Gardening Comes With Its Own Vocabulary

If you're new to the world of gardening, chances are you have a lot to learn. It's hard starting out to know the difference between an annual and a perennial or a seedling and a sapling. The number of terms that go along with the hobby can be staggering, so it's best to learn them as you go.

To help you get started enjoying the fun and rewards of gardening, here's a basic vocabulary lesson any good gardener should know. These deal mainly with flowers and other similar plants, but the terms can also extend to vegetables and beyond in some cases.

The basics vocabulary of plants includes such terms as:

Annual: This is a plant that germinates, grows, flowers and produces seeds all in a single growing season. If the seeds are saved or properly sown, new plants may come back.

Biennial: These are plants that live two years. They grow leaves the first year; produce flowers the second and then die.

Botanical name: This is the fancy Latin name for a plant. Most plants are generally more commonly known by shorter, less Latin sounding names.

Cutting: This is a piece of plant (generally a leaf, stem or root) that can be used to create a whole new plant.

Division: This is a method of creating new plants by separating them into different sections and replanting.

Germination: The very first stage in the development of a plant from a seed is called germination.

Grafting: This is a pretty technical process of joining a stem or flower bud from one plant to the stem of another to create something new.

Hybrids: These are genetically engineered plants that are created to have special qualities.

Perennial: This is a plant that dies to the ground in the winter and comes back in the spring.

Propagation: This is a method for increasing the amount of plants by dividing roots or starting from cuttings.

Sapling: A young tree.

Seedling: When a plant has sprouted from its seed, it's known as a seedling.

Transplant: This is a seedling that grows its first real leaves that are like adult plant leaves.

There are literally hundreds of other terms that go along with gardening, but these are the basics you'll run into at the start when dealing with plants. As you learn more, you'll want to find out about different growing methods, regions for growing plants and more.

Gardening is a great hobby enjoyed the world over. Whether it's flowers, vegetables, trees, shrubs or more that you're interested in, gardening can be a great pastime that comes with some fantastic rewards.