Gardening

Gardeningan activity,artcraftgrowing plants, most often inabout one's residence, inspace referredasgarden. A garden whichin close proximityone's residencealso known asresidential garden. Althoughgarden typicallylocated onsurface areas within, surrounding or adjacent toresidence,may also be locatedless traditional areas such as onroof,an atrium, onbalcony,windowboxes or onpatio.

"Indoor gardening"concerned withgrowinghousehold plants withinresidence, inconservatory orgreenhouse. The plants grown inconservatory or greenhouse may or may not require more exacting careconditions than ordinary household plants. Indoor gardenssometimes incorporated as partair conditioning or heating systems.

"Water gardening"concerned withgrowingplants suitablepoolsponds. Bog gardensalso considered astypewater garden. These require special conditionsconsiderations.

Gardening also takes placenon-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens such as botanical gardens or zoological gardens, amusementtheme parks, along transportation corridorsaround tourist attractions.

Tablecontents

1 The purposegardening 2 Gardening vs. farming 3 Further definitions 4 Gardening as an art 5 Social aspect 6 History 7 Notable gardeners 8 Internal linksresources

The purposegardening

Plantsgrown forvarietyutilitariannon-utilitarian purposes. Among these are:

Utilitarian purposes:

• food
• feed
• medicine
• dyes
• raw materials forproductionclothingcrafts

Non-utilitarian purposes:

• beauty
• inspiration
• communionnature
• recreation

Vegetables, fruits, herbs, shade trees, shrubs, grasseses, herbaceous perennialssflowersall growngardens— sometimes theygrown together insame garden, but not always.

Fruitnut treesmore commonly consideredform an orchard, though theysometimes an adjunct togarden.

Whenvarietyplant typesgrown togethernative species,combinationsometimes calledwild garden. Theseembeddedsome pre-existing natural ecology thatnot damaged but rather enhanced byprocesscultivation. Asother formsgardening, aesthetics playscentral roledeciding what'right', but constraints apply. Wild gardensby definition exampleswater-wise gardening, asnatural speciesany ecoregion or micro-climatethose optimallocal water supplies.

Gardening vs. farming

In respectits food producing purpose, gardeningdistinguished from farming chiefly by scaleintent. Farming occurs onlarger scale,withproductionsaleable goods asmajor motivation. Gardeningdone onsmaller scale, primarilypleasure andproduce goods forgardener's own family or community. Theresome overlap betweenterms, particularlythat some moderate sized vegetable growing concerns can fiteither category.

The key distinction between fruitvegetable gardeningfarmingessentially onescale: gardening can behobby or an income supplement, but farminggenerally understood asfull-time or commercial activity, usually involving more landquite different practices. The key distinctionthat gardeninglabor-intensiveemploys very little infrastructural capital, typically no more thanfew tools, e.g.spade, hoe, basketwatering can. By contrast, larger-scale farming often involves irrigation systems, chemical fertilizersharvesters or at least ladders, e.g.reach up into fruit trees.

In part becauselabor intensivityaesthetic motivations, gardeningvery often much more productive per unitland than farming. InSoviet Union, halffood supply came from small peasants' garden plots onhuge government-run collective farms, althoughwere tiny patchesland. Some argue this as evidencesuperioritycapitalism, sincepeasants were generally ablesell their produce. Others consider itbe evidence oftragedy ofcommons, sincelarge collective plots were often neglected, or fertilizers or water redirected toprivate gardens.

The term precision agriculturesometimes useddescribe such economically viable formsgardening using intermediate technology (more than tools, less than harvesters), especiallyorganic varieties. Gardeningeffectively scaled upfeed entire villagesover 100 people from specialized plots. A variant iscommunity garden which offers plotsurban dwellers. See also allotment (gardening).

Further definitions

In China,instance, farmers regularly set up outhouses onroadsattract touristsuse them, furnishingfarmers"night soil" (biosolids)foodpigs, whofed primarily on human sewage. These methods make excellent usecaloriesmineralswater, butcourse violateaestheticsmost Westerners, who would balk at using stranger's human wastes on their own gardens or feeding themdomestic animals. Therethus some conflict between gardeningpersonal or aesthetic reasons,for practical food-raising, evenone household.

The living wallan unusual variant ofliving machineis effectivelyvertical garden: water dripping down feedssurface growingmossvines, other plants, some insectsbacteria,captured atbottom inpool or pondbe recirculated totop. Onesometimes built indoorshelp cure sick building syndrome or otherwise increaseoxygen levelsrecirculated air.

Gardening as an art

Gardeningconsideredbe an absolutely essential artmost cultures. In Japan,instance, SamuraiZen monks were often requiredbuild decorative gardens or practice related skills like flower arrangement (Ikebana).

See also: Landscape architecture

Social aspect

In modern EuropeNorth America, people often express their political or social viewsgardens, intentionally or not. The Green partiesGreenpeace often advise their campaignerscall first on homeowners who have lush chaotic wild gardens, as thesedeemedbe more likely than thoseAstro-turf or bluegrass lawnsrespond toGreens' political message. No reliable statistics support such claims, butmany years, inUnited States, there waswidespread belief that there was suchthing asRepublican lawnDemocratic lawn.

The lawn vs. garden issueplayed outurban planning asdebate over"land ethic" that isdetermine urban land usewhether hyperhygienist, e.g. weed control, bylaws should apply, or whether land should generally be allowedexistits natural wild state. Infamous Canadian CharterRights case, "Sandra Bell vs. CityToronto", 1997,rightcultivate all native species, even most varieties deemed noxious or allergenic, was upheld as part ofrightfree expression, at leastCanada.

Gardeningthus not only an essential food sourceart, but also -right. The Slow Food movement has soughtsome countriesadd an edible schoolyardgarden classroomsschools, e.g.Fergus, Ontario, where these were added topublic schoolaugmentkitchen classroom.

In U.S. usagecare, installation,maintenanceornamental plantings inaround commercialinstitutional buildingscalled landscaping, landscape maintenance or groundskeeping, while international usage usesterm gardeningthese same activities.

History

Gardeningfood extends far back into prehistory. Ornamental gardensknownancient times (the Hanging GardensBabylon),ancient Rome had dozensgardens. See Historygardening articlemore information, includingListhistorical garden types, as well asListnotable historical gardens.

Notable gardeners

Theophrastus, Lucullus, Tiberius, Pliny, John Tradescant, Carolus Clusius, Andre le Notre, William Kent, Lancelot "Capability" Brown, A. J. Downing, Frederick Law Olmstead, Gertrude Jekyll, Vita Sackville-West, Russell Page, Luis Barragan, Humphrey Repton.

Internal linksresources

Allotment - Arboretum - Bonsai - Botanical gardens - Fountains - Herbaceous border - Home economics - Landscape garden - Lawn - Lawnmower - Listgarden plants - Listgardensfiction - Listnotable historical gardens - Listorganic gardeningfarming topics - Local food - Organic gardening - Patio garden - Parterre - Permaculture - Raised bed gardening - Rock garden - Roof garden - Topiary - Vegetable farming - Xeriscaping