References for Smart Gardening

There are so many references online for gardening information, but few have the stamp of approval of the U.S. government.

In this little table, which appears on many of the pages of this site, you will find multiple references and links to information you never knew existed - all provided by the U.S. Agriculture Department and the National Weather Service.

These links will help you identify plants and their growing conditions, which plants grow best where you live, plus local weather forecasts that may affect your barbecuing — I mean, your lawn mowing.

Besides this plethora of gardening references, online, there's always the good old gardening book, which I highly recommend. There's so much more to be said and so many more specific references available in a big, fat gardening book that you really should have one. (I have many!) And many gardening reference books are very easy to read and follow. Check some out at the library and see which kind you like before buying.

Anyway, along with this deeper and broader reference information, here's a brief glossary to get you started on some of the terms used in this site.

Aerate — aeration, or plugging, is a machine process that pulls out cores of the lawn.

Annual — plants you must replace each year.

Bedding plants — mostly annual flowers that are planted each year in prepared beds.

Biennial — plants that bloom every other year.

Bulbs — the underground stem parts of plants that form both the roots and the growing tips. They come in five types. True bulbs are onion-like. Corms are the same shape as bulbs, but are flatter on the bottom. Rhizomes resemble sweet potatoes, being oblong and bumpy. Tubers are flat with round bottoms and growth buds on the top. Tuberous roots resemble rhizomes, but appear in clumps underground at the base of a plant stem.

Deadheading — removing spent blossoms from flowering plants to promote additional flowering and to prevent plants from using energy to produce seed.

Deciduous — trees and shrubs that drop their leaves in the fall and produce new ones each spring.

Dethatch — removal of the layer of dead grass in an established lawn, done by machine or by hand raking.

Disease—infection, mold or fungi that invades and destroy plants.

Dividing — cutting apart the roots of mature plants in order to create new plants.

Evergreen — trees, shrubs, and some ground covers, that keep their leaves in the fall and winter.

Feeding — applying liquid or granular plant food.

Forcing bulbs — planting flower bulbs indoors and inducing them to bloom out of season by providing the proper conditions.

Grooming — similar to pruning but not as drastic; clipping off unsightly stems growing beyond the natural shape of the plant; cut flower stalks between the bottom blossom and the uppermost leaves.

Growing season—the beginning of spring to the beginning of winter.

Hardening off — placing indoor-grown seedlings outdoors to acclimate for a few days before transplanting in the ground.

Heaving — the freezing and thawing of soil in the winter that causes the roots of perennials, of newly transplanted trees and shrubs, or flowerbed edging to pop out of the ground.

Lifting bulbs — gently digging up flower bulbs, after they have bloomed and their foliage has died down.

Mulch — a 2-inch to 4-inch layer of shredded bark, compost or other organic material that is spread on the soil around plants to promote moisture retention, maintain even soil temperature and discourage weed growth.

Overseed — spreading new grass seed over an established lawn.

Perennial — plants that come up yearly.

Pests — insects (aphids, etc), slugs or worms—any flying, hopping or crawling things that eat, chew on, bore into or otherwise destroy plants.

Pinching — removing the growing tips of a plant to induce branching and more lush growth and flowering.

Pre-emergent — chemical treatments that prevent the germination of seeds in the ground, especially weed seeds in the garden and lawn.

Pruning — a careful and planned trimming of limbs and branches from trees and shrubs, to help them grow evenly and strongly.

Stem cutting — clipping the stem of a plant and placing it in water until it produces roots.

Soil amendments — nutrients, such as minerals and organic matter, added to soil to make it better for plants.

Suckers — the new plants that arise from the base or roots of existing plants.

Transplant — insert a plant into the ground or into a container with soil.

Transition season — two periods in the year: just before spring and just before winter.

Verticutting — a machine process that creates furrows in an established lawn, in which the new seed can fall and germinate.

Weeding — hoeing or pulling weeds out of soil by hand.

Watering in — soaking the soil around new transplants to help compact the soil and provide support and moisture.

Winterizing — at the end of the growing season, cutting back dead or withered growth; applying winter mulch of leaves, evergreen boughs or straw to prevent lifting of the roots during periods of alternate freezing and thawing; wrapping other perennials, shrubs and roses with additional protection, such as burlap.

Winterkill — the parts of growing plants and lawns that are felled by the winter.