Breaking New Ground Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rose

Roses are native to the Northern Hemisphere with most varieties originating in Asia. You can find miniature rose plants, rose bushes and climbers which reach over 20 feet (6 metres) high. Most roses are grown for their appearance and fragrance in domestic gardens, but they are also grown commercially for use in the perfume industry.

Answer: Daffodils

Daffodil is one of the common names for plants in the Narcissus genus. Their original home was on both sides of the western Mediterranean Sea but they have spread everywhere. Wales has a special fondness for the daffodil as the country's national flower.

Daffodils appear to die after they bloom but the following year they regrow their leaves and flowers from a bulb underground. Organisations which support cancer research and treatment around the world have adopted the daffodil as a symbol of hope and the renewal of life.

Answer: Tulips

Tulips originated in Asia but had travelled to Europe by the 1500s. They became very fashionable in The Netherlands at that time and people paid exorbitant prices for them. A single bulb could fetch as much as the price of a house. The madness for tulips died down quickly but their overall popularity didn't.

Tulips grow from a bulb and emerge in spring to show us their cup-shaped flower which can be almost any colour you imagine.

Answer: Orchid

There are over 20,000 species of orchid and native species can be found in every continent. This makes the orchid family one of the largest plant families in the world. There are even two native species in Antarctica, which seems incredible given the climatic conditions they must live in. There is a species of orchid which will grow in almost any microclimate you can think of. They can even be grown on a tree and live on that tree as an epiphyte. An epiphyte is a plant which lives on another plant but which doesn't take any nourishment from it.

Orchids are very old plants. Trapped in some amber from 15-20 million years ago was some orchid pollen. Other evidence found by scientists suggests that orchids may go back to a time 100 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

Answer: Hydrangea

Hydrangeas are native to southern and eastern Asia, and the Americas. Shade-loving plants in general, they are usually grown as a small bush but there are varieties which grow as a liana (vine) and can reach 30 metres (almost 100 ft) into the air with support from a nearby tree.

Their beautiful, showy mophead flowers can be white, or depending on the soil's pH, be pink or blue. A gardener can change the colour of some hydrangeas by altering the pH. If you have pink hydrangeas and you want blue ones, you make the soil more acidic. If you've got blue hydrangeas and you'd rather have pink flowers, make the soil more alkaline. It sounds like magic but it's simply science making our gardens beautiful.

Answer: Pumpkin

Pumpkins are part of the squash family of plants. The orange pumpkins seen during Halloween are often called winter squash. Pumpkins grow on a vine which rests on the ground. You wouldn't want them growing in the air and falling on your head when they are ripe! The flesh can be eaten and is the basis of pumpkin pie, the staple Thanksgiving dessert.

Other countries use it as a savoury vegetable, roasting it or making beautiful pumpkin soup. Mashed pumpkin can even be used in sweet treats such as bread, muffins and scones.

The seeds can also be eaten once dried.

Answer: Tomato

Native to South and Central America, the tomato came to Europe in the 1500s. It wasn't well received, as many thought it to be poisonous. Grown originally in Europe as an ornamental plant for its pretty red fruit, tomatoes became a popular food crop. They work well in salads and sauces such as ketchup, and they can be used in soups, stews and sandwiches. They can also be baked or fried. You can even eat it as a fruit, with small cherry tomatoes making a wonderful and healthy snack.

Answer: Bananas

Bananas originally grew in Southeast Asia. There is evidence to suggest the first cultivation of bananas was in Papua New Guinea as early as 5,000 BC. Grown in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, the banana is one of the most popular fruits around.

What appears to be a banana tree isn't really a tree in the botanical world. The banana is actually a herb and the trunk of the tree is really a 'false stem' or pseudostem. The bananas grow in rows called tiers which can have up to twenty bananas each. The tiers are arranged on a stem which has up to twenty tiers. When harvested each cluster of bananas can weigh up to fifty kilograms (110 lbs).

Answer: Potato

The potato is native to the Andes region but its popularity has become world-wide. One of the most widely grown food crops, it's fairly easy to grow in your own home. If you have a potato with eyes (an older potato), you can cut up the potato into sections, keeping an eye in each piece.

The eye is the part of the potato where a root is beginning to develop. Plant the potato piece into the soil at the right time of year, and with a little bit of tender loving care, you'll get a new potato plant. You can even grow them in a pot on a balcony.

Answer: Corn

Corn is easy to grow in many climates, a fact which helped its spread around the world from its native Mexico. The plant is usually eight feet (250 cm) high but some natural corn plants will grow to an astonishing forty feet (12 metres). Depending on how it's used and the region its grown in, corn can also be called maize.

A versatile crop, it can be made into corn flakes, cornflour, polenta and more.