Free book Friday!

Connie Beck says:

Waking at 5:30 yesterday to see a loin clothed long haired Jamie Durie was truly a trip!  Thanks for the cardiac shock to get my day started!!!!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:04 am.

Charlotte Owendyk says:

For me it is clematis….

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:04 am.

Stacy Griffin says:

Enjoy your emails.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:06 am.

Anne Murphy says:

The rose Cecile Brunner - I pronouce her as a woman. Almost everyone else pronounces her as a man.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:10 am.

Joni holland says:

I work at a nursery so I get giggles all the time. How many times have I heard ‘cotton-easter’ for cotoneaster? At some point tho’ it becomes ‘potato’-‘potato.’ how do you say ‘clematis’? Love this blog!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:10 am.

April says:

For too long, my neighbor was kind enough not to correct my pronunciation of Buddelia as “boo-deh-LEE-ahh.”

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:11 am.

Leslie says:

Colchicum, seems easy but it stops me every time.  I want to say col cheek um.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:19 am.

Susan Sullivan says:

I always had trouble remembreing how to pronounce Alstroemeria (Peruvian Lily”... until I learned that if you think of saying “I’ll still marry ya’ ” it was easier to remember it! LOL Susan

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:26 am.

Darla Miller says:

Is it “clem-A-tis” or “cle-maaa-tis”???  I’m always afraid to say it since I know I’m saying it wrong.  Everyone I ask debates it as well!   Oh Well!  They are pretty either way you say them!  Darla

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:43 am.

Christina Yee-Collins says:

I’m another person confused by clematis.  How IS it pronounced??

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:46 am.

jess says:

For whatever silly reason, I always trip over Spirea. So dumb!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:52 am.

Keith Miner says:

I remember when I first got into gardening I would call Allysum…..Asylum. You can image the look from the saleperson at the garden center when I asked them asking for that!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:01 am.

Curt says:

Ranunculus. Keep wanting to say ridiculous, or ridonkulous.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:04 am.

Tim says:

What’s a kniphofia?

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:06 am.

Susan Fortune says:

Mispronounce AND misspell:
Sprekelia.
Cuphea.
Fokea.
Dischidea.
Adromischus.
Amorphophallus titanum—this one is just plain fun!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:06 am.

Michelle says:

Echinacea!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:13 am.

Sherry Morris says:

Hi Cindy.  I have a lot of trouble with Daisy.  Is that a one or just my psychotic dog.
Love you.
Sherry

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:22 am.

Jeannette says:

Echinacea which is a cornflower with hot orange blooms - also called hot papaya.  They’re beautiful.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:25 am.

Ellen B. says:

Kalanchoe

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:34 am.

Linda Genis says:

I had trouble with most of the above, mangling buddleia and alstromeria the most.  I stand by kal-en-choe, however, and I’ve heard clematis pronounced both ways.  My sister gives me grief about this because I was a reading teacher.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:40 am.

Marj Myers says:

Not only can I not pronouce them—too many to mention one—I can’t spell them. If they look good, I buy them and who cares how they are pronounced—I use old age as an excuse—too old to learn but I try.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:43 am.

Janet C. says:

There are SO many plant names with different pronunciations…I don’t know where to start! Guess I’ll also go with kalanchoe. What IS the proper way to pronounce?

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:48 am.

cynthia stetson says:

Ranunculus & Daylillies are my favorites.
Everyone have a great weekend
thanks

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 8:56 am.

Karen M. says:

For years I pronounced it Cotton Easter… now I understand it is pronounced Co Tone EE Aster.  Who knew?

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:04 am.

susie says:

I have to agree with Ellen - kalanchoe on pronouncing, but is it a perennial?  must be…
love your blog…

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:04 am.

Barbara Jesse says:

PEEony not peOny

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:19 am.

Lydia Plunk says:

It must be grass.

Grass is something to walk or lie on.

