Basic Lingo Every Novice Gardener Needs to Know
Make sense of garden jargon with this beginner’s guide to horticultural terms
Amanda Pollard
12 August 2017
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors and architecture.
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors... More
Would you like to know the difference between annuals and perennials? Or perhaps you’re wondering what deadheading is? Check out our rundown of essential gardening terms that you’ve probably heard but may not have understood.
Annuals, biennials and perennials. Some plants spring up once and never again, and others bloom over and over. You can tell what each plant will do by identifying whether it’s an annual, a biennial or a perennial. So what’s the difference?
An annual is a plant that performs its whole life cycle within one year. It germinates, flowers and dies — that’s it. A perennial, in contrast, is a plant that lives for more than two years.
Biennials (like many foxgloves, shown here) are a little more complicated — they stick around for two years but usually don’t flower until the second year. The first year, they typically have only foliage.
An annual is a plant that performs its whole life cycle within one year. It germinates, flowers and dies — that’s it. A perennial, in contrast, is a plant that lives for more than two years.
Biennials (like many foxgloves, shown here) are a little more complicated — they stick around for two years but usually don’t flower until the second year. The first year, they typically have only foliage.
Self-seeding. Since annuals last only one year and biennials two, you may think that planting them is a waste of time. Rest assured that some annuals are self-seeders — they scatter seeds around the garden, which then grow without fuss. The great thing is that the new plants will continue this cycle.
Besides annual and biennial self-seeders, there are some perennials that perform this useful task too. Purple-blooming Verbena bonariensis, pictured, is a good example.
Besides annual and biennial self-seeders, there are some perennials that perform this useful task too. Purple-blooming Verbena bonariensis, pictured, is a good example.
Acidic and alkaline soil. Water and sunshine aren’t the only things your plants need to grow — they also require nutrients, which they can get from the soil. Whether or not your plants get the right amount and type of nutrients will depend on the pH value of your soil. You can test this easily by using a kit from your local garden center, and the type of soil you have will determine what you should and shouldn’t plant.
A pH value below 7 signifies an acidic soil, while a pH value above 7 indicates an alkaline soil. If the value is exactly 7, your soil is neutral. Some plants like acidic soil, while others prefer alkaline, so pay attention to this when you’re designing your garden.
Get the Dirt on Your Garden’s Soil
A pH value below 7 signifies an acidic soil, while a pH value above 7 indicates an alkaline soil. If the value is exactly 7, your soil is neutral. Some plants like acidic soil, while others prefer alkaline, so pay attention to this when you’re designing your garden.
Get the Dirt on Your Garden’s Soil
Taking cuttings. Want to make some plants for free? One of the easiest ways to do this is by taking cuttings. To learn how to take cuttings for a particular plant, it’s best to find a tutorial online.
A general guideline to get you started is to first cut off a length of stem about 3 to 6 inches long. Remove the lower leaves so that you have a length of stem to plant in soil. If you like, you can dip this part in a rooting hormone, which will help it to take root. Pot up your stem in a moist potting mix that includes sand, perlite or vermiculite, then wrap it loosely in plastic or cover it with a cloche. It usually takes a month or two for the plant to be ready to plant outside.
How to Get More Plants for Free
A general guideline to get you started is to first cut off a length of stem about 3 to 6 inches long. Remove the lower leaves so that you have a length of stem to plant in soil. If you like, you can dip this part in a rooting hormone, which will help it to take root. Pot up your stem in a moist potting mix that includes sand, perlite or vermiculite, then wrap it loosely in plastic or cover it with a cloche. It usually takes a month or two for the plant to be ready to plant outside.
How to Get More Plants for Free
Deadheading. An easy way to keep plants looking good and to encourage new blooms is to deadhead them. It’s a quick process that simply involves removing faded or dead flowers to direct energy back into the plant to make new flowers. It can usually be done by using your finger and thumb to snap off the dead bloom. If the stem is tough, you can use scissors or shears to cut it. The Royal Horticultural Society advises removing the flower’s stalk as well for tidiness.
Staking. Have you ever seen a gorgeous flower rise up in a bed and then sadly flop over as soon as the rain falls? Tall plants (including vining tomatoes, shown here) can’t always stay upright without help, and this is where staking comes in. The term simply refers to a method of supporting long, top-heavy plants.
The way you stake will depend on your budget, style and expertise. There are nifty curved wire frames available that you can easily poke into the soil around your plants or, at the other extreme, you can construct a complex grid from branches and twine. Whichever method you use, it’s a pretty crucial job if you want to avoid snapped stems.
