Terms Used By Gardeners

=Mulching=--Term used for applying manure in a thick layer round the roots

of shrubs, as a protection from frost.



=Pricking off=--Transplanting seedlings into separate pots.



="Eyes"=--Incipient leaf-buds.



="Heel"=--The hardened part of a cutting, formed where it is joined to the

original plant.



=Annual=--Lasting one year.



=Biennial=--Lasting two years.



=Perennial=--Lasting several years.



=Herbaceous=--Term applied to plants which die down completely every

winter.



=Deciduous=--Not ever-green; this term is applied to trees the leaves of

which fall off every autumn.



=Suckers=--Shoots that spring up from the common stock, as distinct from

those which belong to the engrafted portion.



=Pegging down=--Bending branches down close to the ground, and securing

them with a peg.



=Runners=--Separate little plants, issuing from the parent, and ultimately

rooting for themselves.



=Spit=--A spade's depth.



="Strike"=--A term applied to cuttings making roots.



=Pinching out=--Rubbing off undesirable shoots.



="Blind"=--A term applied to plants which turn out flowerless.



=Heeling in=--The process of temporarily covering plants with soil, till

the weather is suitable for setting them out in their permanent quarters.



=Carpet-bedding=--The geometrical arrangement of plants.