gardens and yards

garden

I.   noun

I. gar‧den1 S1 W1 /ˈɡɑːdn $ ˈɡɑːr-/ noun
  [Word Family: noun: garden, gardener, gardening; verb: garden]
 [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old North French; Origin: probably from Vulgar Latin (hortus) gardinus 'enclosed (garden)']
 1. [countable] British English the area of land next to a house, where there are flowers, grass, and other plants, and often a place for people to sit SYN yard American English:
   • He’s outside in the garden.
   • Grace brought us some flowers from her garden.
  back/front garden (=at the back or front of the house)
 2. [countable] a part of the area next to a house, which has plants and flowers in it:
   • The house has a beautiful herb garden.
 3. gardens [plural] a large area of land where plants and flowers are grown so that the public can go and see them:
   • the Botanical Gardens at Kew
 4. Gardens British English used in the name of streets:
   • 211 Roland Gardens
  ⇨ kitchen garden, market garden, ⇨ lead somebody up the garden path at lead1(12)
     • • •

COLLOCATIONS(for Meanings 1 & 2)■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + garden

   ▪ overgrown (=covered with plants that have grown in an uncontrolled way) • The garden is getting rather overgrown.
   ▪ well-kept/tidy British English (also neat American English) • The hotel is set in a well-kept garden.
   ▪ untidy • There was a small untidy garden behind the house.
   ▪ the front garden British English (=at the front of a house) • Their house had a small front garden.
   ▪ the back garden British English (=behind a house) • The children are playing in the back garden.
   ▪ a flower/rose garden (=a garden planted with flowers/roses) • The cottage was surrounded by a flower garden.
   ▪ a kitchen garden British English (=where you grow fruit and vegetables) • The kitchen garden supplies vegetables to the manor house.
   ▪ a vegetable/herb garden (=where vegetables/herbs are grown) • Rows of lettuces had been sown in the vegetable garden.
   ▪ a rock garden (=a garden with rocks that have plants growing between them) • She helped me choose plants for the rock garden.

■ verbs

   ▪ water the garden • It hasn’t rained for a week – I should water the garden.
   ▪ weed the garden (=remove unwanted wild plants) • She was outside weeding the garden.
   ▪ plant a garden • They planted a beautiful rose garden in her memory.

■ garden + NOUN

   ▪ a garden shed (=a small building in the garden for storing tools and equipment) • We keep the lawnmower in the garden shed.
   ▪ garden tools (=tools that you use for digging, planting etc in the garden) • Choose the right garden tool and you’ll do the job properly.
   ▪ a garden centre British English, a garden center American English (=a shop selling plants and things for the garden) • I bought the plants at the garden centre.
   ▪ garden furniture (=chairs and tables used in a garden) • Garden furniture sells well when the weather is warm.
   ▪ a garden hose (=a long rubber tube used for watering a garden) • He accidentally left the garden hose running.
   ▪ a garden pond (=a small area of water in a garden) • The garden pond was full of fish.
   ▪ a garden gnome (=a stone or plastic figure in a garden, which looks like a little old man with a pointed hat) • Somebody had stolen one of their garden gnomes.
   ▪ the garden gate (= the gate between a garden and the street) • Martin was waiting by the garden gate.
   ▪ a garden path • Elaine walked up the garden path and into the house.
   ▪ garden waste (=grass, leaves etc that you have cut and do not want) • The brown bin is for garden waste.

■ phrases

   ▪ the bottom of the garden British English (=the end of the garden, away from the house) • There was a trampoline at the bottom of the garden.
 

THESAURUS■ areas and structures in a garden

   ▪ lawn [countable] an area of short grass in a garden: • They were sitting on the front lawn of the house.
   ▪ flowerbed [countable] an area of ground where you grow flowers: • The flowerbeds were well maintained.
   ▪ rockery [countable] British English an area of a garden where there are rocks with small flowers growing between them
   ▪ hedge [countable] a row of small bushes or trees growing close together, used for dividing one garden from another: • a beech hedge
   ▪ vegetable patch/plot [countable] (also kitchen garden British English) a part of a garden where you grow vegetables
   ▪ patio [countable] a flat stone area next to a house, where people sit outside
   ▪ decking [uncountable] a flat wooden area in a garden, where people can sit
   ▪ pond [countable] a small area of water in a garden
   ▪ water feature [countable] a small pool or structure with water running through it, used to make a garden look more attractive
   ▪ greenhouse [countable] a glass building where you can grow plants that need protection from the weather
   ▪ shed [countable] a small wooden building in a garden, where you can store things

■ work you do in a garden

   ▪ cut the grass/mow the lawn to cut grass using a machine: • I need to mow the lawn.
   ▪ trim a hedge to make a hedge look neater by cutting small pieces off it: • Hedges need to be trimmed regularly in summer.
   ▪ cut back/prune shrubs to cut pieces off a bush in order to make it grow better: • March is the ideal time for pruning roses.
   ▪ weed the flowerbeds/do some weeding to remove unwanted plants: • Dad was doing some weeding.
   ▪ sow seeds to put seeds in the ground: • The children had been sowing sunflower seeds.
   ▪ plant a plant/tree to put a plant or tree in the ground so that it will grow: • They’d planted a row of cherry trees.
   ▪ deadhead plants to remove the dead or dying flowers from a plant: • When deadheading roses, make sure you use sharp pruning scissors.