Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
-
Scion
In grafting, the piece of plant stem of the desired variety that is grafted onto the rooted stock (or rootstock) and subsequently grows, comprising all the branches, flowers and fruit of the grafted plant.
-
Scale insect
Small sap-sucking insects of the family Coccidae (coccids), which in their adult phase are stationary on leaf and stem surfaces, coating themselves with an adhesive waxy shell which repels water and makes them difficult to eradicate. They can cause considerable damage to longer-lived plants such as trees and shrubs and are unsightly as well.
-
Sand
The coarsest of the mineral components of soils, easily detected as grit by rubbing a pinch of soil between the fingers. Most sand is almost pure silica (quartz), one of the hardest and most insoluble minerals and containing no plant nutrients. Washed sand has many horticultural uses. Fine grains of disintegrated rock.
-
Rust fungus
Any of a large group of plant-parasitic fungi characterized by the production of tiny but profuse spore-bodies that erupt from the host plant’s leaves or stems, usually yellow, orange or rusty brown in color. Wheat rust is the most economically significant, but poplar rust is one of the most commonly and easily seen.
-
Rock garden
A garden or area of a larger garden constructed mainly of large rocks, carefully arranged as they might occur in nature. Not to be confused with the more humble rockery, which is usually smaller and less ambitious in scope.
-
Reed
A tall grass that grows in shallow water or boggy ground. The common reed is Phragmites australis, a species of worldwide occurrence.
-
Pseudowhorls
Apparent whorls of leaves, which on close examination are seen to be spirally arranged, the result of seasonal growth patterns in which the leaves are crowded at the end of a branch’s growth spurt. Rhododendrons are an example.
-
Pot
A container for growing plants, roughly cylindrical in shape with a drainage hole or holes in the bottom. Traditionally made from terracotta, pots are now mostly plastic. Pots larger than about 15 in (50 cm) diameter are generally referred to as tubs. Potpourri A mix of sweet-smelling dried herbs and petals, usually placed in a…
-
Picotee
A pattern of coloration in flowers, achieved mainly in carnation (Dianthus) cultivars, in which the petals each have a narrow border of strongly contrasting color giving the flower a lacy effect.
-
Pergola
A structure built in the garden, usually with walls or posts and a roof of open beams, on which climbing plants can be grown. A pergola may be circular or square, or elongated and open at the ends, forming a passageway.
Got any book recommendations?