Garden stories: Strange terms that confuse and make new gardeners interesting

Garden speaking sounds like a secret language, especially when you’re just starting out. This guide develops friendly, beginner-focused explanations of strange terms like bolting, deadheads, and hardening.

The Empress of the Dictionary of the Dictionary of the Dictionary is also a good resource for learning garden terminology.

Garden Jargon 101

It’s easy to forget how strange gardening jargon sounds when you just start. Words like bolting and healing can no longer feel gardening like a deep, rewarding, life-enhancing activity, and I feel like I’ve come across a secret club where I forgot to pass on terminology.

Garden images with examples of garden terminology such as bolting and deadheads.

For many of us, you might call it a hobby, but gardening is much more than that. It’s a way to find connection to the planet, a path to sustainability, a calm, purpose, and joy. A practical and productive treatment if you do.

And when it beats you, you will be in it for the rest of your life.

We’ve been gardening for a while and may not notice when we’re in full garden speaking, but it can be unintentionally left to confuse or hesitate to ask questions.

I really notice this when local plant nursery schools are full of enthusiast beginners asking a lot of questions. Some carts, Jargony responds, and they feel discouraged and overwhelmed.

Terms like annuals, perennials, chitting, decaying, or pinchback may be a second nature for us, but they can fly quickly. And don’t start all the misinformation shared about things like fertilizer and pest control.

If we want to grow a more inclusive gardening community, and we do! – We need to be clear about things (do I want to be accurate too?), welcoming and friendly. And a big bonus for everyone who has a sense of humor along the way. We want our new gardeners to feel confident and curious, not lost. After all, don’t you think the world is better each time a new person discovers the satisfaction they have found in the garden?

Here’s a guide to some of these odd sounding terms, what they mean, and how they fit into everyday gardening. We did our best to provide a practical definition.

See how many people you already know.

Annual vs. perennial – Live performances for the annual growth season. Perennials return every year. Boltongs – Plants (like lettuce) bloom quickly and are usually seeds due to heat. Chitting – Germinate potatoes in preparation for planting. Potatoes planted to increase potatoes are called “seed potatoes.” Companion Planting – Certain plants are grown close to each other due to the expected benefits such as pest control and improved growth. Crown – part of the plant where the roots and stems meet, just above or below the soil. Some plants, such as crown-like peony at certain soil depths, are also found. Cuttings – A plant (such as stems and leaves) that allows roots to grow and become new plants. Attenuation – A problem with fungi that causes young seedlings to wither and suddenly die. Days to maturation – It takes time from planting seeds to harvesting grown plants. Days may be estimated differently depending on whether seeds are usually started directly outdoors or indoors and later implanted outdoors. Deadheading – Remove old or faded flowers to promote more flowers. This term is commonly confused with pruning. Flat – shallow trays used for seed initiation and cultivation of young plants. In the world of gardening, there are interesting expressions that point to people who don’t have that at all. He’s a plant that’s missing in the flat. Green Manure – Crops grown to be cultivated in the soil to improve health, not actual fertilizer! You can also hear what is called a cover crop, a green crop, a feed crop, or a green mulch. Hardening – Get plants grown indoors in outdoor condition slowly before planting them outside. Heel-in – Container plants are partially planted or buried in the ground to protect the roots until they can be properly planted. This technique is usually used to cover over potted plants and provide additional insulation to the roots. Romy Soil – Soil is just the right mixture of sand, silt, clay and organic matter for healthy plants. For many of us, Loam is a version of the mythical creature of Gardening. No-Dig Gardening – Cultivation of plants with minimal destruction to the soil by digging or cultivating. Organic – There are many definitions of this word and can be used to mislead gardeners. This explains how to do that. Overwinter – We don’t use a variety of methods such as weather protection and insulation to make plants that are completely robust during the winter, either indoors or outdoors. Return – Cut off the tip of the flower stem, promoting bushy, richer growth. Planting of inheritance – Plant new crops as soon as they are harvested to continue producing the garden. This shares a good inheritance planting plan for growing vegetables in containers. Suction cups – Extra buds that are found between the bases and stems of trees or shrubs, or the leaves and main stems of plants, such as tomatoes. I cut out the tomato suckers and root them in new plants. Thin – There is room for the remaining plants and seedlings to grow into the remaining plants. You’ll also hear this stab. Transplant Shock – Stress plants pass after moving to a new location, sometimes causing wilting and slow growth. Volunteer Plants – Plants that grow independently from seeds that were usually dropped by crops last year. Weldrain – soil that does not dry or wet after rain or watering.

So how many did you already know? Or have you learned some?

There are more than I’ve listed here, but some are more common in certain regions, but it’s fun to see how much you learned along the way.