Add Plants With People Names to Your Garden

As we walked through a garden center the other day, a friend of mine picked up a plant and said joyfully, “Oh, I’ve been looking for one of these! I have to give it to my friend Jenny – it’s named after her!” The plant was Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia), a low-growing groundcover from Europe and Asia. This got us thinking about other plants with people names, and how they would make good gifts for people with those names, or a fun themed garden bed.

There are plenty of plants used as people names, like Lily, Rose, Pansy, Daisy, Iris, Holly and Heather. But what about people names used for plants?

Plant a Name Garden

Courtesy Britney Fox

• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
• Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia)
• Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)
• Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
• Johnny Jump-Up (Viola tricolor)
• Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)
• Saint John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
• Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)

Can you add to the list? Remember, don’t pick plants that are commonly used as people names, such as Rose, but instead plants that were given the names of people.