Name That Plant! Wild and Garden Plants Around You

Look out of a window or think about the last time you walked outside. Did you spot anything green? Plants are all around us — in gardens, parks, fields, and cracks in pavements! Some plants are grown on purpose in gardens. Others grow wild without any help from people. Today you are going to become a plant detective and learn the names of some of the most common plants you might see.

Plants grow almost everywhere on Earth. We can sort them into two groups: **Garden plants** are plants that people choose to grow in gardens. Here are four you might know: • **Rose** — has big, colourful flowers (red, pink, yellow, or white) and thorns on its stems. Thorns are sharp little spikes. • **Sunflower** — very tall with a big yellow flower that looks like the sun. Its centre is brown and round. • **Lavender** — has thin purple flowers and a lovely smell. Bees love it! • **Grass** — thin green blades that cover lawns. It is probably the most common garden plant of all. **Wild plants** are plants that grow on their own in the countryside, hedgerows, or along paths — nobody plants them. • **Dandelion** — bright yellow flower and jagged, tooth-shaped leaves. When the flower dies, it turns into a white fluffy ball of seeds. • **Daisy** — small white petals around a yellow centre. You often find daisies growing in grass. • **Nettle** — a wild plant with pointed green leaves covered in tiny hairs. If you touch it, it stings — so always look without touching! • **Bluebell** — a wild plant with drooping blue-purple bell-shaped flowers. It often grows in woodland in spring. Plant detectives use features to name plants. A **feature** is something you can see — like the shape of a leaf, the colour of a flower, or how tall the plant is.