Acid Soil. A soil which contains little or no lime and has a pH of less than 6.5. Sometimes referred to as "sour" soil.
Aphid. A small winged insect that hatches out in clusters on tender plants and kills the plant by sucking out all the sap from the plant stem.
Alkaline Soil. Soil that has a pH level of about 7.0 or more. Sometimes referred to as "sweet" soil
Annual. A plant that completes its life cycle in one year, flowering and leaving seed for the next year.
Aqatic plant. A plant which grows on the edge of, or completely in water.
Bedding Plants. Traditionally, plants suitable for planting out in groups in large flower beds for their colorful summer flowers. Usually annuals, but now a term used to describe any spring planted plants.
Biennial. A plant that takes two years to complete its life cycle, usually flowering and seeding in the second year.
Bolting. Vegetable crops going to seed instead of producing a crop, often caused by rapid temperature changes. Cauliflowers are very prone to this condition.
Bracts. Leaves that develop just below the flowers on some plants, sometimes the bracts are brighter than the flowers, poinsettia for example.
Broadcast. Scattering seed or fertiliser by hand over an area in the garden, rather than in uniform rows.
Bud Union. The joint where a plant has been grafted on to a rootstock.
Bulb. A modified stem acting as food storage for the plant for the following years growth. Daffodils are a prime example.
Cambium Layer. The green growth layer found just under the bark.
Cane fruit. Types of fruits that grow on canes, raspberries for example.
Cascading plants. Posh name for trailing plants, suitable for hanging baskets, tubs, etc.
Clay soil. Very heavy soil, difficult to work but rewarding when you get it right.
Compost. Decomposed garden waste, grass clippings, household vegetable food waste and such organic matter. Added to the soil as a valuable food source. Also general word for the planting and sowing medium sold at garden outlets.
Conifer. Mostly evergreen plant that bears cones as seed cases and has needle-like foliage.
Cultivate. Turning over and loosening the soil and removing weeds. General term referring too the growing of chosen crops.
Damping off. Rotting off of young seedlings at ground level following fungal attack from soil borne diseases. Often the result of using unsterilised soil, soil borne diseases and over watering.
Division. Method of propagating plants by separating a large plant into two or more parts and then replanting.
Deciduous. Plants that naturally lose their leaves during the winter.
Dormancy. When a plant stops growing and the leaves have fallen or the top growth has died down. Usually winter.
Espalier. A line of fruit trees trained to a framework of stakes and wire forming a hedge line.
Evergreens. Plants that maintain leaf cover all twelve months of the year.
F1 Hybrid. A selected cross between two desirable parent plants, the resultant seedling giving superior performance. Seeds from F1 plants usually revert to one or other parent.
Foliar Feeding. Feeding the plant with special liquid fertilizers, which are absorbed by the leaves.
Garden. Area of land used to grow flowers fruit or vegetables. Also recreational area laid out in lawns, pools, rockeries etc.
Gardening. To cultivate a piece of land as a garden, to work in a garden, to practice horticulture.
Germination. The process whereby seeds begin to sprout in favourable conditions.
Girdling. A wire or rope too tightly around the stem or trunk of a plant; it cuts into the plants outer layer, restricts growth, and can kill the plant.
Hardening off. The process whereby tender plants from a glasshouse, etc, are slowly introduced to outdoor conditions. Being returned to a protected area at night.
Herbicide. A chemical weed or grass killer, usually but not always in spray form.
Herbs. A class of plants used for seasoning, medicinal purposes, or garnishes.
Hybrid. A plant variety that has been developed by crossing two or more varieties.
Irrigation. Artificial watering of plants in addition too rain water.
John Innes Compost: A loam based compost, as opposed to a peat based mixture.
Knot Garden. Small, rectangular garden, laid out in dwarf plants such as box or lavender, often in patterns.
Leaching. Where the food value in the soil, is carried away by rain- water and lost too the plant.
Leggy Growth. Long distorted often-weak growth that is out of proportion to the rest of the plant.
Loam. Good quality soil of various consistencies according to area.
Medium. Technical term for soil or soil-less composts when used for sowing seeds, planting flowers, vegetables, and other plants.
Nitrogen. Promotes leaf production in the plant. (N) on your fertiliser bag.
Node. The point on the stem of a plant where new leaf growth begins.
Organic. Usually refering to garden fertiliser made from decomposed plant or animal material. Now also a term for agriculture or horticulture practices where no artificial fertilisers are used.
Peat. Decomposed sphagnum moss and other plant material, used for potting compost, etc.
Perennial. A plant that grows and flowers for many years. Some die down to the ground for winter, some do not.
Perlite. Small granules of expanded volcanic mineral mixed with seed compost to improve air supply to plant roots. Usually white in color.
Pesticide: A chemical used to kill garden pests. Aphids, greenfly, etc.
Pinching. Pinching out the tip growth of plants to encourage a bushier growth habit.
Potash. Contains vital minerals needed for plant growth. (K) on your fertiliser bag.
Phosphates. Plant food that promotes root development and growth and flowering. (P) on your fertiliser bag.
Pricking Out. Transfering seedlings from the original sowing tray to single pots or other seed trays with more space for development.
Processed Manure. Dried and bagged animal manure usually sterilised.
Raised Beds. Planting method that involves raising the soil level above ground level within retaining walls. Soil warms up more quickly allowing earlier planting.
Rank Foliage. Wild overgrowth of leaves often due too over enthusiastic feeding.
Rhizome. A thickened underground stem, usually horizontal, where food energy is stored, for next year's growth.
Root Cutting. A cutting taken from a piece of root to produce a new plant.
Rose. One of the most popular of flowers. Both in the garden and public displays.
Rose. A nozzle with fine holes on the spout of a watering can.
Sandy Loam. A light soil with good drainage but dries out very quickly.
Spagnum moss. The living moss on top of the peat bog, used for hanging basket lining.
Spent Flowers. Flowers past their sell by date.
Subsoil. The less fertile soil below the topsoil.
Systemic. Pesticide, herbicide or fungicide in a chemical form, that is absorbed into the plant.
Thatch. A layer of dead grass that builds up between soil level and mower level thus preventing water and fertiliser reaching the roots. Best raked out.
Ties. Short lengths of wire usually coated in plastic, used to secure plants too canes etc;
TMV Tobaco mosaic virus. Deadly pest of tomato crops, often carried over winter in the soil.
Topsoil. The fertile layer of soil above the sub strata. This term may also apply to good quality soil sold at garden centers, etc.
Vegetable Thinning. Removing seedlings that are planted too closely together in order too give the required growing space, to those remaining.
Weeds. Technical term; a plant out of place; uninvited plants among your chosen plants, which rob the soil of nutriment and choke more tender specimens.
Winter Pansies. Special variety of pansies that flower in short length daylight.
Yard. Area of land around a home used to grow flowers, fruit, vegetables, decorative plantings and lawn areas.
Zonal Pelargonium. The correct name for the plant we gardeners know as the geranium.
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