An English Country Garden Trivia Quiz

Answer: Meadowsweet

Traces of meadowsweet have been found in graves dating back to the bronze age. The plant has creamy white flowers, and as a herb is good for digestive disorders. It is popular in damp and shady areas of cottage gardens where other plants fail to thrive. If you plant it in full sun with good drainage it will not be happy, and will almost certainly die unless the ground around it is kept boggy with regular soaking.

Answer: Bee balm

There are several varieties of Monarda and all are very attractive to bees and butterflies. They are an annual that normally flowers between June and August, and will freely self seed around the garden. Most are in shades of pale to deep pink and are not fussy as to soil, although they do dislike deep shade.

Answer: Hydrangea

Hydrangeas can be changed from blue to pink or pink to blue by addition of lime or aluminium sulphate to the soil. Folklore says that rusty nails buried near the roots will turn a hydrangea blue. The real decider on colour is the acidity of the soil, and many will change colour of their own accord as their roots go deeper and pick up different elements.

The only ones that cannot be changed are white hydrangeas.

Answer: Garlic

Many old time and organic gardeners say that planting a clove of garlic by the roots of rose bushes keeps away greenfly. The idea of companion planting to deter pests is certainly not new, and I have tried garlic next to my own rose bushes and it does seem to work. Greenfly are said to be repelled by the smell of the garlic.

Answer: Forget-Me-Not

Forget-Me-Nots are a cottage garden favourite. Coming in pale blue, dark blue, pink and even white, all on the same plant, a big patch of them makes a lovely show in the Spring. Leave them to set seed and you will never be without them, as they seed freely all over the garden. If you want to spread them to a certain area just take a handful of seeds straight from the plant, and throw them over the part of the garden you want them to appear in.

Answer: Cranesbill

The name cranesbill comes from the shape of the seed head, which is round with a long projection said to resemble the crane. These perennial hardy plants are happy in almost any soil, have a long flowering season, and will come for a second flowering if cut right back when the first flowers have faded.

In shades of pink, blue and white they form large dense clumps and are best propagated by root division. Many will self seed.

Answer: Lavatera

Lavatera come in all sizes from dwarf to ones that grow to around 7ft tall. Colours are white, pink or red and they can be annual, biennial or perennial. The perennial shrubs need hard pruning each year otherwise they quickly become overgrown giants. Most species are native to the Mediterranean area, but Australia does also have some native species.

They are remarkably tolerant of sun, wet and shade and will thrive in most gardens.

Answer: Lenten lily

These days daffodils come in single and double flowers, giant and miniature, and there are even pink ones. However, the old wild daffodil of England was also called the Lenten lily because it always flowered during the period of Lent. Nothing really sums up Spring quite like the sight of a group of daffodils in full flower. Planted at the right depth they will flower for years, and many varieties will naturalise so their numbers increase year on year.

Answer: Delphinium

The Greeks gave delphiniums their name as they thought the flowers resembled the bottle nosed dolphin. Their natural colour is blue, but cultivars come in dark blue, pale blue, pink and white. This beautiful perennial is highly toxic in all parts of the plant so care needs to be taken with it, especially if it is planted anywhere where animals could eat it.

Answer: Hollyhock

There are around 60 different species of hollyhock, most of which are native to Asia. The flowers are carried on a tall, thick, central spike which rises above the broad leaves. Tolerant of most conditions they do self seed if left alone. Even though described as a perennial most will live only three to four years.

The leaves are very prone to hollyhock rust, but if the affected leaves are picked off and disposed of as soon as rust is seen this can be controlled.