Gardening Terms
Common gardening and ecological gardening terms, adapted from Hamilton Pollinator Paradise.
Jump to: Pollination · Keystone, Native & Invasive · Plant Names · Life Cycles · Sun Exposure · Soil Texture · Soil Moisture · Sustainable Gardening · Starting Seeds · Other Helpful Terms
🐝 Pollination
When you are creating a pollinator garden, it is helpful to know what pollination and pollinators actually mean!
Pollination – The transfer of pollen between flowers, either carried by the wind or by animal and insect pollinators, which allows fertilization and encourages reproduction.
Pollen – A powdery substance in the flower containing the genetic material of the plant for reproduction; also a carb- and protein-rich snack for pollinators.
Pollinators – Insects and animals that move pollen from one plant to another, helping the plant reproduce. E.g., bees, flies, butterflies, moths, bats.
Nectar – A sugary liquid made in the flowers to attract pollinators; a reward for helping move pollen!
🌿 Keystone, Native & Invasive Plants
To support pollinators, it is important to understand the differences between native, non-native and invasive plants, as well as cultivars or ‘nativars’. What we plant matters.
Keystone Plants – Native plants that play a critical role in their ecosystems, acting as essential support systems for biodiversity. They provide food, shelter and habitat for a vast range of insects, birds and animals. Losing keystone plants can trigger a ripple effect: declining insect numbers, fewer pollinators and reduced food sources for wildlife, ultimately disrupting the food web.
Native – Plants that have evolved and adapted to a specific area’s local climate, soil and weather conditions over thousands of years, without human introduction, and have co-evolved relationships with native animals, insects and other plants.
Non-native – Plants that are introduced to an area by humans and are not native to that region.
Invasive – Plants that are non-native and cause harm to the environment, economy, society and/or human health. Not all non-native plants are invasive, but all invasive plants are non-native. Similarly, native plants can grow aggressively but are not considered invasive. See Invasive Plants.
Cultivar – A plant that has been bred for specific characteristics, like flower shape or leaf colour, and is often given a ‘variety’ name. Cultivars of native plants (nativars) look nice to people but may lose their benefit for pollinators. E.g., Common Ninebark ‘Amber Jubilee’ (Physocarpus opulifolius).
Weed – A plant that is undesirable in a particular situation. ‘Weeds’ are subjective because a plant can be a weed in one context but not in another. Native plants have often been considered weeds, when in fact they are vital for our environment!
🏷️ Plant Names
Plants are called by many names, which can make shopping tricky, but knowing the plant’s “full name” will ensure you get the plant you want.
Common Name – The name or names a plant is known by; the same name can be shared by many different plants. Like a nickname.
Scientific / Botanical Name – The internationally recognized Latin name of a plant (genus and species); there is only one scientific name per species. Use it when you’re shopping to make sure you get the right plant. Like a legal name.
Genus – A group of related species. Like a last name.
Species – One species of the genus. Like a first name.
🔄 Plant Life Cycles
Like all living things, plants have a lifespan. Some species only last for the summer, while others return on their own year after year. If you don’t want to replant every year, perennials are the way to go. Bonus: most native plant species are perennials.
Annual – A plant that completes its entire life cycle (sprouts, flowers, produces seeds, dies) in one year or less and needs to be replanted each year.
Biennial – A plant that completes its life cycle in two years, usually producing leaves and roots in year one, then flowers and seeds in year two.
Perennial – A plant that grows and flowers for years. It can be evergreen, or die back in winter and regrow each spring.
☀️ Sun Exposure
Different plant species need different levels of light to grow. Knowing how much light your garden receives will help you pick the right plants for that space.
Full Sun – Six or more hours of direct sunlight per day during the growing season.
Part Sun / Part Shade – Three to six hours of direct sunlight per day during the growing season; can usually tolerate full sun.
Full Shade – Less than three hours of dappled sunlight per day, with additional indirect or filtered sunlight throughout the day. Dappled shade is spots of sunlight and shade created by light filtering through the canopy.
