Bloomin' British Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Now here's the rest of what the nursery person had to say, and note, we are talking about British conditions here...

The dog rose is a hardy plant that does well in most soils. It loves full sun and, come summer, will reward you with a burst of proud pink blooms, blessed with a vibrant yellow centre. With that in mind and the expansive show this shrub delivers, calling it a dog rose seems somewhat of an injustice. It does, however, go by a string of other names, such as the briar rose, the canker rose and the bird briar.

Another that produces a stunning aesthetic but bears a rather uninspiring name is the snake's head fritillary. The first thing about it that will catch your eye is its distinctive lantern like lilt but, then comes the colour. It will produce a palette of dappled purple-pink that could help you create an oriental style ambience. This plant is in no way fussy about the soil that it's in, it loves full sun but will also do well when it's in partial shade and, in spring, it will unleash those captivating blooms.

As I said before, the lily of the valley is also known by many other names. You can add the May lily, mugget and the conval lily to that list. It is a perennial plant, which means it will continue to grow and bloom for more than two years, it loves clay soil, it loves loam and it loves the shade, be it full or partial. It is associated with femineity and, with its bonnet shaped flowers, it can inspire the mind to conjure up images of fairytale maidens. Its white colouring also aligns it with purity but, that said, there are some varieties that will carry a blush of pink. However, those in that colour spectrum are a little harder to find.

The botanical name of the foxglove is Digitalis purpurea and that first word, digitalis, is derived from the Latin word 'digitis', which means finger. This plant is a biennial , which means its entire flowering cycle will be complete within two years. It does prefer to be in full sun, but can thrive in most soils, and its blooms are guaranteed to brighten your summer. They do produce a great deal of pollen which makes them wildlife friendly. The one thing to be mindful of is that they produce a great number of seeds so, deadheading them after they flower will ensure that they do not run rampant through your garden.

The cornflower will make a spectacle of itself in your plot. It is one of the true intensely blue flowers found in nature. They adore positions where they can receive full sun but make sure that the soil is well drained. They will bring their vibrancy forward at springtime and, if you're able to deadhead them promptly during this time, you will prolong their flowering period. The other great thing about cornflowers is, if you're planning to grow vegetables, that they attract parasitic wasps, who are the natural enemies of those pesky cabbage moths.

No British styled garden would be complete without a blanket of pale blue forget-me-nots, a flower that even managed to cross a cultural barrier when it was immortalized in Patrice Rushton's 1982 funk classic that simply bore the name of the flower. This is a very hardy plant that will cope with all but the extremes of weather and it will thrive in most soils.

One of the most familiar sights during spring in Britain is the common primrose. It has petals that start as a pale white colour then deepen to a pale yellow and it possesses an elegance that cannot help but draw the eye. The great advantage that it will give to your garden is that it is an early bloomer, which makes it an excellent plant with which to extend the visuality of your landscaping. This perennial is at home in any soil, however, it is much more comfortable in sand that leans toward being acidic.

Nicknamed the moon daisy, the ox-eye daisy is linked to the moon goddess Diana. By extension it is also tied to innocence and is the plant that is at the heart of that divination game "she loves me, she loves me not". An extremely hardy plant that can grow up to a metre (3¼ feet) in height, which makes it an ideal plant to place in the most exposed areas of your garden. Needless to say, it enjoys full sun, though it will still perform well in part shade, and it will work well in most soils. There is a warning with this one though... a single plant can produce as much as 26,000 seeds in a season, some of which can lie dormant in your soil for as much as ten years, making it a really tough plant to get rid of.

Now, this one, the Sambucus nigra, nigra from the Latin niger meaning black, is the black elder. You may also know it as elderberry. This can be grown as a shrub or a tree and it is a wonderful plant to provide sculpture to your garden. It does well in most soils and it loves to bask in full sun. If you let it, it can grow to height of five to six metres (16 - 20 feet) but it can be hard pruned to be kept in check and it will continue to flourish. Come summer you will be inundated with umbels of stunning white flowers that will become berries by the autumn. Both the berries and the flowers are edible and they're packed with anti-oxidants but, beware, they need to be cooked to remove some toxins within them that are likely to cause tummy upsets.

The honeysuckle boasts many varieties, offering a stunning palette of colours for you to work with. There are pinks, yellows, whites and deep reds, all of which are rich in pollen and are likely to draw both bees and butterflies to your plot. This one is a favourite in many British gardens and it generally does well in most types of soil, but check beforehand as some can be a little fussy. Leave them in full sun or in part shade and, when in bloom, allow your nostrils to be pleasantly assaulted by their enticingly sweet scent.