PGS Christmas 2021 Quiz
1. Who made Christmas trees popular in England? Prince Albert
2. What are the 3 main types of real Christmas tree? Spruce, Pine and Noble Fir
3. Which country donates a Christmas tree to stand in London's Trafalgar Square? Norway
4. According to the well-known folk carol which tree wears the crown? The Holly (The Holly and the Ivy)
5. What is the Latin name of the Christmas Rose? Helleborous niger
6. A common custom is to kiss under a sprig of Mistletoe at Christmas. What is unusual about Mistletoe? Mistletoe is a parasite
7. Who was the first British monarch to make a Christmas Day Broadcast? George V
8. When did the Queen present her first Christmas Day TV Broadcast? 1957
9. Frost changes the taste of vegetables such as parsnips and sprouts. In what way? It makes them taste sweeter
10. Can you eat a Christmas tree? The pine needles of spruce and fir trees are edible
11. English Ivy (Ilex aquifolium) is dioecious. What does this mean? Dioecious means that male and female flowers are on separate plants.
12. What are Frankincense and Myrrh made from? Frankincense and myrrh are both resins extracted from trees in the Burseraceae
13. In which year was the first Christmas card sent? 1843
14. There are more than 110 different varieties of which popular vegetable served at Christmas? Brussel sprouts
15. What aromatic flower buds are often used to decorate and flavour a Christmas Ham joint? Cloves
Christmas Cracker jokes:
1. Why does Father Christmas need not one, not two but three gardens? So he can ho, ho, ho
2. Why are Christmas trees no good at knitting? They keep dropping their needles
3. Where does Father Christmas go when he’s feeling poorly? To the elf centre
PGS July Quiz
1. Eschscholzia californica is a tongue twister, what is the common name?
Californian Poppy
2. True or false: pelargoniums are also known as hardy geraniums?
False.
3. Shoddy is a great soil improver, but from which industry is it a by-product?
Wool.
4. Cartoon character Popeye is associated with a fragrant climbing plant and a Mediterranean fruit. Can you name them?
Sweet Pea and Olive.
5. When was the first RHS Chelsea flower show held?
1913
6. Bodnant Gardens in North Wales are well known for which kinds of plants?
Camellias and Rhododendrons.
7. What word links decomposed leaves and the course of an antibiotic?
Mould
8. True or false: corks are made from the bark of a variety of oak?
True
9. Where was the oak tree under which Princess Elizabeth was sitting, when she heard she had been proclaimed Queen Elizabeth?
Hatfield House in Herts.
10. Which name links a British truck maker and a conifer?
Leyland
11. A loganberry is a product of a cross between which two fruit bushes?
Blackberry and Raspberry.
12. What is the most comfortable kind of grass to sit on?
Couch
13. Bears’ breeches is a common name for which plant?
Acanthus
14. The lotus flower is considered sacred in many parts of the East but what is a lotus flower?
A type of water lily.
15. Are there 3, 30 or 300 different types of slugs in our garden?
30
16. Is it true that spinach really makes you strong like Popeye?
No, a scientist put the decimal point in the wrong place when calculating the iron content.
17. The plant, Vinca major, shares it common name with a marine snail. What are they called?
Periwinkle
18. They may be called stinking, Christmas or Easter, what are they?
Hellebores
19. Cranesbill is the common name for which popular herbaceous plant?
Hardy Geraniums.
20. Lily beetles are destructive pests to lilies but what colour are they?
Bright red.
PGS May Quiz - Horticultural Anagrams
A mixed bouquet:
- DON PROWS - SNOWDROP
- LIAM LACE - CAMELLIA
- ANITA CORN - CARNATION
- OWEN FURLS - SUNFLOWER
- LISA GOULD - GLADIOLUS
- IAN POTTIES - POINSETTIA
- LEWIS SEED - EDELWEISS
- RUSS INCAS - NARCISSUS
- LANCE LAUD - CALENDULA
- PANSY LOUTH - POLYANTHUS
- GERI MATURE - MARGUERITE
- SANDRA PONG - SNAPDRAGON
Vegetable matters:
- RIP SPAN - PARSNIP
- COOL CRIB - BROCCOLI
- ROBOT TEE - BEETROOT
- CLEAR ICE - CELERIAC
- AURA GASPS - ASPARAGUS
- EGO CUTTER - COURGETTE
- COAT HIKER - ARTICHOKE
- BARON BEAD - BROAD BEAN
- BARBED CAGE - RED CABBAGE
- TATTOO SWEEP - SWEET POTATO
- AWFUL RECOIL - CAULIFLOWER
- SURPLUS STROBES - BRUSSELS SPROUT
PGS February Quiz
1. The name of the heraldic lily is shared with which other border plant? Iris.
2. What are made from the stems of Jersey kale? Walking Sticks.
3. By what name is the Linden tree Tilia Europaea better known? Lime
4. What hardy shade loving plant could be considered a biblical king’s aquatic mammal? Solomon’s Seal.
5. The three sisters in ’Keeping up appearances’ all had floral names, what were they? Hyacinth, Daisy and Rose.
6. Which Surrey estate was presented to the RHS in 1903 by Sir Thomas Hanbury? Wisley.
7. Agave Sisalana is a succulent plant use to manufacture which of the following products, Chewing Gum, Tequila or String? Sisal String.
