Most gardeners will plant their gardens without thinking about any history that may be attached to them, they want a plant to flourish and look beautiful when sitting in their gardens, but there are many plants with history that have been around for centuries.
The Lavender plant for example has been in documented use for over 2,500 years. In ancient times lavender was used for mummification and perfume by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and peoples of Arabia.
The Romans used lavender oils for bathing, cooking, and scenting the air and most probably gave it the Latin root form which we derive the modern name (either lavere (to wash) or livendula (livid or bluish). In ancient times the flower's soothing ‘tonic' qualities, the insect repellent effects of the strong scent, and the use of the dried plant in smoking mixtures also added to the value of the herb.
Lavender is often mentioned in the Bible, and another ancient Christian reference to lavender involves how it got its scent. Adam and Eve is believed to have taken the plant from the Garden of Eden, but the powerful perfume came later, according to legend, the clothing of baby Jesus bestowed the scent when Mother Mary laid them on a bush to dry.
Around 600 BC it is thought lavender may have come form the Greek Hyeres Islands into France and is now common in France, Spain, Italy and England. Another common plant and a favourite of the British gardener is the Begonia, beautiful and strong, and is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae also a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are hillebrandia, a genus with single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia.
Begonia is the common name as well as the generic name for all members of the genus. The genus name, coined by Charles Plumier, a French patron of botany, honours Michel Begon a former governor of the French colony of Haiti, furthermore begonias are relatively closely related to such food crops as pumpkins, squash, gourds, cucumbers and melons.
Many gardeners around the UK plant the Geranium in pots and containers also in flower beds, and are a common sight in an English garden. The Geranium is a genus of 422 species of flowering annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as the cranesbills.
Geraniums will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged. Propagation is by semi-ripe cuttings in summer, by seed or by division in autumn or spring. The flowers have 5 petals and are coloured whit, pink, purple or blue, often with distinctive veining, and the Genus name is derived from the Greek ‘geranos' or ‘geranos', crane. The English name ‘cranesbill' derives from the appearance of the fruit capsule of some of the species. The fruit capsule springs open when ripe and casts the seeds some distance, a distinctive mechanism for seed dispersal.
A spokesman for Blooming Direct located on the Island of Jersey said "go online and check out our selection of all begonia, geranium and lavender plants we do know how popular all these plants are to gardeners in the UK, and how much they want healthy specimens, we offer FREE delivery on all orders to the UK".
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