[David John Thomas]

John, it is estimated that up to 25% of the population suffers from some
sort of food allergy, so this is hardly the miniscule problem you imply.
All we are asking for is that GM  food be labelled as such - so that we, the
consumers, have a choice. What is your issue with that? It is far fetched to
think that the sun's radiation will mutate a corn plant into a peanut plant
in one growing season. There are risks to food - people die of mushroom
poisoning and food allergies all the time. But at least give people the
tools to reduce their risk - whether it's properly labelled food, or making
condoms available.

[John J]

Are we on the same wavelength here? I don't recall implying that any subject was miniscule. I have no issue with GM food labelling as I don't recall GM food labelling as being the issue under discussion. The topic was plant labelling, the need for correct botanical names and accurate growing information being supplied by sellers in order to assist buyers in their choice of which plants to purchase. Food labelling is another matter entirely, and as for condoms...........

[Jill S]

quite!

[Umbrian]

After my last post I returned to Daisy's photographs to enjoy them again and it occurred to me that one illustrates perfectly the problems involved with plant labelling. Next to the narcissus are some nasturtiums flowering away merrily - as David pointed out, plant/ seed producers cannot be expected to cover all eventualities as to where their products will be bought and grown. We, on this forum, are concerned with gardening in a Mediterranean climate but conditions vary immensely within that area and I certainly would not expect to have nasturtiums flowering in January. So, again I am inclined to think that a simple label with the botanical name plus variety/named selection is the best option. In this day and age thinking for one's self, doing research and learning in the process seems to be a dying art.

[Alice]

I have been impressed by plant knowledge/labelling at local nurseries on two occasions in the past few days:
1. on enquiring about an unlabelled plant I was told it was Convolvulus oleifolius! I was also given information on where it grew, its habit and tips on how to treat it.
2. the labels on these fruit trees (sourced from Kalamata) give adequate information, I think. No scientific name but, in this case, not a big problem.

[Alisdair]

It might be worth either the Greek branch or the Peloponnese group getting in touch with Kontopoulos-Plants who produced these labels. Apparently they're based in Kalamata.

[JTh]

I would have been impressed as well, if I ever saw a label like that. I must admit I have never seen any labels in any of the places where we buy plants, except once.  I bought a plant with a handwritten, white label saying Μπιγνόνια, which I guessed was a Campsis. I still have no idea exactly which species it was, it hasn’t grown at all since I bought around ten years ago, just staying alive. The label didn’t last long.

[KatG]

A quick search revealed this web page which maintains all their plants are bar-coded and labelled with information about characteristics and care.  http://www.hellenicgardenteam.gr/kontopoulos-nurseries
Provides a list of sponsors which seems like a useful contact list.

[Alice]

Thank you for looking that up, Katerina.
As you suggest, the list of sponsors could prove useful. And a look at the CVs of the Kontopoulos nurseries team shows them to be trained agronomists.
The three fruit trees we have bought with their label have been of good quality.

[John J]

I haven't had time for more than a quick glance at the link, Katerina, but it looks very interesting and possibly well worth following up on. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

[Umbrian]

A very good and interesting website that shows what is possible when a nursery business is run by trained and committed people. This is what the industry should be aiming at and it proves that pride in what one is producing and concern with both that product and customer satisfaction is possible. It should certainly be held up as an example to encourage better labelling throughout the industry and who better than the Greek based MGS to draw attention to a Greek nursery excelling in this area especially as such nurseries usually get bad comments in this area as we have seen on the Forum only too often and of course many in other Mediterranean countries.

[John J]

Yesterday I went to a local hardware store for a few DIY items. This store always has a few sorry-looking plants outside for sale but yesterday I noticed they had some fruit trees with quite large labels attached. I was unable to find a staff member of high enough status to be able to tell me where they came from although it was, presumably, a Cypriot nursery. I took photos of a couple of the labels. They are written solely in Greek, though I have no quarrel with that as it is, after all, the language of the country. They basically describe the qualities the fruit possess and the ripening time, not the growing conditions required. Translations on request.
To digress, unashamedly, the 'grabe' variety featured (or at least the name used to describe it) is, I believe, unique to Cyprus. The story behind it dates back to the late 19th/early 20th C when the British were establishing their administrative hold on the island. The locals would present their produce for sale and would attempt to interest the passing memsahibs in their grapes by holding bunches aloft and calling "very good". Apparently with their heavy accents this was interpreted as 'veriko' and was attributed to the variety of the grape and not to its sweetness as was intended.

[MikeHardman]

Interesting little tale, John; thanks.

[Umbrian]

Yesterday I was tempted to buy a few pots of bulbs to add some instant interest to my new garden. One pot contained Narcissus Jetfire and the information on the back of the label was, to my mind, almost worse than nothing being a load of symbols . Apart from the temperature requirements and the fact that a crossed knife and fork meant I should not attempt to eat the bulbs, the rest meant nothing to me. No doubt the suppliers felt they were providing information for successful care but undecipherable symbols on labels leave me cold.

[Alevin]

In Italy a very important role in the last 20 years, in stressing the importance of correct labelling with the nursery trade, was played by specialized garden fairs (specialized meaning focusing on smaller nurseries, not for the big market). I have been organizing one such, in La Landriana Gardens near Rome, since 2001 and we made a point of giving  recognition, sometimes a prize, a special mention, a medal or so, to nurseries that correctly labelled their plants. In the beginning we had to be strict: during the event exhibitors were invited to remove wrong labels,  were in any case blamed if their labels were not correct, were not admitted to competitions such as best plant or best stand design etc., if they had not labelled appropriately, and slowly through the years wrong-doers were isolated or grew out of their incorrect approach.
In short, we stressed the issue as much as possible, and things started to change.
During the following years many gardens fairs  were established throughout Italy, and many follow those principles; I can say now that the fairs did somehow produce a general growth in awareness - even though the results were slow to take hold, and there has been a sort of regression recently, due to the crisis and the many set backs it brought .
I have always wondered if there is anything like this in other Mediterranean countries. Do Greece, Cyprus, Spain or Portugal have garden fairs? I remember discussing this possibility with Sally Beale when we went to Mallorca at the 2011 AGM., and not surprisingly (knowing her managing skills)  a couple of years later she told me that she had succeeded in organizing  such an event over there.

Well, wherever there is a network of local garden fairs, MGS  branches could participate to those events and promote awareness: run a competition/offer a prize (give a medal, issue a parchment roll or a  honor  award, tie a ribbon, and promise a mention on the website) to encourage and commend nurseries that expose correct labelling during the show, and make sure to have this mentioned on the local garden magazines, radio, tv, internet and press releases.
Maybe we could produce recommendations, such the ones that you have been talking about in this thread; they should be distributed  in connection to the garden fair awards, i.e should be printed out on a leaflet and given to the nurseries that will exhibit in that fair. The recommendations could also be made downloadable form our website.
The branches could then produce a  list of awarded, commendable nurseries that label correctly   on their homepage , to further encourage others nurseries to adopt correct procedures.