Acid Soil: Refers to the ph scale. Soil with a ph lower than 7.0 is acidic, and higher than 7 is alkaline. Southern garden soil is almost exclusively acidic by nature, so the plants native to this area are acid lovers. Native plants like azaleas will not thrive in alkaline soils. Pinestraw, oak leaf mold, and peat are all acidic garden matter.
Alkaline Soil: Refers to the ph scale: Soil with a ph higher than 7.0 is alkaline. Soil that is rich in chalk, calcium, and lime is alkaline. Some plants that prefer alkaline soils include foxgloves and clematis. Soil can be adjusted to become more alkaline by the addition of lime or oyster shells.
Annual: A plant whose life cycle is for one season. Often these plants are offered in the little six packs at the garden center, such as pansies for winter, impatiens and marigolds for summer. Many annuals are easy to grow from seed, like zinnas, nastursiums, morning glories, and tomatoes.
Arbor: An upright suport that often forms an archway, that supports climbling plants such as vines and roses.
Compost: Decomposed garden waste. The stuff you would put out at the street for the yard waste guys in the paper garden bags from your hardware store can be composted and you can reuse it, the perfect form of recycling. Easy to do! Click here to go to a great website about composting.
Dead Head: No, my friend, this is not a reference to a Grateful Dead fan. This is simply the removal of dead flowers, which spurs the plant on to make more blossoms. A must with annuals like geraniums, pansies, and marigolds. Your grandma may have called it pinching back.
Deciduous: Refers to the loss of leaves in the autumn and winter. Trees and shrubs that loose leaves in the autumn and grow a new set are Deciduous, as opposed to evergreen, such as Pine trees and Boxwoods.
Downward slope (from your foundation): Building experts reccommend that the soil next to the house and other buildings slope away at least a 10 degree angle to prevent a wet foundation.
Drip line of a tree: the area that extends parallel to the ends of the tree branches all around the ground surrounding a tree.
Drip line of a house: the area that is directly below the edge of the gutter or roof line of the house. The area inside the drip line, under the eaves of a house, are too dry to support plant life.
Drought- affected areas: You know if you are in one, unless you have been under a (dry) rock. Have a look at the National Weather Service website, which really has great info about the drought, the predications about it's duration, and much more. Click here for more drought information.
Exposure: The amount of light a location in your garden receives. See below -
- Full Sun: A location in your garden that receives at least six hours of sunlight per day (in zone 7 - more in zones north).
- Shade or Full Shade :A garden location that does not receive any direct sunlight.
- Part Sun: A location that receives some full sunlight per day, but less than six hours.
Gray Water: A hot term, now that so much of the US is suffering from drought. This is used water that you recapture and use in the garden to water those precious plants. Gray water may not be safe for all uses, because it may have bacteria growing in it. Two important guidelines: use gray water soon after recapture so that there is limited time for bacterial growth, and don't use it for fruit and vegetable crops unless it is filtering through the soil to these plants. Click here for more info from Colorado State University about gray water.
Hardiness Zone: This is a number assigned to your area of the US that denotes the average annual minimum temperatures. In other words, how cold it gets where you live. This determines what plants you can grow that are hardy in your area and when you can plant things that are not hardy but that will grow there in the summer. Click here to go to the National Arboretum website's excellent USDA Hardiness Zone Map. See Last Average Frost Date below.
Hardy: This term denotes plants that will survive in the winter where you live. Some plants are called root hardy, meaning that they will die back on the top but the plant will put out new growth again in the spring.
Herbaceous Perennial: A plant that does not have a woody stem, that usually dies down in the winter to some extent and puts out a new set of leaves and flower stalks as spring comes. Such as Shasta Daisy and Rudbekia.
Last Average Frost Date: The date that is the last date you can reasonably expect a freeze. There could be a freeze after this date, but you won't be gambling too much if you put your little annuals out after this date. The last average frost date for Atlanta is April 15th. To see a map of the US with these dates, click here.
Leaf Mold: Decomposed and decomposing leaves, which form a good mulch and garden amendment when planting acid-loving shrubs and perennials. Completely decomposed leaf mold is dark, crumbly, and the individual leaf shapes are not recognizeable, and this is usable for planting holes. If the leaves are not fully decomposed, this should only be used for mulch. This not commercially available. Want to make your own? Click here for a link to a compost guide.
Naturalized- Usually in reference to bulbs, like Daffodils. Refers to the multiplying and spreading of a plant over time to resemble a large pool of bloom, as would be seen in nature, usually in a woodland setting, when the plants are happily sited.
Organic Matter: In talking about adding this, we mean adding peat moss (available in bales), grit for drainage (like rock dust, builders sand, crushed granite,) compost (purchased or home made,) leaf mold (leaves that have composted for a while,) or aged manure. This will give your plants the food, drainage, and moisture retention that they need from the soil. The foundation of organic gardening is management of organic matter in the garden.
Peat - A acid-rich soil amedment, sold in bales at garden centers and hardware stores, which increases the soil's ability to retain moisture, yet allows oxygen to the plant roots. Good amndment to clay soils. Want to see how peat is harvested? Click here.
Perennial: A plant whose life cycle is ongoing and with care, will persist in your garden for a number of years. A plant that "comes back" next year.
Ph -Potential Hydrogen Ions. For gardening, a measurement of how much lime is in soil. The ph scale is used by gardeners to measure the acid or alkaline nature of the soil, as most plants prefer one or the other. Soil testing is available through your county extention office, for a nominal fee or for free. It is best to test the soil before correcting the ph.
Pruning: Trimming of plants, trees and shrubs. See our special PRUNING PAGE!
Rainwater Harvesting: Water saved from rainfall, usually directed from gutters into rain barrels or a cistern.
Rain Barrel: Rainwater harvesting container or system. You can make them yourself, from items purchased at your local home improvement center or hardware store, or you can purchase them ready made at many local harware stores or websites. Click here to see some examples of rain barrels.
Singeing cut flower stems - Some flowers and plants secrete a sap when the stem is cut, so it is necessary to singe the stem so that they will soak up water as cut flowers. HOld the stem over a candle flame until the stem does not drip sap any longer. Plants that need this treatment include Hellebore and Poinsetta. More on cut flower care.
Soil Testing - The county extension office near you will test your garden soil and analyze it, giving you appropriate nutrient and lime recommendations. There are many reasons to do this. For instance, grass prefers a soil that is less acid than that which naturally occurs in most of the clay soil of the South. So having the soil from your lawn tested will let you know if you need lime, and how much lime to apply. Your vegetable garden may be lacking in important minerals ( such as boron, which can lead to stunted strawberries) and you may need to apply fertilizer when you plant. Contact your county extension agent, and they will send you special soil sample bags. The cost is usually about $15.00 per test. For southern states from New Mexico, east through to North Carolina, follow this link to locate your local office: www.soiltest123.com.
Warm - up water: Water saved from the tap while waiting for water to heat.
Zone - See Hardiness Zone above.