More Information

 

A Few Garden Terms

 
Annual – A plant which only lasts for one year.

Biennial – A plant which lasts for two years. In the plant’s first year, it grows leaves and shoots and stores energy ready to flower in the second year.

Perennial – A plant which lasts for more than two years. There are a few vegetables in this category such as rhubarb and asparagus.

Bolting – This is when a vegetable tries to flower when there is no need for a flower in order to harvest, such as lettuce and spinach. Once these plants flower, they will stop growing and die off, so in most cases, you really don’t want the plant to flower at all. The best way to stop a plant from bolting is to keep it well watered (extra heat or dryness encourages them to flower) and to snip off any flowers that do appear.

Underplanting - This is a way of making the most of a growing space by planting shade-tolerant smaller plants underneath larger plants.

Cultivar – this is short for cultivated variety, and describes a plant that’s been specifically bred by plant breeders rather than occurring naturally in the wild. Plant breeders will often cross-bred two different plants to create a new plant with the best characteristics of both plant parents – it could be for a new flower colour, a better tasting vegetable or for a plant that can tolerant certain pests and diseases. You can tell something is a cultivated plant by the way it’s named – if there’s something in inverted commas at the end of the Latin name, then it’s been deliberately bred.

Herbaceous – nothing to do with herbs! Herbaceous describes a plant with soft rather than woody stems. Because the plant’s stems and leaves are soft, herbaceous perennials will usually die back to the ground in the winter, regrowing the following year.

Hardiness zone – A geographically defined zone determined by temperature that categorizes which plants can thrive where; hardiness zones are designated by a number (1-11), such as zone 7. Gardening books and websites can help you determine your hardiness zone.

Heirloom – An open-pollinated plant variety that has remained unchanged through hybridization for at least 50-100 years.

Pollination – The transfer of pollen from the stamen (male part of the flower) to the pistil (female part of the flower), which results in the formation of a seed.

Pruning – The process of cutting off leaves or branches within limits in order to remove dead, injured or diseased foliage or branches.

Humus – Decomposed plant matter that is part of the soil.

Hybrid – The crossbreeding of two plants of different species or varieties with distinct characteristics.

Loam – Rich soil consisting of 25 percent clay, 50 percent silt, and less than 50 percent sand; considered ideal soil for gardening and agriculture.