The way you stake will depend on your budget, style and expertise. There are nifty curved wire frames available that you can easily poke into the soil around your plants or, at the other extreme, you can construct a complex grid from branches and twine. Whichever method you use, it’s a pretty crucial job if you want to avoid snapped stems.
Hardening off. If you’ve been growing seedlings indoors or in a greenhouse, it will be difficult for them to suddenly face the elements outside. They’ll need a period of adjustment, or hardening off — two to three weeks (or longer if the initial growing conditions were very warm) where the plants are gradually exposed to harsher conditions to get them used to growing outdoors.
There are a few ways you can do this, including increasing the period of time your plant stays outside in a sheltered spot from a few hours to a day to several days. Alternatively, place your plants in a cold frame, leaving the top exposed for increased time spans. Or you can withhold water from the young plants in a controlled way, which is essentially the same as leaving them out in the elements.
There are a few ways you can do this, including increasing the period of time your plant stays outside in a sheltered spot from a few hours to a day to several days. Alternatively, place your plants in a cold frame, leaving the top exposed for increased time spans. Or you can withhold water from the young plants in a controlled way, which is essentially the same as leaving them out in the elements.
Pinching. For a plant that’s full and bushy, it’s a good idea to encourage it to grow multiple stems rather than just one long one. You can do this by using a technique called pinching, where you prune the main stem back to just above a couple of leaf nodes (the joints in a stem where a leaf starts to grow). Use your thumb and finger to pinch the tender stem off as close to the leaf nodes as possible, which should force it to grow a couple of new stems and result in a fuller plant.
Tell us: What gardening term has stumped you? Let us know in the Comments.
More: 10 Tips for Beginning Gardeners
Tell us: What gardening term has stumped you? Let us know in the Comments.
More: 10 Tips for Beginning Gardeners
Related Stories
Renovating Advice
How Do I Find, Assess & Hire the Right People for My Renovation?
Do you need a kitchen designer or a joiner? An architect or an interior designer? Find out with our essential reno guide
Full Story
Renovation Guides
What Key Measurements & Room Dimensions Should I Know for a Reno?
Read practical information about key room measurements and minimum clearances for fittings and fixtures in every room
Full Story
Kitchens
How Practical Is... Handleless Joinery?
Handleless joinery is popular in modern homes. But how suitable are cupboards that can only be opened with a touch?
Full Story
Most Popular
12 Decorating Tips to Make Any Bedroom Look Better
By Anne Ellard
Want to know how to make your bedroom look better? Here are 12 great tricks
Full Story
Renovation Guides
Room by Room: Experts on Ways to Avoid Common Renovation Blunders
From the kitchen to the garden, and all areas in between, experts identify common mistakes and share priceless insights
Full Story
Interior Design
The Golden Rules of Proportion: Decor Laws You Need to Know
An interior designer reveals the essential rules for achieving a perfectly balanced interior
Full Story
Most Popular
5 Reasons Your Bathroom Smells Funky (and How to Fix the Problem)
A plumber reveals five reasons your bathroom might smell like sewage or emanate a musty odour
Full Story
Most Popular
From Planning to Pendants: Kitchen Lighting Essentials
By Joanna Tovia
This valuable guide will give you all you need to know about choosing kitchen lighting for fabulous form and function
Full Story
Most Popular
The Full Picture: How High Should Your TV Be?
By Matt Clawson
We look at an important question to consider when locating your television: how high should you set it?
Full Story
Bathrooms
All the Dimensions You Need to Know for Your Bathroom Makeover
Fit everything comfortably in a small or medium-size bathroom by knowing standard dimensions for fixtures and clearances
Full Story
Dead heading flowers will encourage new blooms throughout the summer. However towards the end of the summer I don't dead head certain plants as I collect seed. Particularly sweet peas, marigold, calendula, scabiousa and snap dragons. But there's plenty plants that you can easily collect seeds from.
Liz Woods, "partial sun" means sunny during one part of a day, shady the rest of the time. Maybe sunny in the morning, shady the rest of the day or vice versa. Or in and out of the sun most of the day which happens where there are screening plants or bushes that allow some sun through. Most of what I've grown has been tolerant of a certain amount of shade, even tomatoes. However, there are plants, such as coreopsis, that require full sun all day and won't tolerate the shade even from a nearby plant. When you buy a plant at a nursery, be sure to read the tag so you know its requirements.
To all the novice gardeners, the internet is wonderful and full of helpful information but you should have a good gardening book too. I won't recommend one because I'm in Canada and know only my own region but it shouldn't be too hard to find one that covers your area. But it should give you the Latin name, perennial or annual, the size of the mature plant, its light, soil and water requirements, its resistance to frost, cultivation tips, if it requires pruning and when and probably a lot that I haven't mentioned. In other words, it should be thorough.