26 Basic Gardening Terms Every Beginner Should Know Before Picking Up a Shovel

Beginner gardeners often feels overwhelmed by all the garden terms they don’t know. For example, what in the world is deadheading? And damping off doesn’t give a clue as to its meaning. You may be familiar with a horse bolting, but how does that apply to lettuce?

It can be overwhelming trying to dive into an entirely new hobby without any basic knowledge or even the right words to use. Learning about each individual plants' needs, how to arrange them, and how to keep them alive is difficult enough. But trying to learn an entire glossary of gardening terms just to understand what gardening articles, books, and other gardeners are talking about is a challenge in itself. Sometimes it sounds like gardeners are speaking a foreign language.

That's why it's vital to learn some basic gardening terms to set yourself up for success. If you are thinking about starting a garden, here is a rundown of common terms you may come across and what they mean. Learning a few key words and phrases first will make growing a gorgeous garden so much easier.

Plant Life Cycles & Growth

Plant life cycles can be defined as annuals, perennials and biennials. In nature, plants grow and reproduce to perpetuate the species in a few different ways:

• Annual plants grow, produce seed, then die in the same season, completing their entire life cycle in one year.
• Perennial plants grow during the season, but their roots survive during the winter and the plant returns in the spring. They can live for many years. Some plants are considered short-lived perennials and may return for less than five years. Other long-lived perennials, like peonies, can survive for up to a century.
• Biennial plants need two seasons to complete their life cycles. In the first year, vegetation grows, but typically doesn’t flower. Then in the second season, the plant returns and produces flowers and then “goes to seed.”
• Bolting is a term used to describe a plant going to seed early, usually prompted by a stressor such as heat or lack of water. It is undesirable for vegetables, fruits, and herbs to bolt because it reduces the harvest and can change the flavor.
• Self-seeding plants are those that readily drop seeds that regrow and return year after year, even if they are annual plants.

Soil, Nutrients & Structure

Soil provides structure and nutrients for plants to grow. In nature, the soil is nourished by decomposing plant and animal life. Gardeners can help by supplying fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) or compost, which also supplies those nutrients organically. Here are some basic terms related to soil health:

• Fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, sometimes abbreviated NPK. These are the main macronutrients plants need to grow. A good fertilizer, like this one from Miracle-Gro, typically contains secondary macronutrients as well as micronutrients to help plants grow.
• Soil pH indicates the acidity or alkalinity of soil on a scale from 0 to 14, where 7.0 is neutral. A pH value below 7.0 is acidic, whereas a pH above 7.0 is considered alkaline. Most plants do well in the middle of the range, but some prefer slightly acidic to basic soils. For example, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and blueberry shrubs thrive in acidic soil.
• Compost is an organic fertilizer you can purchase or make at home by allowing yard and food waste to decompose in a pile or compost bin, like these ones from Amazon.
• Mulch benefits plants by insulating them from cold or heat, retaining moisture, and suppressing weeds. It can be organic (wood chips, grass clippings, straw) or inorganic (pebbles/stones, volcanic rock, recycled rubber).

• Hardpan describes a hard layer of dense soil, usually right below the topsoil, that prevents roots and water from getting through. Plant roots remain shallow resulting in poor growth in areas with lots of hardpan.
• Drainage refers to the ability of excess water to flow away from the plant. Many plants require well-draining soil to flourish. Clay soil types do not drain well but can be improved by amending the soil with organic material such as compost or well-rotted manure. For container gardening, most plants also require pots with drainage holes to prevent root rot and proper moisture levels.
• Lasagna gardening is a no-till gardening method whereby you layer organic materials such as yard waste on top of the soil rather than using the traditional dig method. You can start by placing newspapers or cardboard on the ground to smother weeds.

Planting & Maintenance

You can start plants from seed indoors or direct sow outside after the danger of frost is passed in the spring. Maintaining a plant refers to the care it needs such as watering, fertilizing, deadheading, and pruning. Here are some other basic terms about planting and care:

• Germination occurs when seeds planted in soil are watered, then sprout and begin to grow.
• Direct sowing seeds or plants means planting in the garden in spring when the danger of frost is past. Seeds are covered lightly with soil or left uncovered as some require light for germination. The seed packet includes those instructions.
• Seedlings are young plants that have recently germinated.

• Damping off is a soil-borne fungal disease that frequently infects seedlings. Too much humidity or water often encourages the disease.
• Transplant can refer to a plant of planting age or moving a plant from one location to another, such as transplanting a seedling into the garden outside.
• Hardening off means to acclimate a plant to different conditions such as moving a plant from indoors to outside in the summer. In that case, move it first to a shady spot for a couple of days, then to part shade, then to sun.
• Deadheading is pinching or cutting off faded blooms.
• Pruning is more severe than deadheading and involves reducing the size of a plant through specific cuts or cutting it close to the ground, if rejuvenation pruning is needed.

Climate, Zones & Placement

If you want plants in your landscape that will return each year, then learn your USDA hardiness zone and check the plant tags for the zone before purchasing. Then take care to plant it in the right spot, e.g. in full sun or shade as dictated by the plant tag. Learn some of these other terms about climate, zones, and planting location to help you along the way:

• Hardiness zone is determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which divides the country into 13 zones, from coldest to warmest. Based on your zip code, the map provides the average coldest temperature during the winter for that location.

• First frost date and last frost date are fairly self-explanatory. The first frost date is the typical first day in the fall that temperatures reach 32°F (0°C) and the last frost date is the day in spring that the final freezing temperatures usually occur. This information helps you to know when to bring plants indoors in the fall that would succumb to a freeze, and when to move frost-tender plants outdoors in the spring.
• Exposure is the amount of sunlight and wind a site receives. Exposure can be divided into full shade, part shade, part sun, and full sun.
• Full sun means a plant needs 6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day.
• Microclimates occur when an area experiences a different climate than surrounding climates due to the slope of a property, its soil composition, surrounding vegetation, and amount of shade. All of these factors can affect temperature and humidity. Several microclimates can exist in the same yard.