Green fingered? Half of us can’t name a shrub!

WE like to think of ourselves as a green-fingered nation.

But our knowledge of plants seems to have taken a harsh pruning.

Half of adults cannot name a single shrub, while four in ten are unable to recall a household plant, according to a survey.

Meanwhile more than a quarter do not know that a pumpkin grows above the ground, and fewer than half know that daffodil bulbs are planted in autumn so they can flower in spring.

The poll of 2,004 adults – on behalf of the Royal Horticultural Society – also found that a fifth do not grow any plants themselves, with many blaming a lack of time for not getting out in the garden.

Young people aged between 16 and 24 were the worst performers on a number of questions. Some 66 per cent of this group did not know the name of any shrubs. They are also the least likely age group to ask for advice on gardening, with just 54 per cent willing to seek help compared with 64 per cent of all adults.

Grandparents emerged as being the most likely to encourage young people to start gardening, with parents also having an influ- ence. The survey also found that very few people who grow plants would describe themselves as a ‘gardener’, and that many consider the term ‘too serious’.

More than a quarter of people who grow plants outside said they would not describe themselves as a gardener, and just 3 per cent describe themselves as experts. The results of the poll are published today by the RHS to mark the launch of the 2017 Chelsea Flower Show, which is expected to attract 165,000 visitors this week.

Despite our apparent lack of gardening knowledge, the event is sold out – suggesting there is a healthy interest in the subject even if we struggle to do it at home. Sue Biggs, director general of the RHS, said: ‘Despite growing plants, one in four don’t consider themselves a gardener, with most giving lack of time to garden and lack of knowledge about plants as their reasons.’

She added: ‘We believe it’s not how much you know, or how much time you spend gardening, but that anyone who grows even one single plant should proudly believe in themselves as a gardener.’

While the survey revealed some gaping holes in our knowledge, there were also positive findings.

Although naming shrubs and house plants proved too difficult for many, 70 per cent of respondents correctly answered that annual plants grow, flower, produce seeds and die in one year.

Nine in ten of those questioned also had enough outdoor space to grow things such as flowers, fruit or vegetables.