Rhododendron, deutzia, lilac, mock orange, choisya. That’s the names of five common-garden shrubs, right off the top of my head, but I’m a plant geek – it’s my job to reel off botanical Latin as if I’m ordering a pizza. So what about those of us who, according to a survey from the RHS, cannot name a single garden shrub? Here’s my potted guide to five easily recognisable garden plants.
Buddleia
Don’t think you know any shrubs? This is the one you know. Buddleia or butterfly bush is the rampant bush with purple (or sometimes white) kebab-shaped sprays of flowers that is easily spied from any idling train carriage. It’s a garden escapee that loves urban living.
Allium
Picture a lollipop of a plant, a skinny stem with a purple globe on top, about knee-height. That’s an ornamental allium – relative of the onions we eat, but grown for its pretty flowerheads that are at their peak right now. Plant the bulbs in autumn and you’ll have a glorious display next May.
Nigella
This flower’s other name is love-in-a-mist (gardeners can’t resist giving plants cutesy common names). You can see why – the sky-blue flowers are nestled in a tangle of green lacy bits (technical term: bracts). This cottage-garden favourite may ring a bell from your nan’s garden.
Clematis
Got a climber in your garden that is covered with saucer-sized, blowsy flowers in pink, purple or white, and isn’t thorny? It’s probably a clematis. Perfect for clothing a fence or wall.
Red-hot poker
Does what it says on the tin. A flaming torch of a plant with straplike leaves and a fiery red or orange flowerhead in mid to late summer. Extra points if you can memorise its tricky Latin name, Kniphofia – Ni-fo-fee-a.
