MARILYN CORNWELL: plant paradise

How many places are named Paradise? Newfoundland has a "Town of Paradise." That's it for all of Canada.

It isn't a surprise that in total there are 27 places named Paradise in the US.

There are 4 in Jamaica, 2 in the Philippines, 2 in Grenada, 2 in Australia, and the 7 other countries have one each. The total is 44 places in the world named Paradise in 12 countries.

Usually the majority of cities named Paradise can be found above the equator. There doesn't seem to be a single Paradise in Europe.

Compare that with 65 places in the world named Eden - in 19 countries in total. Not surprising, the US has the highest number of places named Eden. This time there are a few in Europe - even the United Kingdom and Germany. In comparison to Paradise, the US has 32 places named Eden.

And if you want to get there sooner than life's traditional journey, there are 22 places in the world named Heaven. Only 4 countries are represented here. Of course the US has the most.

And what about the opposite - Hell? This turns out to be a problematic name. While there 562 places in the world named Hell and spread out over 51 countries, are these all the same Hell? Not at all. The top country Germany has at least 15 places named Hell. I've checked that one out and it is a "lost in translation" issue. Hell and Hellen in German means light. The same problem occurs for Norway. Hella in Norwegian? In one place it means "pour", and in another it is "It's so nice having someone visiting."

It was my impression that the most popular place name in the world is Santa Maria - 263 places in 38 countries. But I see that there are 292 places in the world named Santa Cruz in 36 countries. And the real winner is San Jose - with over 1,700 places in the world. These are all named after Saint Joseph.

And our picture today is the road to Paradise - Plant Paradise Country Gardens in Caledon. My brother has found some heavenly Hellebores in their perennial catalog this year.