Pots of Gold

Human beings seem to have an instinctive desire to garden. Even in the most desolate places they find ways to grow food or decorative plants. This was reinforced once again this weekend when my wife, Rosanne and I helped a friend move from one rented house to another. I had been forewarned that she had a lot of plants but was totally unprepared for what I found when I arrived. The entire patio and yard surrounding her small guesthouse was completely surrounded by plants.

Our friend had the gardening bug on a massive scale. Since she was living in a rental she wanted to make sure she could take everything with her if she moved. Everything included large, thorny bougainvillea plants, 8 or more potted Ficus (Ficus benjamina) trees, ten hydrangeas and a host of other ivy, azaleas and succulents. These plants were arranged on all sorts of trellises, plant stands and walls, some even set into old iron chairs or kitchen pots. And all of them had to be moved to her new home about 2 miles away.

These plants had been creatively used to shield windows from the neighbors and block noise from the nearby street. Although the house is in a busy section of Santa Monica, California it seemed more a part of some quiet, small town near the sea.

Thank goodness our friend has many friends beside ourselves. It took 5-6 vehicles about 2-3 hours to get everything haphazardly stashed in its new environs. Overall, there were a few casualties but I am sure she will quickly have her garden reassembled and as vibrant as ever.

All this goes to show that with enough effort and desire we can make any place, even a concrete patio, bloom and grow. Nothing softens man-made structures as much as living things, especially those we grow ourselves.

What is that?

One surprising occurrence during the move was the relative lack of knowledge regarding the plants we were moving. This occurred even though the plants themselves were relatively common. It makes it rather hard to direct the placement of plants when you can't refer to them by name. When you are a gardener you often forget that most people don't know a Ficus from a fiscal year. It seems odd to me that we can live amongst our flora and yet not even know its name. While certainly the importance of knowing plant names doesn't rate up there with other, more crucial, needs but it makes me wonder if these people aren't missing something.

To me, the knowledge that the Jacaranda Tree's (JACARANDA mimosifolia) purple blossoms will return each May gives me a connection to the world. It gives me some hope that there are better days after this one. There is always something that will grow and something that will bloom regardless of what time of year it might be. Being able to put names to the world around me gives me confidence that I have some place in it.

The Name of Plants

That said, I am no stickler for Latin names and hybrid designations. I remember them when I can and look them up when needed. Unless you are going to a nursery in search for a specific plant you saw in a magazine or on television common names will often serve you just as well as Latin.

Latin names do make some sort of odd sense however. If you learn a few of the Latin root words you can see how many names offer identifying information for the plant they name. One web site, The Garden Gate, http://garden-gate.prairienet.org/ has a wealth of information on many garden topics including a detailed listing of various Latin roots.

From The Garden Gate:

"Did you know that 'Lavender' (Lavandula) comes from the Latin word 'to wash'? Ever wonder why the daylily is called Hemerocallis? Or what angustifolia means? Here are over 1000 root word of botanical names http://garden-gate.prairienet.org/botrts.htm from a- to zyg."

It is always amazing how helping in someone else's garden can give us a better insight into our own. After seeing all those pots (and carrying many of them) I realize that a few of my own, on the front porch, might just be the thing to dress it up a bit. It also gives me more desire to make my garden into as much of a haven as my friend's. If she can do it with cement and walls and potted plants, I should be able to do as least as much in my fertile corner of the world.

Douglas E. Welch is a freelance writer and comptuer consultant based in Van Nuys, California.
He can be reached at douglas@welchwrite.com or via his web pages at www.welchwrite.com.