Kate wrote:

Oh don't worry Dave, I know about the age thing only too well, sometimes I
have to lie thro my teeth when a visitor asks me the name of a plant and I
cannot remember :-)

Erm the worst bit is when you start waxing lyrical about a favourite
plant of the moment, caressing the leaf or lifting the flowers,
describing its virtues and then realise mid-flow that for the life of
you, you can't remember the name. Which of course poses the question
of whether it is a genuinely favourite plant. It requires some pretty
skilful, verbal back-pedalling and I don't always get away with it :-|