Rose Style

Garden

Generally, lowercase rose types (floribunda rose, ‘Mr. Philby’ hybrid tea rose) unless the name is a proper noun (English roses, Scotch roses) or to avoid confusion (Use Old Garden roses to create a beautiful arrangement.).

Use A–Z as the primary reference for rose names. Names not included there may be confirmed in Dobson and Schneider’s Combined Rose List (a copy is available in the CE reference cabinet) or via a Google search.

Be aware that a growing number of rose names are trademarked plant names, not cultivars. (Trademarked names are noted in the Combined Rose List with ® or ™.) Capitalize them, as you would any other trademark, but do not use registration symbols. Trademarks should not be placed in single quotes. As adjectives, trademarks must come before the plant name.
Rosa ‘Golden Wings’ (cultivar name)
Golden Bouquet rose (trademarked name)

For more information, see Trademarked plants

 

 

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G

Plant Word List

globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa)
globethistle (Echinops)
glory flower; glory flowers (Eccremocarpus scaber)
gloxinia, florist’s (Sinningia speciosa) [others, see Gloxinia in A–Z] godetia (Clarkia spp.)
Granny Smith apples
grass, grasses (updated 10/23/18)
Ornamental grasses are open (feather reed grass, tufted hair grass, bottlebrush grass, switch grass, fountain grass, Indian grass)
Turfgrasses are closed (bluegrass, ryegrass, lovegrass, buffalograss), unless the name includes a proper noun, in which case it is open (St. Augustine grass)
green bean; green beans
ground ivy (Glecoma hederacea)
Grüss an Achen rose

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B

Plant Word List

baboon flower; baboon flowers (Babiana)
bayrum tree; bayrum trees (Pimenta racemosa)
beardtongue (Penstemon)
beefwood (Casuarina)
beggar’s lice (Hackelia virginiana)
berries:
baked-apple berry; baked-apple berries (Rubus chamaemorus)
Boysenberry; Boysenberries (Rubus)
bunchberry; bunchberries (Cornus canadensis)
candleberry; candleberries (Myrica pensylvanica)
catberry; catberries (Ribes grossularioides)
cockroach berry; cockroach berries (Solanum capsicoides)
honey berry; honey berries (Melicoccus bijugatus)
lingonberry; lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)
loganberry (Rubus)
marionberry; marionberries (Rubus)
mooseberry; mooseberries or squashberry (Viburnum edule)
raccoon berry: racoonberries (see Mayapple in A–Z)
thimbleberry; thimbleberries (Rubus parviflorus)
waxberry; waxberries: snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
yellowberry; yellowberries (Rubus chamaemorus)
bigleaf hydrangea
bigroot (Marah)
Bishop’s wort
bleeding-heart vine; bleeding-heart vines (Clerodendrum thomsoniae)
blue star creeper (Isotoma)
bok choy (Brassica rapa var. chinensis)
Brussels sprout; Brussels sprouts (Cap B follows SIM often cap rule.)
buckbean; buckbeans (Menyanthes)

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Bird, butterfly names

Garden

Lowercase the broadest references to birds and butterflies:
chickadee
swallowtail

Capitalize their specific names:
Black-Capped Chickadee
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Our primary reference for birds is the Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America by Kenn Kaufman. Our primary reference for butterflies is the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Butterflies.

 

 

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