Now, Roy and Joy had often dozed, through their weekly class in botany;
I’m afraid they were wrongly inclined to think -that botany meant monotony. But the sight botanic they now beheld- would have awakened a sleeping possum! For every plant had an animal name and a living animal blossom !
——- The Animal Garden by Ogden Nash
Then to their surprise and delight, one moonlit night, strange little Abidan taps on their bedroom window. He gives them special seeds and slips of plants and shows them how to plant an extraordinary garden. Every plant and seed was named after an animal!
This type of garden is centered around a specific concept or idea. The plants, garden design, and elements of garden décor all focus on and support a particular topic. Theme gardens can be fanciful or practical. There’s no limit to the subjects you can explore.
Children love animals, so growing a garden where all the plants are named after animals is a natural way to introduce them to gardening and cultural ecology.
Every plant has an interesting past; exploring the origins of plant names, personal characteristics and cultural requirements, uses, and history makes them seem like good friends and helps us grow as gardeners.
Prehistoric cultures classified plants by place, body parts, odors, shapes, colors, animals, insects, and growing conditions. In modern botanical classification, plant names are derived chiefly from Latin and Greek origins, and plants are grouped by sexual reproductive characteristics.
Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
To ensure success when planning and planting your garden, getting the right plant in the right place is essential. While all the plants in this themed garden have animal names, please keep their diverse growing needs in mind.
Some plants are shade-loving; others, such as ‘Cats Pajamas’, a catmint that likes a dry, sunny spot. Bloom time will also vary according to the species, season, and time of day.
Cat’s Pajamas (Nepeta Hybrid)
It all begins with understanding the growing conditions of your garden site. Select your plants and group them in the garden according to their cultural and water needs. A plant’s native habitat offers valuable clues on how to grow it. Knowing the botanical classification or Latin name of a plant will help you correctly identify the plant and its origins. From that information, you can determine some of its growth characteristics. Knowing the life cycle of a plant will help you plan for its future and manage your garden as a whole. Is it an annual, bi-annual, or perennial plant?
Annual flowers such as snapdragons, ‘Honey Bear’ sunflowers, and nasturtium ‘Whirlybird’ are easy to grow from seed directly sown in the garden. You can purchase perennial plants at a local nursery. Many of the plants listed in this article will attract birds, butterflies, and native pollinators to your yard. Trees and shrubs will add depth to the garden and provide homes and shelter for wildlife.
Flowering dogwood (Cornus Florida) is a small native tree that blooms in spring and is very popular with wildlife, birds, and butterflies in particular. It is a favorite of the little blue azure butterfly for laying its eggs. Pussy willows, despite their unruly growth habit, make a nice specimen plant in an out-of-the-way spot in the yard. There are plenty of willows to pick from with pretty stems and interesting catkins that can be forced in the spring and then dried for later use in craft projects.
Teddy Bear Sunflower
Big Duck Gold Marigold
Don’t think you have enough space for a garden? You can always find room for a container garden, using miniature plants with animal names. To name a few: Cosmos’Little Lady Birds’, cardinal climber vine, and zinnia ‘Polar Bear’. Animal-shaped containers are also fun to plant and AAS Winner Marigold Big Duck Gold is an easy-to-grow plant from seed and looks great in containers.
Use these plants as garden accents. Plant catnip in a pot shaped like a cat or Bunny Tails, an annual grass in a container shaped like a rabbit.
Cultivated plants are not the only plants with animal names. Wildflowers and weeds with animal names can extend the fun beyond the garden’s boundaries. Goatsbeard ( Tragopogon pretenses) is a biennial member of the Asteraceae family and native to Europe, Central Asia, and Turkey. The genus name Tragopogon originates from two Greek words: Tragos means “goat,” and pogon means “Beard,” which describes the fuzzy seed head produced by the plant after flowering. Another common name for this plant is Jack Go To Bed At Noon because of its faithful habit of closing its flowers at about noon. During the 18th century, farmers in France and England based their lunch break on the movement of this flower.
Yellow Goatsbeard (Tragopogon pretensis), common name “Jack Go To Bed At Noon” in the morning
Yellow Goatsbeard (Tragopogon pretenses) – after 12:00- noon
Plants have supported human life from its beginning. The origins and meaning of plant names is a fascinating subject. The many variations of their descriptive labels teach us there are many different ways of relating, knowing, and understanding plants and cultural ecology.
These are just a few suggestions of plants with animal names to get you started. Develop your own list and garden plan based on your available site. Check out gardening resources, plants, books, and tools offered by National Garden Bureau members on this site to link directly to their websites.
“This post about plant animal names is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau and author member when using all or parts of this article.”
