Gardening Blog!!
Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space.[1] Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of aesthetically pleasing areas, medicines, cosmetics, dyes, foods, poisons, wildlife habitats, and saleable goods (see market gardening). People often partake in gardening for its therapeutic, health, educational, cultural, philosophical, environmental, and religious benefits.[2]
Gardening varies in scale from the 800 hectare Versailles gardens[3] down to container gardens grown inside. Gardens take many forms, some only contain one type of plant while others involve a complex assortment of plants with no particular order.
Gardening can be difficult to differentiate from farming. They are most easily differentiated based on their primary objectives. Farming prioritizes saleable goods and may include livestock production whereas gardening often prioritizes aesthetics and leisure. As it pertains to food production, gardening generally happens on a much smaller scale with the intent of personal or community consumption.[4] There are cultures which do not differentiate between farming and gardening.[5] This is primarily because subsistence agriculture has been the main method of farming throughout its 12,000 year history and is virtually indistinguishable from gardening.[6][7]
Prehistory
[edit]Plant domestication is seen as the birth of agriculture. However, it is arguably preceded by a very long history of gardening wild plants. While the 12,000 year-old date is the commonly accepted timeline describing plant domestication, there is now evidence from the Ohalo II hunter-gatherer site showing earlier signs of disturbing the soil and cultivation of pre-domesticated crop species.[8] This evidence pushes early stage plant domestication to 23,000 years ago which aligns with research done by Allaby (2022) showing slight selection pressure of desirable traits in Southwest Asian cereals (einkorn, emmer, barley).[9] Despite not qualifying as plant domestication, there are many archaeological studies pushing the potential date of hominin selective ecosystem disturbance back up to 125,000 years ago.[10] Much of these early recorded ecosystem disturbances were made through hominin use of fire, which dates back to 1.5 Mya (although at this time fire was not likely being wielded as a landscape-changing tool by hominids).[11] This anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance may be the origins of gardening.
Every hunter-gatherer society has developed a niche of some sort, allowing them to thrive or even just survive amongst their environments.[12] Many of these prehistoric hunter-gatherers had constructed a niche allowing for easier access to, or a higher amount of edible plant species.[13] This shift from hunting and gathering to increasingly modifying the environment in a way which produces an abundance of edible plant species marks the beginning of gardening.[14] One of the most documented hominin niches is the use of off-site fire.[15] When done intentionally, this is often called forest gardening or fire stick farming in Australia.[16] The modern study of fire ecology describes the many benefits off-site fires may have granted these early humans.[17] Some of these agroecological practices have been well documented and studied during colonial contact. However, they are vastly under represented in research done on early hominin fire use.[18] Based on current research, it is evident that these niches developed separately in different societies across different times and locations.[19] Many of the Indigenous gardening methods were and still are often overlooked by colonizers due to the lack of resemblance to western gardens with well defined borders and non-naturalized plant species.[20]
Previously Featured
Keep up with the latest events and news in the world of gardening.
3.20.2025 - Beat the heat with these tough landscape plants.
3.13.2025 - Add four-season interest to your garden with this beautiful spring-flowering tree.
3.6.2025 - Create an outdoor sanctuary that draws upon the healing powers of nature.
2.20.2025 - Learn about this intriguing prehistoric tree and how to use it in your yard.
2.13.2025 - Create a captivating home landscape in a challenging desert environment.
2.6.2025 - Use captivating chartreuse plants to liven up your garden and landscape.
1.30.2025 - Easy-care plants perfect for creating a self-sustaining miniature garden.
1.23.2025 - Add year-round interest to small spaces with these versatile landscape plants.
1.16.2025 - Undaunted by snow and cold temperatures, winter is the time for these arctic beauties to shine.
12.19.2024 - 12 inspiring ideas to kick off your gardening year.
12.12.2024 - Add instant color to your landscape with these fast-growing shrubs.
12.5.2024 - A small urban backyard turned gathering place for family and friends.
11.21.2024 - One of the most versatile colors, white has many uses in the landscape.
11.14.2024 - Add a touch of the tropics to any indoor space with this beautiful houseplant.
11.7.2024 - Fine tune your pruning skills for happy and healthy plants.
10.31.2024 - Add a unique specimen to your houseplant collection.
10.24.2024 - Improve the health and productivity of your garden with the no-till method.
10.17.2024 - Deal with challenging clay soil by choosing plants that will thrive.
10.10.2024 - This extraordinary Napa, CA garden blends plants, art, and history.
10.3.2024 - Remedies for preventing budworms from ruining your flowering plants.
9.26.2024 - This low-maintenance perennial grass flourishes in shady gardens.
9.19.2024 - A Missouri woman rekindles her passion, discovering healing along the way.
9.12.2024 - Bring color, texture, and beauty to your garden with 20 fall-blooming superstars.
9.5.2024 - See a compact Chicago garden that encourages wonder and appreciation.
8.29.2024 - Learn when and how to prune your hydrangea plants for best bloom results.
8.22.2024 - Create a carpet of color in your garden with these showy selections.
8.15.2024 - Add texture, movement, and long-lasting color to your summer landscape.
8.8.2024 - Learn how and when to prune lavender for healthier, fuller plants.
8.1.2024 - Plant these shrubs in your landscape to reduce damage caused by deer.
7.25.2024 - Containers can look beautiful while also solving many garden challenges.
7.18.2024 - This colorful plant makes a versatile addition to beds, borders, and pots.
7.11.2024 - Reduce problems by eliminating invasive plants; learn what to plant instead.
6.27.2024 - Tips on planting and caring for potted lavender & container-friendly varieties.
6.20.2024 - Ramp up your garden’s delight with unique and surprising plant features.
6.13.2024 - Add these tough plants to your landscape for low-maintenance color.
6.6.2024 - Take cues from nature and create a lush woodland sanctuary in your yard.
5.30.2024 - Discover Eucomis, an exotic summer-blooming bulb.
5.23.2024 - Create harmony & rhythm between areas of your garden with design echoes.
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