Our Plant Idioms

This post is partially inspired by a conversation I had in the Museum of Homelessness garden this week.

We’d been enjoying our first potato harvest, thanks to Lisa, who swiftly rustled-up a potato salad! (Alongside vegetable lasagne and meatballs and garlic bread; we always eat well in the garden)

As we sat together the conversation turned to learning English. One of our number, an Italian, was reassuring another from Azerbaijan that he will, with time, become fluent. He had been explaining how with some people he understands 20% of what they say, others just 10% and some nothing. He had been meant to attend a lesson that afternoon but said he felt that just sitting and having conversations, like our post lunch one, felt more useful. The conversation turned to English idioms. How can you and why would you, asked one of our number from Ethiopia, put yourself in anothers shoes. Though we all agreed that still sounds easier than being ‘on the same page’ as someone else!

This has led me to ponder garden idioms and I thought I would share a few with you here.

There are so many of them:

As fresh as a daisy, a rose by any other name, a rose among thorns, rose coloured glasses, stop and smell the roses, a wallflower, nip in the bud, turn over a new leaf, beat around the bush, bark up the wrong tree, dig yourself into a hole, green fingers or green thumb, go to seed, grow like a weed…

I think I may print off this list and take it to the MOH garden next week.

Meanwhile in Yucca land I have made a trailer for the episode, airing on July 8th, that I thought I would share with you here first and then I’ll put it out on the podcast platform next week. I was editing the episode on Thursday and feel very inspired by Colin who holds a national collection of Yuccas. What I love about the people who hold national collections is they are so passionate about ‘their plant’ and the depth of knowledge and power of observation, gained by growing so many plants of the same taxa, is incredible. It seems there are so many more options than the Yucca gigantea (formerly known as Yucca elephantipes) that have been sold in stores like M&S or B&Q for many years.

So do watch this space, Colin will be inspiring us with other Yuccas we can try and some places to find them.

I am currently reading Poppy Okotcha’s book A Wilder Way - How Gardens Grow Us. She is taking us through the seasons and I am currently in April (the book starts in October) and I loved this phrase: “Gardening is hitching a ride on the rhythm of the year”. I think that is a rather beautiful description and thinking of our small party sitting in the MOH garden having picked and eaten our small potato harvest, resting and chatting rather than rushing back to weed it feels rather apt.

Have a lovely weekend

Sally

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Origami plant pots