Gardening | Definition, Types, Tools, & Facts | Britannica
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Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! gardening Table of Contents gardening Table of Contents Introduction The nature of gardening The varied appeal of gardening Control and cooperation Choice of plants Historical background Early history The plant trade Vegetables and fruits The French style The plant hunters From the 19th century Types of gardens Flower gardens Woodland gardens Rock gardens Water gardens Herb and vegetable gardens Specialty gardens Roof gardens Scented gardens Contents of gardens Permanent elements Lawns and ground covers Shrubs and vines (climbers) Trees Transitory elements Herbaceous plants Bulbous plants The principles of gardening Soil: its nature and needs Clays Sands and gravels Peats and heaths Feeding: fertilizing and watering Drainage Protecting plants Training and pruning Propagation Control of weeds Control of pests and diseases Mechanical aids Fast Facts gardening summary Related Content Media Images More More Articles On This Topic Additional Reading Contributors Article History Home Sports & Recreation Games, Hobbies & Recreational Activities
gardening
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External Websites Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. garden - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11) garden and gardening - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) Print print Print Please select which sections you would like to print: Cite verified Cite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/science/gardening Feedback External Websites Feedback Thank you for your feedbackOur editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. garden - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11) garden and gardening - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) Written by Geoffrey A.C. Herklots Colombo Plan Botanical Adviser to Government of Nepal, 1961–63. Principal and Director of Research, Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad, 1953–60. Author of Vegetables in South-East Asia Geoffrey A.C. Herklots , Roy Perrott Freelance book editor and consultant. Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society, London. Author of The Aristocrats. Roy Perrott , Patrick Millington Synge Editor, Publications of the Royal Horticultural Society, London, 1945–70. Author of Collins Guide to Bulbs; coauthor of The Dictionary of Garden Plants in Colour. Patrick Millington Synge See All Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Article History Table of Contents Keukenhof Gardens See all media Key People: John Gerard John Claudius Loudon (Show more) Related Topics: garden and landscape design horticulture flower greenhouse vegetable (Show more) See all related content SummaryRead a brief summary of this topic
Singapore: Chinese Garden garden: illustration
gardening , the laying out and care of a plot of ground devoted partially or wholly to the growing of plants such as flowers, herbs, or vegetables.
Gardening can be considered both as an art, concerned with arranging plants harmoniously in their surroundings, and as a science , encompassing the principles and techniques of plant cultivation. Because plants are often grown in conditions markedly different from those of their natural environment , it is necessary to apply to their cultivation techniques derived from plant physiology, chemistry, and botany , modified by the experience of the planter. The basic principles involved in growing plants are the same in all parts of the world, but the practice naturally needs much adaptation to local conditions.
For the main history of garden development, see the article garden and landscape design: Historical development .
The nature of gardening
lawnGardening in its ornamental sense needs a certain level of civilization before it can flourish. Wherever that level has been attained, in all parts of the world and at all periods, people have made efforts to shape their environment into an attractive display. The instinct and even enthusiasm for gardening thus appear to arise from some primitive response to nature, engendering a wish to produce growth and harmony in a creative partnership with it.
Britannica Quiz This or That? Annual vs. PerennialIt is possible to be merely an admiring spectator of gardens. However, most people who cultivate a domestic plot also derive satisfaction from involvement in the processes of tending plants. They find that the necessary attention to the seasonal changes, and to the myriad small “events” in any shrubbery or herbaceous border, improves their understanding and appreciation of gardens in general.
A phenomenal upsurge of interest in gardening began in Western countries after World War II . A lawn with flower beds and perhaps a vegetable patch has become a sought-after advantage to home ownership. The increased interest produced an unprecedented expansion of business among horticultural suppliers, nurseries, garden centres, and seedsmen. Books, journals, and newspaper columns on garden practice have found an eager readership, while television and radio programs on the subject have achieved a dedicated following.
Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe NowSeveral reasons for this expansion suggest themselves. Increased leisure in the industrial nations gives more people the opportunity to enjoy this relaxing pursuit. The increased public appetite for self-sufficiency in basic skills also encourages people to take up the spade. In the kitchen, the homegrown potato or ear of sweet corn rewards the gardener with a sense of achievement, as well as with flavour superior to that of store-bought produce. An increased awareness of threats to the natural environment and the drabness of many inner cities stir some people to cultivate the greenery and colour around their own doorsteps. The bustle of 20th-century life leads more individuals to rediscover the age-old tranquillity of gardens.
The varied appeal of gardening
gardening: vegetablesThe attractions of gardening are many and various and, to a degree perhaps unique among the arts and crafts, may be experienced by any age group and at all levels of ambition. At its most elemental, but not least valuable, the gardening experience begins with the child’s wonder that a packet of seeds will produce a charming festival of colour. At the adult level, it can be as simple as helping to raise a good and edible carrot, and it can give rise to almost parental pride. At higher levels of appreciation, it involves an understanding of the complexity of the gardening process, equivalent to a chess game with nature, because the variables are so many.
WollongongThe gardening experience may involve visiting some of the world’s great gardens at different seasons to see the relation of individual groups of plants, trees, and shrubs to the whole design; to study the positioning of plants in terms of their colour, texture, and weight of leaf or blossom; and to appreciate the use of special features such as ponds or watercourses, pavilions , or rockeries. Garden visiting on an international scale provides an opportunity to understand the broad cultural influences, as well as the variations in climate and soil, that have resulted in so many different approaches to garden making.
The appeal of gardening is thus multifaceted and wide in range. The garden is often the only place where someone without special training can exercise creative impulses as designer, artist, technician, and scientific observer. In addition, many find it a relaxing and therapeutic pursuit. It is not surprising that the garden, accorded respect as a part of nature and a place of contemplation , holds a special place in the spiritual life of many.
Practical and spiritual aspects of gardening are shown in an impressive body of literature. In Western countries manuals of instruction date to classical Greece and Rome. Images of plants and gardens are profuse in the works of the major poets, from Virgil to Shakespeare, and on to some of the moderns.
Another of gardening’s attractions is that up to a certain level it is a simple craft to learn. The beginner can produce pleasing results without the exacting studies and practice required by, for example, painting or music. Gardens are also forgiving to the inexperienced to a certain degree. Nature’s exuberance will cover up minor errors or short periods of neglect, so gardening is an art practiced in a relatively nonjudgmental atmosphere. While tolerant in many respects, nature does, however, present firm reminders that all gardening takes place within a framework of natural law; and one important aspect of the study of the craft is to learn which of these primal rules are imperatives and which may be stretched.
Control and cooperation
Large areas of gardening development and mastery have concentrated on persuading plants to achieve what they would not have done if left in the wild and therefore “natural” state. Gardens at all times have been created through a good deal of control and what might be called interference. The gardener attends to a number of basic processes: combating weeds and pests; using space to allay the competition between plants; attending to feeding, watering, and pruning; and conditioning the soil. Above this fundamental level, the gardener assesses and accommodates the unique complex of temperature, wind, rainfall, sunlight, and shade found within his own garden boundaries. A major part of the fascination of gardening is that in problems and potential no one garden is quite like another; and it is in finding the most imaginative solutions to challenges that the gardener demonstrates artistry and finds the subtler levels of satisfaction.
Japanese contemplative gardenDifferent aesthetics require different balances between controlling nature and cooperating with its requirements. The degree of control depends on the gardener’s objective, the theme and identity he is aiming to create. For example, the English wild woodland style of gardening in the mid-19th century dispensed with controls after planting, and any interference, such as pruning , would have been misplaced. At the other extreme is the Japanese dry-landscape garden, beautifully composed of rock and raked pebbles. The artistic control in this type of garden is so firm and refined that the intrusion of a single “natural” weed would spoil the effect.