Re: plant names

**M* W* <m*@earthlink.net>**

I agree with the "rule" that common names should be lower case, otherwise your copy ends up looking like a Dave Barry column. My only exception is for names that include a proper name, so I write Solomon's seal. I follow the British notion when common names are the same as the scientific name, so it's hostas and lobelias - even pelargoniums and acers. (Impatiens, on the other hand, are busy lizzies - not that they'll be growing any of them this year.)

Marty Wingate

Author: 
The Potting Shed mysteries
Landscaping for Privacy (Timber Press, December 2011)
The Bellevue Botanical Garden: Celebrating the First 15 Years 
The Big Book of Northwest Perennials 
Big Ideas for Northwest Small Gardens 

martywingate.com

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