranium pratense is found in the wild in meadow land.
I bought Euphorbia palustris from a nursery at the excellent
Gardening for Disabled Trust Plant Fair recently and
now realise that with palustris meaning ‘of marshland’ my
original planting hole will have to be filled in and another
site found. Tricky at the moment as the whole garden is so
dry and even the pond area loses moisture in the summer
as the water level drops so drastically. Unlike the leader
of the Western World, I believe in global warming!
If the plant has a cultivar name, in other words it is a
form of the species that has been deliberately or maybe
naturally hybridised in a garden or nursery, it has a third
name. This is always recognisable in that it is written
within single apostrophes and never in italics. Since the
International Code of Nomenclature was established in
1959 it hasn’t been permissible to use Latin names for a
new cultivar, i.e. a perennial daisy, Bellis perennis which
might have a new double form in white, could not be called
Bellis perennis ‘Alba Plena’ simply meaning double white.
There are thousands and thousands of cultivated forms
of species plants and their breeders register them as having
PBR – that is Plant Breeders Rights. Cultivar names from
countries like Poland which breeds some wonderful
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Regular Maintenance
Design & Construction
Small one off works
Turf care management
Problem area Solutions
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Seasonal Bedding plant displays
Approved pesticide/
herbicides operators
Habitat Management
RHS qualified gardeners
Tel: 01435 868211 | M: 07831 302107 | E: damian@cityescapes.co.uk
www.cityescapes.co.uk
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