It must sound like something else, because people hear the single syllable word and picture something with a different sensual quality when smoked or baked than lawn leaves):- .

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:27 am.

Debbie Muphy says:

Japanese anemone…my neighbor pronounces it Japanese enema.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:38 am.

Susan Bulger says:

Among many others I would like to correctly pronounce Brunfelsia pauciflora macrantha.

Your blog is hilarious and educational.  Love it.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 9:48 am.

teresa leone says:

pittosporum as you say Cindy, “Whatever”

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 10:00 am.

Maryann says:

maderense geranium. not sure I even spelled it right

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 10:01 am.

jt says:

I once got laughed at for saying TAG eats (instead of Tah JEET ees) so I’ll never mis-say that one again.

But I do still get funny looks from others when I say CAL en coh ee
and
Pitt oh SPORE um

WATT ev er

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 10:07 am.

Donna Minick says:

Is it clematis, accent on the clem, or clematis, accent on the a?  Accent on the a, is the way I’ve always heard it—but lately high-faluting gardeners seem to pronounce it with the accent on the clem.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 10:19 am.

Sharon says:

That pretty pink flowered shrub that you often find in supermarket parking lots ~~ I taught my girls to pronounce it “Raphael Left Us” because I never knew how to say it

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 10:25 am.

tj says:

...Mine is “anemone”.  I know, crazy right? lol… :o\

...And btw, thank you for the email yesterday featuring that yummy Jamie Durie - nice! ;o)

...Thanks for the giveaway!

...Blessings :o)

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:12 am.

Julie Rierson says:

My uncle and I have an ongoing conversation…is it PITT-O-sporum or pit-AH-SPORUM?

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:14 am.

Linda Mendelssohn says:

Penstemon comes out different all the time - pestimon or penstenom or…....

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:16 am.

Jeanne Rubin says:

Gaura - - is it Gah-rah or Gwa-ra?  Nursery employees seem to say it both ways and don’t seem to recognize the word if I say it the “wrong” way.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:23 am.

John Trager says:

I say ni-fofia and Callen-co-ee.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:25 am.

Karen Elliott says:

Like many of you, I am still confused about how to pronounce Kalanchoe!  What is the correct way?

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:29 am.

Jill Patterson says:

Raphiolapsis—which I can’t even spell, much less pronounce.  That’s the real reason we use common names (Indian Hawthorne).  We can at least pronounce them!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:47 am.

Caren Ferrera says:

It took me forever to learn it was ah-gah-stah-key instead of agah-stash-ee.  Duh!!!  Thanks to White Flower Farms catalog for providing the phonetics.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:48 am.

Jennifer says:

I know my Angel’s Trumpet isn’t pronounced Brugs-o-mania, but I like saying it that way cause I like cracking myself up. Reading through this list, I just realized how many things I pronounce wrong. Thanks Everyone!  And how have I been missing out on Loinclothed photos of Jamie Durie??

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 12:07 pm.

Sue Schairer says:

How do you pronounce Catananche?  Even the silvery leftovers (would they be called “hips”) of the flowers are beautiful!  I would love to receive one of the beautiful books!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 12:35 pm.

Jean says:

I love the Raphael left us. I used to call it the Indian plant. Now I’ll call it garden Rafa (as in Rafa in tennis?)

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 1:51 pm.

Lynne says:

Oh, it’s Cotton-Easter for me.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 2:02 pm.

Shirley R. says:

To this day I still don’t know the proper pronounciation for Kalanchoe.  Can anyone tell me out there?

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 2:16 pm.

Annette says:

drought tolerant perennials for me!!

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 2:53 pm.

Nancy Gerhard says:

The plant I don’t know how to pronounce is Clivia.  Is it Clivia with a short i or a long i?

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 3:26 pm.

vicki says:

For me there are many but the one that comes to mind is cottoneaster.

Posted on September 30, 2011 at 3:42 pm.