8. From which country does the lupin come? North America.
9. What is the common name for the climbing plant Ipomoea? Morning Glory.
10. Where might you find the prolific blanket weed growing? In a pond.
11. Of which fragrant plant is woodbine a variety? Honeysuckle.
12. What is the common name for Eucalyptus trees? Gum Trees.
13. Who was Hardy’s evergreen partner? Laurel.
14. Is soil with a ph reading of 6.5 slightly acidic or slightly alkaline? Slightly Acidic.
15. Which pigment makes plants green? Chlorophyll.
16. If albus means white, rubens is red what colour does viridiflora suggest in flowers? Green.
17. Leatherjackets are a pest, what part of the garden do they attack? The Lawn.
18. When does the evergreen clematis Freckles flower? Late Winter.
19. Which one of the following apples is a cooker, Golden Delicious, James Grieve or Grenadier? Grenadier.
20. Complete the Chinese Proverb: If you want to be happy for a day; get drunk for a week; kill a pig for a month; get married for life? Be a gardener.
Prestwood Gardening Society Christmas 2020 Quiz
1. Who introduced the Christmas Tree into Great Britain? Prince Albert.
2. How many reindeer did Father Christmas have? Nine (9)
3. The title song “White Christmas” was sung by Bing Crosby in 2 films, what was the other one titled? Holiday Inn.
4. What fatty material is used in the making of puddings? Suet.
5. Which traditional Christmas decoration grows on apple trees? Mistletoe
6. Who is credited with writing Auld Lang Syne? Robert Burns.
7. In Dickens “Christmas Carol” whose partner was Jacob Marley? Ebenezer Scrooge.
8. If you were born on Christmas Day, what is your Star Sign? Capricorn
9. In Anglo-Saxon England, what was the name give to a bowl of spiced wine handed round to drink at Christmas? Wassall Cup.
10. What was Cliff Richards 1988 No. 1 Christmas hit aptly titled? Mistletoe & Wine.
11. Who collaborated with Bob Geldoff to produce the hit “Do they know its Christmas”? Midge Ure.
12. Merry Christmas by Slade is till a popular seasonal tune, who was the lead singer? Noddy Holder.
13. What is the English translation of Adeste Fideles? O Come All Ye Faithful
14. What were seen “On Christmas Day in the Morning” according to the song? 3 Ships.
15. Where did the angel say the First Noel to the Shepherds? In fields where they lay.
16. How many geese are laying “In the 12 days of Christmas”? Six (6).
17. What in the time of Queen Victoria was invented by Tom Smith? Christmas Crackers.
18. Who does what on the Twelfth Day of Christmas? 12 Lords Leap.
19. In which year did “Santa Claus” win the Derby, 1961/1964/1967? 1964.
20. In Cockney rhyming slang what are eyes called? Mince Pies.
Prestwood Gardening Society November 2020 Quiz
All of the answers are a name of a flower - can you name each of the flowers?
1. Not a dance all night – WALLFLOWER
2. Falling from the sky – SNOWDROP
3. Last call in a pub – THYME
4. Part of the eye – IRIS
5. Accident in the dairy - COWSLIP (Spilled milk pulmonaria)
6. On a bicycle made for two – DAISY
7. Sweethearts in a fog – LOVE-IN-THE-MIST
8. Religious headgear – MONKSHOOD (Bishop's mitre)
9. Bouquet not bucket – HYACINTH
10. A hardworking girl - BUSY LIZZIE (Cinderella or lady-of-the-night)
11. Lonely in an onion patch – PETUNIA
12. You will remember - FORGET-ME-NOT (Poppy)
13. Used to thicken a sauce – CORNFLOWER
14. Marry that millionaire – MARIGOLD
15. St George's card game? - SNAPDRAGON
16. Popeye's daughter- SWEET PEA
17. Max Bygrave's Dutch flowers – TULIPS
18. Novel by Baroness Orczy - SCARLET PIMPERNEL
19. A cathedral's campanile - CANTERBURY BELL (Campanula, Bell flower or bell tower)
20. Full fat vessel - BUTTERCUP