Windowsill herb garden
Image by eskay8 via Flickr

Having enough knowledge about the common plant names is the key in order for you to establish a good windowsill herb garden. Many botanical shops deal with seeds and full-grown plants using their common plant names, thus you need to be able to match these names with their scientific names. There are a lot of ways to do this. You can use plant encyclopedias and databases, because they can give you images of plants along with the list of all their names. If you have kept any of the seed packets when you bought your plants, you will observe that naming the scientific name goes hand in hand with the common plant name.

In most cases, a common plant name is the latin version of the name translated into english. Common plant names for herbs are the following: Cudweed, Duckweed, Dove, Ammania, Beggarticks, Annual, Buttercup, Conzya, Crimson Monkeyflower, among others. For the flowering types, we have the Amazon lily, baby’s breath, African lily, Alpine thistle, bells of Ireland, tulips, roses, gerber daisy, clover, Amaryllis, among others.

If you are living in a region where poisonous plants thrive and grow, being able to know their common plant names will be able to prevent any confusion if ever you or somebody you know (especially your loved ones) will be exposed to them. Various names for poisonous plants include yew, poison ivy, pokeweed, english ivy, poison hemlock, poison oak, belladonna, alder buckthorn, foxglove, monk’s hood and poison sumac.

If you have been poisoned by these kinds of plants, look for medical attention immediately. Remember that plants that are toxic shouldn’t be kept inside your home, unless you have taken the needed precautions to prevent any kind of injury. Also, some herbs can become poisonous if they are not used appropriately, therefore a lot of references list useful herbs such as garlic, cinnamons and chives as poisons for improper usage.

Despite this, knowing the common names of your plants alone isn’t really enough to make sure that you can keep them in your windowsill herb garden. You still have to make some research about your plants and ensure that you live in the proper climate for your plants too. Doing this will guarantee that your plant will live a long and healthy life. In order for you to get more helpful information, you can also watch programs that give herb garden tips on TV, as these can be helpful as well in taking care of your plants.

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