Funny flower names
Busy Lizzies, Wolfsbane, etc.... Many flowers and plants have very creative lay terms signifying their distinctive features.
Pot marigold
Pot marigold (Calendula) is a versatile species of annual plants in the daisy family Asteraceae. Calendula should not be confused with Tagetes, also known as marigolds. The name Calendula stems from Latin “kalendae”, meaning first day of the month. The common name marigold presumably refers to the Virgin Mary, or the old Saxon name 'ymbglidegold', which means to ‘turn with the sun’. Marigolds are very easy to grow and bloom in bright yellow, orange and red throughout the summer and well into the fall. Just throw the seeds in a sunny or half-sunny location. It is recommended to remove dying flower heads for the plant to keep producing flowers.
Busy Lizzy
Busy Lizzies (Impatiens wallerana) is a common garden flower – blooms busily and easy to maintain. In frost free conditions it is perennial, but mainly cultivated as an annual. The nonstop blossoms come in many colours; white, pink, orange, red and, lately, even blue. It reaches only 15-60 cm in height and is an ideal groundcover in shadowy areas. It is a low maintenance plant as it is not necessary to deadhead (pick off the dying flowers).
Snowdrop
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) belong to the few plants that blooms in the winter. Sometimes you can see the flower peeping out from under a thick blanket of snow, hence the name. Snowdrops are among the first bulbs to bloom, announcing that spring is on the way. It blooms under bushes and trees and can grow most places from January to April. The small bulbs should be relocated and parted from time to time, while the leaves are still green. There are many different cultivars and the snowdrop has become quite the collectible - collectors are known as "galanthophiles".
Wolfsbane
Wolfsbane (Aconitum) is an herb in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). The perennial plant is usually quite tall and develops white, pink, purple or blue flowers that look like little helmets. Wolfsbane has been ascribed with supernatural powers in the werewolves mythology, either to repel them, relating to aconite's use as a poision, or to attract them, as the plant was regarded as a key ingredient in witches' potions.
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