Extracted from RHS Gardener’s Quiz & Puzzle Book, this is the perfect quiz for the long, sunny weekend ahead.

Pit your horticultural wits against friends and family or just to test your own grey, or should we say green, matter. This is a great way of checking to see if you really do know your onions… or any alliums for that matter.

 

NATIONAL FLOWERS

Can you identify the country that is associated with each of these national flowers?

1. Erythrina crista-galli

Argentina

France

Costa Rica

2. Leontopodium alpinum

Poland

Switzerland

Germany

3. Acer saccharum

Canada

Jamaica

Japan

4. Nelumbo nucifera

Thailand

Vietnam

India

5. Cirsium altissimum

Norway

Scotland

Ireland

6. Gloriosa superba ‘Rothschildiana’

USA

Zimbabwe

South Africa

7. Bauhinia blakeana

Thailand

Philippines

Hong Kong

8. Acanthus mollis

Greece

Italy

Turkey

ANSWERS

1. Argentina

2. Switzerland

3. Canada

4. India

5. Scotland

6. Zimbabwe

7. Hong Kong

8. Greece

QUICK QUIZ: WILDLIFE TRIVIA

Test your wildlife knowledge by identifying the answers from the descriptions below.

1. Gastropod often disliked by gardeners. Species include leopard, black and yellow.

2. External openings through which insects breathe.

3. Rodent with a bushy tail. There are red and grey species.

4. The number of legs that an insect has.

5. The tiny overlapping pieces of chitin on the wings of butterflies and moths.

6. Animal that lacks eyelids and, while it has no visible ears, is very good at detecting vibrations in the ground.

7. The taxonomic unit below the rank genus: a group of similar individuals that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

8. A close relationship between two living organisms, includes mutualism, commensalism and parasitism.

ANSWERS

1. Slug

2. Spiracles

3. Squirrel

4. Six

5. Scales

6. Snake

7. Species

8. Symbiosis

MULTIPLE-CHOICE: VEGGING OUT

Test your vegetable-gardening knowledge with these multiple-choice questions.

1. What type of vegetable can include French, navy, kidney and broad?

a) Cucumber

b) Pepper

c) Aubergine

d) Bean

2. What word means fear of vegetables?

a) Lacanophobia

b) Vegaphobia

c) Herbaphobia

d) Mulcophobia

3. What is the name of the technique whereby potato tubers are exposed to light indoors prior to planting, to encourage early shoots to form?

a) Stratifying

b) Chitting

c) Grafting

d) Layering

4. What does ‘crop rotation’ mean?

a) Turning a vegetable upside down after harvesting

b) Growing a different crop in a different vegetable bed each year

c) Sharing a rota with others for harvesting the crops in community gardens

d) Taking it in turn to only grow one crop each season

5. Which one of the following crops is grown as a perennial, produces spears and can take up to three years before its ready for harvesting?

a) Lettuce

b) Endive

c) Asparagus

d) Mizuna

6. Which of the following is botanically a vegetable?

a) Tomato

b) Courgette

c) Aubergine

d) Rhubarb

7. What is the name of the scale used to measure the heat of chillies?

a) Scoville

b) Pepperamator

c) Capsicumer

d) Brocanmiester

8. Gardener’s delight, Black Russian and Money Maker are all varieties of which fruit?

a) Courgette

b) Tomato

c) Aubergine

d) Pepper

9. What is the edible part of sweetcorn called?

a) Kernel

b) Tendril

c) Pulse

d) Drupe

10. Which parts of the amaranth plant would you usually eat?

a) Roots and stems

b) Leaves and roots

c) Flowers and root

d) Leaves and seeds

11. What type of fruit are the following: calamondin, kabosu, kumquat, meyer and ugli fruit?

a) Plantain

b) Citrus

c) Prunus

d) Apple

12. What is the offshoot of a strawberry called?

a) Jogger

b) Sprinter

c) Trailer

d) Runner

ANSWERS

1. d) Bean

2. a) Lacanophobia

3. b) Chitting

4. b) Growing a different crop in a different vegetable bed each year

5. c) Asparagus

6. d) Rhubarb

7. a) Scoville

8. b) Tomato

9. a) Kernel

10. d) Leaves and seeds

11. b) Citrus

12 d) Runner

MIX AND MATCH: KEY INGREDIENTS

Can you match each dish below with the fruit or vegetable it is traditionally made with?

DISH

French fries

Sauerkraut

Moussaka

Houmous

Tarte Normande

Pesto

Guacamole

Marmalade

Dhal

Clafoutis

Tzatziki

Tabasco

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

1. Cherry

2. Lentil

3. Cabbage

4. Chilli

5. Avocado

6. Aubergine

7. Chickpea

8. Apple

9. Basil

10. Cucumber

11. Potato

12. Seville orange

ANSWERS

1. K. French fries – Potato;

2. C. Sauerkraut – Cabbage;

3. F. Moussaka – Aubergine;

4. G. Houmous – Chickpea;

5. H. Tarte Normande – Apple;

6. I. Pesto – Basil;

7. E. Guacamole – Avocado;

8. L. Marmalade – Seville or ange;

9. B. Dhal – Lentil;

10. A. Clafoutis – Cherry;

11. J. Tzatziki – Cucumber;

12. D. Tabasco – Chilli

ANAGRAMS : FLOWERBED FAVOURITES

Can you unscramble the anagrams below to reveal the names of popular garden plants?

1. omenspent
2. rates
3. sayid
4. litup
5. liveto
6. apaganshut
7. nazini
8. hadail

ANSWERS

1. Penstemon
2. Aster
3. Daisy
4. Tulip
5. Violet
6. Agapanthus
7. Zinnia
8. Dahlia

Lawn troubles

Can you figure out what problem, pest or disease is making a mess of the l awn in each picture below? We’ve given you the first letters.

ANSWERS

1. Leatherjacket
2. Fairy ring
3. Worms
4. Fusarium
5. Red thread
6. Fertiliser scorch

 

Extracted from RHS Gardener’s Quiz & Puzzle Book