📙 Part 2: Describe a person you know who loves to grow plants

This episode's vocabulary

Dab hand (noun) – someone who is very skilled at something. → My flatmate is a dab hand with houseplants.

Based on (phrase) – according to; using something as a reason or explanation. → You’d think he was a botanist, based on how much greenery we’ve got.

Pop up (phrasal verb) – to appear suddenly or unexpectedly. → One even popped up in my office the other day.

Shrivel up (phrasal verb) – to become dry and smaller, often due to lack of water. → They would probably shrivel up and die in my bedroom.

To be honest (phrase) – used to express sincerity or truthfulness. → I honestly have no idea what they are called, to be honest with you.

Escape someone (verb) – when you can't remember or recall something. → The exact name escapes me.

Not that great with (phrase) – not very good at something. → I'm not that great with growing or knowing much about plants.

A lot of extra work (phrase) – something that takes a lot of effort. → It seems like a lot of extra work to keep them all fed and watered.

At a guess (phrase) – used when giving an approximate or uncertain opinion. → At a guess, I’d say it’s because it makes the place look nice.

Feel a bit less sterile (phrase) – to feel more lively or natural. → It makes it feel a bit less sterile

Botanist (noun) – a scientist who studies plants. → You’d think he was some sort of botanist.

Greenery (noun) – green plants or vegetation. → We've got greenery all over the place.

Climbing plant (noun) – a plant that grows upward by attaching itself to something. → I think they're climbing plants.

Sunlight (noun) – natural light from the sun. → My bedroom has the least amount of sunlight.

Repotting (noun) – the act of putting a plant into a new pot. → There’s all the potting and repotting that needs to be done

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say who this person is, what he or she grows, where he or she grows these plants, and explain why this person enjoys growing plants.

Rory: Well, my flatmate seems to be a dab hand with houseplants, just based on the sheer number of them we currently have in the apartment. Pete's a PhD candidate specialising in neglected tropical parasites, though you’d probably think he was some sort of botanist, just based on how much greenery we've got all over the place. Honestly, there must be plants in just about every room of the house.

When it comes to the specific plants, I honestly have no idea what they are called, to be honest with you. My best guess is they're mostly something like Monstera, just based on the large green leaves and the long, thick stems they have. We have a few smaller ones, like, I think they're climbing plants, but again, the exact name escapes me, since I'm not that great with growing or knowing much about plants myself. I think I've killed all the plants I ever had, to be honest. In terms of where they are, like I said, we have them in just about every room of the house. One even popped up in my office the other day. I think the only place that doesn't have them is my bedroom. Not only because it's my room, so it's my responsibility, but it's also on the side of the house with the least amount of sunlight, so they would probably shrivel up and die there, whether or not they were in my care.

To tell you a bit about the reasons behind the need for all this in the house, I have no idea, really. It seems like a lot of extra work to keep them all fed and watered, not to mention all the potting and repotting that needs to be done. At a guess, I'd say it's because it makes the place look nice and makes it feel a bit less sterile, though that's just a guess, I've never really asked, to be honest with you. I probably should. If Pete didn't have all these various plants in the house, well, I think it would be a lot less green, for sure.

Discussion

Maria: Rory and I are plant murderers. So we murder, kill all the plants that we have. I'm a plant murderer.

Rory: They don't survive very long; it's not our fault.

Maria: Yeah, but now I have a plant, and it's still alive, it was almost half-dead, almost dead, but then I watered the plant, and now it's living. That's an achievement.

Rory: It's alive! Somehow.

Maria: It's alive! So, dear listener, a person who loves to grow plants. Rory told us a story about his flatmate, who seems to be a dab hand with... Rory, what's this language? A dab-hand with... What's it? It's a...

Rory: Well, as far as I'm aware, it's an expression to describe a person who's an expert at something.

Maria: Really? So, like, you say, he's a dab hand with something.

Rory: I usually say a dab hand at something, at growing.

Maria: But why do you say with?

Rory: Oh, okay, well, I usually say at, but it could be with, I suppose, it doesn't make a difference.

Maria: To be a dab hand at something means that you are particularly good at this. For example, I'm a dab hand at tennis, so I play tennis very well. Or I'm a dab hand at cooking, I cook very well. Yeah, if you don't like this expression, forget about it, it's informal and it's the UK English, okay? So, you can say that, okay, my flatmate is very good at growing plants, very good with plants. What do you say?

Rory: Well, I said very good with, didn't I?

Maria: He is not a botanist, so a person who deals with plants is called a botanist, botanist. And the science of growing plants is called what? Botan... Botan...

Rory: Oh, botany.

Maria: So, you can say that he is not a botanist, but he enjoys botany, oh, the scientific study of plants. Interesting, yeah, because we have like chemistry, physics, mathematics, but botany. And I have a lot of greenery in my apartment, so plants or greenery. Greenery - all the plants and green plants that you have at home, so you can say I have a great deal of greenery, I have greenery all over the place, all over my place, all over my apartment. When it comes to specific plants, I honestly have no idea what they are called. And seriously, we don't want to remember all these crazy names for different plants, dear listener. You can google just plants.

Rory: Or you could laugh at someone who grows plants and ask them about it.