🪨 Soil Texture
Soil is made of three types of particles (sand, silt and clay) plus organic matter. Most soils are a combination of all three, and the texture depends on how much of each is present. Most native plants tolerate a variety of soil types as long as the area is well-draining (no standing water).
Sand – Relatively large soil particles (2.0–0.05 mm) that feel gritty; water and nutrients move through quickly.
Silt – Medium-sized soil particles (0.05–0.002 mm) that feel flour-like when dry; water and nutrients move through moderately.
Clay – Tiny particles (less than 0.002 mm) that feel sticky when wet; water and nutrients move through very slowly.
Loam – A well-balanced mix of sand, silt and clay with good moisture retention and drainage.
Soilless Mix / Potting Soil – A mix of materials like perlite, vermiculite, compost, sand and bark used to grow plants in containers instead of soil. Good for starting seeds, but needs fertilizer long-term.
💧 Soil Moisture
Plants need water, but how much varies by species. If there is too much water in the soil for the plant, its roots will rot and the plant will die. Make sure the plants you choose will like the moisture level of your soil.
Wet – Soggy or marshy most of the year.
Medium-Wet – Excessively wet in winter, spring and after heavy rain, but often dries out in summer.
Medium (Mesic) – Average garden soil; water soaks in with no run-off.
Medium-Dry – Well-drained soil; water drains away readily, but not rapidly.
Xeric – Excessively drained; dries out very quickly.
🌎 Sustainable Gardening
Sustainable gardening practices support the long-term health of the soil, plants and the ecosystem as a whole, without compromising future generations’ ability to do the same. They may include using compost and other organic matter to enrich the soil; avoiding synthetic pesticides and fertilizers; conserving water through efficient watering; promoting biodiversity by planting a variety of plants and attracting beneficial insects; and composting garden and food waste.
Biodiversity – The variety of all living organisms on Earth, including their genes, species and the ecosystems they form. It encompasses everything from soil microbes and plants to animals and entire habitats, all interacting in complex ways. Changes at one level can affect the whole system.
Ecosystem – A system where living things like plants, animals and microbes interact with non-living elements like soil, water, air and sunlight. Ecosystems can be large, like forests and lakes, or small, like a garden bed or a patch of soil, but in all cases every part depends on the others to stay healthy.
🌱 Starting Seeds
Germination – When a seed sprouts and starts to grow.
Stratification – Pre-treating seeds with cold temperatures to simulate winter conditions.
Scarification – Scratching or breaking the hard coat of some seeds, with sandpaper or by soaking in water, before planting.
Direct Sow – Planting seeds directly into the soil outside, where you want them to grow.
Potting Up – Moving a plant ‘up’ to a larger pot.
Transplant – Relocating a plant from one place to another in the garden.
✂️ Other Helpful Terms
Deadheading – Removing dead or dying flowers from a plant to encourage more blooms, prolong flowering, prevent self-seeding or tidy its appearance. If you want to collect and save seeds, skip the deadheading!
Groundcover – Low-growing plants that spread to cover the soil surface, suppressing weeds, preventing erosion, retaining moisture and filling in empty spaces in the garden.
Hardscape – Any garden feature that is not a plant, e.g., a bench, fence or birdbath.
Mulch – Any organic material, such as wood chips, grass clippings, compost, straw or leaves, spread over the soil surface around plants to hold in moisture, help control weeds and insulate the ground in winter.
Pruning – Cutting off a limited amount of leaves or branches to remove dead or diseased parts, or to control and direct the plant’s growth.
Rhizome – An underground stem that grows sideways and sends up new shoots and roots along its length.
Runner – A stem that creeps along the soil surface and roots at points along its length to form new plants, e.g., wild strawberry.
Seedhead – The part of the plant that contains seeds after the flowers and fruits are gone.
Self-seeding – Some plants readily shed their seeds nearby, and those seeds germinate to make more plants. If you want more of that plant, self-seeding is good. If not, deadhead the flowers before they go to seed.