Congratulations to Marianne Mays, of Ashford, Co Wicklow! She is the winner of the recent Irish Times gardening quiz, and will be receiving a gift voucher for £100 from Avoca Handweavers, which she can spend in any of their five shops. The three runners-up are: Helen O'Brien, from Blackrock, Co Dublin; Catherine Clerkin, from Whitehall, Dublin 12; and Mary O'Reilly, from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. Each will receive a year's subscription (10 issues) from The Irish Garden magazine.
You may note that all the winners are women. This peculiar gender-bias reflects the fact that 85 per cent of the entrants were female, while only 11 per cent were male - and 4 per cent gave no clue to their sex. (I've idly wondered whether more men would have replied if the quiz had been set by a man?)
The responses were evenly split between Dubliners and those who live in the rest of the country, while one man replied from England. Nobody got all the answers correct - and I don't think I would have either if I hadn't set the quiz!
As it was, some of your unexpected replies sent me scurrying to the reference books and the Internet to check time and time again. And more than one brought a smile to my face: I liked the definitions of "allelopathy" as "long, narrow pathways" and "a dislike of garlic", and I wondered whether `Bloody Butcher', `Sheep's Nose' and `Widow's Friend' might indeed be varieties of fishing fly (as well as Irish apples).
Finally, before I give the correct answers, a slice of humble pie. Question 26 asked: "Which of these plants have attractive seed heads that last into the winter: Dipsacus fullonum, Agapanthus africanus and Taraxacum officinale?"
Dipsacus is the teasel, which has lovely, long-lasting seed heads, while the Agapanthus is an African lily. Some varieties have wonderfully sculptural seed heads, including I thought, A. africanus. But, I am informed by eminent plant taxonomist, Charles Nelson, "what is known to gardeners as A. africanus is none other than A. praecox subsp. orientalis. (Agapanthus in cultivation in Europe is a quagmire for taxonomists.)." A. africanus, he tells me, is almost certainly not in cultivation anywhere in Ireland or Britain. So I apologise for my error, and have decided that so long as your replies include Dipsacus full onum and exclude Taraxacum officinale (the dandelion), they are "correct".
Here are the answers - and thank you for all your entries.
1. Buddleia, sedum and nettle are known to attract butterflies. 2. Laurus nobilis is the Latin name for bay. 3. The correct name for pungent-leaved, half-hardy "geraniums" is Pelargonium. 4. The preferred food of the Sarracenia or pitcher plant is insects. 5. The common names of plants that contain the word "egg" are Eggplant, Poached-egg plant, Fried-egg plant, Butter and eggs, Chinese scarlet eggplant, Plovers eggs, Bacon and eggs, Eggs and bacon and Eggleaf beardtongue. A correct answer includes any three of these. 6. Allelopathy is when a plant produces chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants. Black walnut is a particularly allelopathic plant. 7. All of these plants: lavender, rosemary and thyme, like to be planted in full sun. 8. The gardens at Heywood, the War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge, Howth Castle and Lambay Island were designed by the architect, Edwin Lutyens. 9. The plantswoman, known as "Bumps" to her friends, with whom Lutyens formed a professional partnership was Gertrude Jekyll. 10. True. All adult vine weevils are female. 11. `Osprey', `Blackbird' and `Flamingo' are cultivars of Penstemon. 12. Hostas are especially prone to slugs and snails. 13. The roots of beans carry nitrogen-fixing nodules, and should be left in the soil when clearing up. 14. Lycopersicon esculentum, Solanum melongena (tomato and aubergine) produce edible fruits. The fruits of Solanum tuberosum (potato) are poisonous. 15. The above plants are all members of the Solanaceae family or Potato family. 16. `Bloody Butcher', `Sheep's Nose' and `Widow's Friend' are varieties of Irish apples. 17. The roses, `Grandpa Dickson', `Big Chief' and `Precious Platinum' were all raised by Dickson's. 18. `Grandpa Dickson' is yellow. 19. The tallest box hedges in the world are at Birr Castle. 20. Cordyline, pittosporum, hydrangea and fuchsia all have cultivars suitable for growing in coastal situations. 21. It is inadvisable to save and propagate seed from F1 hybrid plants because the off-spring (if any) may not resemble the parents. 22. Seeds in order of size (smallest first): lettuce, cucumber, runner bean. 23. Painted Lady, Lady Di and Fergie are varieties of runner bean. 24. "Damping off" is a fungal condition that attacks seedlings. 25. The original Irish yew is at Florence Court in Co Fermanagh. 26. Dipsacus fullonum (teasel) has attractive seed heads that last into the winter. Agapanthus africanus probably doesn't (but see introduction!). 27. Ericaceous compost is lime-free. 28. The longest avenue of Wellingtonias is at Emo Court in Co Laois. 29. Monocarpic means that a plant flowers and sets seeds just once, after which it dies. 30. Mount Usher is on the Vartry, the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin are on the Tolka. 31. Ivory Egg, Snow White Cherry and Golden Queen are tomatoes. 32. Parsley takes so long to germinate that they say the seed travels seven times to the devil before it sprouts. 33. Prunus serrula, Acer griseum and Rubus cockburnianus all have ornamental stems or bark. 34. "Jin" and "sharimiki" are terms used to describe methods of artificial ageing of bonsai specimens. 35. Cranesbill (Geranium) and stork's bill (Erodium) owe their common names to the shape of the beak-like seed heads. 36. A pachymorph is suitable for a small garden. It has clumping rhizomes, unlike the leptomorph, which runs. 37. Angraecum sesquipedale has very long spurs (sesquipedale means "a foot and a half"). Darwin stated that a moth with an equally-long proboscis must exist to pollinate it. He was right. The moth was discovered after his death. 38. The Red Hand of Ulster picked out in bedding begonias and the topiarised yew harp are at Mount Stewart. 39. The heat in chilli peppers is calibrated in Scoville Heat Units. 40. St Fiachra or Fiacre is the patron saint both of French cab-drivers and of gardeners. 41. The disorder of tomatoes where the flesh and skin nearest the stalk fails to ripen and remains green or yellow is called greenback. 42. Aloysia triphylla and Melissa officinalis both smell strongly of lemon. 43. The "Jealous Wall" is in Belvedere in Co Westmeath. 44. Lysimachia punctata `Alexander', Pittosporum tenuifolium `Irene Paterson' and Hedera colchica `Paddy's Pride' are all variegated. 45. Aphids, scale insects and thrips feed on sap. 46. Stag's-horn sumach, or Rhus typhina has a habit of sending out suckers. 47. The Habanero chilli pepper is a variety of Capsicum chinense, a plant native to Amazonian America. 48. In companion planting, the French marigold is supposed to fend off whitefly. 49. The common name for Araucaria araucana is Monkey puzzle. 50. Fuchsia magellanica is not native to Ireland.
Jane Powers can be contacted at: jpowers@irish-times.ie