A Gardener’s Latin (The Language of Plants Explained) by Richard Bird – Published by National Trust books

This book is a lot more user-friendly than you might imagine from the title. Once you understand some basic rules you too can amaze and impress your green-fingered friends.

The author covers a great deal in fewer than 150 pages: the history of plant names, the need for a universal language, why Latin is the base for the modern system of naming plants, the difference between genus and species and much more.

One for keen gardeners rather than those who are confine themselves to mowing the lawn and potting a few bulbs, nevertheless this armchair gardener enjoyed it very much.