Gardening Glossary
Definitions for gardening terms that start with B
- bacillus thuringiensis
A naturally occurring bacterial disease of insects that is often used in insecticides.
- bare root
Plants which have had all of the soil removed from their roots so that they may be sold or shipped.
- bark
The exterior of a woody stem or trunk.
- basal leaf
Leaf or growth from the lowest part of the stem.
- bedding plant
Annual plants that are good for quickly filling in flower beds.
- bentonite
A fine clay that was used to line ornamental ponds before plastic was widely available.
- biennial
A plant that only lives two years and frequently produces flowers and seed its second year.
- bolting
Vegetables which quickly go to flower rather than producing the food crop. Usually caused by late planting and too warm temperatures.
- bone meal
A soil amendment used to increase the phosphorus content of the soil.
- bonsai
The art of growing dwarf plants in containers through careful, manual cultivation.
- bordeaux mixture
A combination of copper sulphate and hydrated lime used mainly to control infestations of fungus.
- boron
A trace mineral that helps with the absorption of other nutrients and with germination.
- botanical name
The set, universally used scientific name for a plant.
- bottom heat
Heat supplied to the underside of a container in which a plant is growing.
- bract
A modified or specialized leaf growing just below a flower.
- broadcast seeding
Scattering seeds in a random pattern across a large area.
- bud
Early stages of development of a flower or plant growth.
- bulb
A plant whose complete life cycle is stored in an underground structure.
- butterfly gardening
Growing plants that will attract butterflies.