Maria: So you Google names for plants and then you go to google images, dear listener, images, and then you have cute pictures and names. And my recommendation is to learn two words for plants that you can remember. For example, herbs and bamboo. Yeah, maybe your friend grows bamboo. Names for plants are crazy, this Dithynbacchia, Anthurium, Bromelain.

Rory: What?

Maria: Amaryllis. No, these are names for plants. I'm not sure I pronounced them correctly.

Rory: That sounds crazy.

Maria: Exactly. Schefflera. What is this? But we can remember English ivy.

Rory: Although, if you have that growing in your apartment, would that be a good thing?

Maria: I don't know. It's another story. Is it good or not? You know, just remember the name. You need to show the examiner that you know specific names for plants. Like choose two, herbs and English ivy or herbs. Herbs are just like mint, rosemary that, you know, Jamie Oliver, when he cooks, he just goes in there, he just grabs some fresh herbs from his kitchen and puts in his pasta. Yum, yum, yum. Or for example, “African violet” is a flower. Not this daphnia. Ashram, bam, bam.

Rory: Maria should do a podcast where she tries to read plant names. Do you have rada-da-da-da-da?

Maria: Radodendrum. Do you have? Oh, dear examiner, I have a radodendrum. Do you know radodendrum? No, radodendrum. Oh, funny. So I have no idea what they are called, to be honest. To be honest with you, I have no idea what they are called. They are called something... rhododendron... I seriously can't remember the names. You can just crack a joke, dear listener. Just say like, oh, these plants' names are horrible.

Rory: They are impronounceable.

Maria: Yeah, they are im... impronounceable.

Rory: Let's have a look. Oh, as it turns out, it's neither. It's unpronounceable. Amazing!

Maria: Unpronounceable. So after all the plants' names, dear listener, we forgot English. Plant names are difficult to pronounce. They are difficult to say. So they are unpronounceable. They have large green leaves, long, thick stems. Stems are just like these sticks. You know, like we have a spine. Yeah, we have a spine. And flowers, plants have a stem. And usually their stems are thick, like fat. Specific plant vocabulary. The exact name escapes me. So I don't know the exact name for this plant. Oh, you can make it up, dear listener.

Rory: Why not? We've just made up words throughout this episode.

Maria: We make up words for, yeah, for brain parts. And also you can make up words for plants. Something like aminosta. Oh my gosh. Rory, do you have an aminosta at home?

Rory: I mean, maybe. That could literally be anything.

Maria: Yeah, like sounds like a disease. Yeah, but your examiner and you will have a laugh for like two minutes before you can continue with the exam. Funny. I'm not that great with growing plants.

Rory: Or pronouncing their names.

Maria: Or pronouncing their names, yeah. In terms of where they are, we are moving to a different topic. In terms of where they are, they are in every room. They are all over the place. And are they in pots, Rory? Like, where are they physically?

Rory: They're physically in pots, in the rooms they are in.

Maria: Yeah, a pot is like a special thingy that a plant grows in. And they are in every room so that they get enough amount of sunlight. If they don't get sunlight, they will shrivel up. Does it mean die?

Rory: Well, shrivel up might mean they die, or they don't have enough water. Either way, they're not in good condition.

Maria: Shrivel means to dry, to become smaller, and then just, you know. So when you forget to water your plant, it shrivels up and dies. For example, you grow some lettuce, you know, like for the salad, and then you forget to water it, to put water on it, so it shrivels up and dies. It seems like a lot of extra work. You do need to work hard to keep them all fed and watered. So my friend keeps the plants fed.

Rory: And watered.

Maria: Yeah, he feeds plants. Maybe puts some stuff, some food, some special food, yum yum yum, for plants. And watered. So plants need to be watered. And also you have to repot them. So a plant grows in a pot and you need to change pots once in a while.

Rory: As far as I know.

Maria: Repotting. But the plants make the place look nice. It's all green. And without all the plants, my place would be less green. Yeah, dear listener. So I don't know what you'll be talking about. Google two plant names that you can remember. Imagine the story. And you can talk about the person, your friend or your parents, who enjoys, for example, growing herbs. Herbs like rosemary, mint. What else? Dill for cooking. It's a popular activity, perhaps.

Rory: It's a popular activity in Russia. Everything has dill on it there.

Maria: Or you can talk about some people with gardens. So they have a house, and then outside they grow some flowers or vegetables. But the vocabulary is going to be a bit different. Yeah, it's like a flower garden, a vegetable garden. What do you call these places where vegetables grow in a garden? They have this special…

Rory: Well, a vegetable garden or it could be a vegetable plot…

Maria: You see, we don't even know because we don't have green fingers. We are not good at plants. We are plant murderers.

Rory: If it's a certain kind of…

Maria: It's a bed… It's a vegetable patch. A vegetable patch where vegetables grow or a flower bed.

Rory: Oh, or a French word, potager.

Maria: A special place outside where flowers grow.

Rory: That's a lot, though.

Maria: Thank you very much for listening.

Rory: And we'll see you in the next episode, where we talk even more nonsense about plants because we know nothing about them.

Maria: Rory, you're Band 9.

Rory: What I mean to say is join us again in the next episode where we will grow your vocabulary successfully, more successfully than we can grow plants. Bye.

Maria: Bye!

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