Johnny jump up, jiggle joggle and Johnny go to bed at noon. Or should I say Viola tricolor, Briza media and Tragopogon pratensis? Gardeners who pooh-pooh the common appellations of plants and who use only long Latin handles really are missing out on a lovely facet of plant life. Not only can you bore the pants off your friends with droll folk names but generally you can find indications of a plant's habits or appearance in these aliases.
For instance, until a few months ago, I didn't realise that I had beard-tongues in my garden - although I knew I had several penstemon, their bold spikes adding a sparkling grace to the scene all summer long. Their botanical name comes from the Greek pente meaning five and stemon meaning stamen. One of those stamens (called a staminode) is sterile and is often slightly flattened and lightly bewhiskered, hence "beard-tongue". Penstemons or beard-tongues belong to Scrophulariaceae, the figwort tribe (figwort was supposed to cure lymphatic tuberculosis or scrofula - which is where the family got its dodgy-sounding name). Other members are foxglove, toadflax, verbascum, phygelius and snapdragon. The clan resemblance is quite pronounced: most are recognisable by their tubular flowers held on upright inflorescences which range from a few inches, as in the case of dwarf or alpine penstemons, to several feet - as with certain skyscraping foxgloves and verbascums.
But never mind all that. Far more interesting is that among the elegant penstemon genus are scores of large-flowered hybrids that are possibly the most obliging plants you are ever likely to meet. There is little to fault in these highly ornamental, evergreen plants, that rise from about 18 inches to three or four feet. Their towers of bells may be blue, mauve, pink, red or white, or any combination of the above - as can be seen in the iridescent `Stapleford Gem' and `Mother of Pearl', varieties that seem to shift between blue, lilac, pink and white, depending on the light.
Large-flowered penstemons have a long flowering season - even into December - with plenty of long-lasting blossom (making them ideal for flower-arranging); they are largely drought and wind-resistant and don't need staking; they're not heavy feeders, so don't need a special diet; they rarely suffer from diseases or pests - except when grown under glass, where they may fall foul of aphids, botrytis or red spider mite (but what plant doesn't?). Slugs hate them. And bees love them, bumbling along the tracks painted on the corolla floor that lead to the deep-seated nectaries.
Although nearly perfect plants, they have one or two drawbacks: alas, they have no scent, are not particularly long-lived (but are as easy as anything to propagate) and in some climates are slightly tender. Prolonged, hard frost and cold, wet roots - as found in the chilly north and midlands - are likely to ring their death knell. Even so, there are a few very robust candidates available: the super-hardy deep-red and whitethroated `Garnet', (whose formal name is the tongue-twisting `Andenkenan Friedrich Hahn'), the scarlet `Schoenholzeri' (more manageably known as `Firebird' or `Ruby') and `Evelyn', a delicate-looking pink variety from Slieve Donard nursery.
Penstemons make good companions for roses, or they may be grown in the flower border, as they are at Rowallane in Co Down. In the walled garden there, 54 different large-flowered hybrid varieties form a National Collection: part of a scheme run by the British National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens.
Or they can be grown all flocked together as they are in Burton Hall in Sandyford, Dublin, where a 180-foot, double border of bouncing, waving penstemons bisects the walled garden with multicoloured vigour. Head gardener Berna Purcell has amassed 68 varieties so far - with `Hopleys Variegated', probably the only variegated one in commerce, arriving just last week. A curious thing about penstemons is demonstrated in the Burton Hall borders where the rich pigments flow dramatically into each other. Pink, deep purple, cherry red, scarlet, blue, lilac, cream, white: there is an endless conjoining of colours that normally fight violently. But here all is sweet and strong: nothing clashes. `Papal Purple' and `Red Emperor' go hand in hand, and `Flamingo' and `Blackbird' soar splendidly. Beard-tongues unite!
The garden at Burton Hall, Burton Hall Road, Sandyford Industrial Estate, Co Dublin, is the venue for a training programme for the South County Dublin Mental Health Service under the St John of God Brothers. The garden is open on Wednesdays, 2 - 4.30 p.m. Other times by appointment only. Telephone: 01-2955888. All the penstemon varieties on display now will be available in limited quantities on Burton Hall's open day on May 15th, 1999, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Mark your diary!
Rowallane, Saintfield, Co Down, is open Monday to Friday, 10.30 a.m - 6 p.m. and Sunday, 2 6 p.m. From November 1st, open weekdays only.