I love being asked to identify plants, and I don't know which gives me more pleasure: to know what they are or not to know what they are.

Lawrence, a keen plantswoman and garden writer, frames botanical identification as a double pleasure: mastery and mystery. Knowing a plant’s name satisfies the human urge to classify and to feel at home in the natural world; not knowing preserves the thrill of discovery and the invitation to look longer, ask questions, and learn. The line also hints at humility before nature—expertise does not extinguish wonder, and ignorance is not merely a deficit but a fertile starting point. In a broader sense, the quote defends curiosity as an end in itself, suggesting that both knowledge and the desire for knowledge are sources of joy.