A Red Garden Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anemone

Anemones are perennials, growing from bulbs, and belong to the Ranunculus family, which also contains buttercups. Anemones grow in temperate areas, and come in various colours in addition to the red flower shown in the picture.

Answer: Lily

Although generally associated with the Netherlands, tulips originated in Persia, now Iran. They are also native to many other parts of northern Africa and can also be found in parts of Ukraine, Mongolia and China. They were brought to Europe in the sixteenth century. Tulips are members of the lily family, while violas include pansies, and the dianthus family has pinks and Sweet William amongst its varieties. Daffodils are members of the narcissus family.

Answer: Poker

Native to Africa, the plant was named for a German botanist called Johann Hieronymus Kniphof. His interest in plants was mainly with herbs, as he was also a physician, and the plant was named in his honour by Conrad Moench. The distinctive flowers of the red hot poker are yellow at the base, with orange and red flowers above them, so the choice of the common name is understandable.

Answer: Peony

Peonies are native to temperate areas of Europe, Asia and the western regions of the USA. They flower in late spring and early summer with colours including the red in the picture, yellow, white and purple. They are mostly herbaceous, meaning they don't have woody stems, although some varieties come in shrub form.

Answer: Hibiscus

A member of the mallow family, the hibiscus grows best in the warmer areas of the world, including the tropics. The flower is worn by the women of Tahiti and Hawaii with the placement of the bloom denoting whether or not the woman wearing it is single.

Answer: Azalea

Azaleas flower in the spring, and their blooms can last for several weeks, making them a popular choice to add colour to the garden. They have been actively cultivated for several hundred years, with thousands of different varieties. Azaleas have festivals devoted to them in several Asian countries and in the USA.

Answer: South Africa

Often referred to as an Amaryllis lily, the plant is not actually a member of the lily family. The first plants were found in South Africa's Cape Province, and has since been naturalised in many other countries. The plant grows from bulbs, which produce long stems, without leaves, making the showy flowers stand out even more prominently.

Answer: Pea

Sweet peas are climbers, and resemble the pea plant, Pisum sativum, in some respects. The sweet pea plant originated in the southern parts of Europe, particularly Italy and Greece. The flowers were developed to the ones we recognise in the later years of the nineteenth century, with cross breeding enhancing both the smell and size of the flowers.

Answer: Zinnia

The zinnia is named for Johann Gottfried Zinn, a German botanist from the eighteenth century. Both the zinnia and sunflower are in the daisy family along with the aster and many others. Zinnias can have flowers ranging from white, through to purple, including red, orange and yellow.

Answer: Poppy

It is the corn poppy which is particularly associated with the First World war, often said to be the only flower which could still bloom among the carnage. Poppies are common in Europe and those of Flanders inspired the Canadian soldier John McCrae to write his poem 'In Flanders Fields'.