Ivydene Gardens Glossary: A

Abortive Barren; imperfectly developed or not developed at all.

Abscission Layer A layer of thin-walled cells formed between leaf-stalks and stems; and also between fruit stalks and stems before the leaves or fruits fall. It is at this layer that the break occurs. On the stem side of the abscission layer another corky layer is formed to seal the wound.

Acaricide A pesticide used to control mites.

Acaulescent A botanical term meaning stemless or practically stemless. The specific epithets 'acaulis' and 'acaule' are derived from the same root and are often applied to plants the flowers of which are either stemless or carried on extremely short stems.

Achene A botanical term for a seed vessel or fruit that is dry. It contains only 1 seed and does not split open along a clearly defined line or lines. The fruit of a buttercup is of this type.

Acicular A botanical term usually applied to leaves and meaning needle-shaped.

Acid (of soil) With a pH value of less than 7. Any substance that breaks down in water to leave a sour corrosive solution. Acid soil is the chemical opposite of alkaline soil.
The term is important to gardeners because soils are either acid, neutral or alkaline and this may have an important bearing on their fertility, the kinds of plants which they will grow and even the susceptibility which these plants may show to certain diseases. For example, most members of the heather family (Ericaceae), which includes heathers, rhododendrons, pieris and andromeda, will only thrive in soils which are to some extent acid. By contrast, most members of the brassica family, which includes cabbages, brussels sprouts and kale, succeed best in soils which are neutral or slightly alkaline; if planted in markedly acid soils they are often heavily infected with club root disease.
Acidity and alkalinity are usually expressed in terms of a scale which is known as the pH of the substance tested. If the substance is described as being pH 7.0 it is neutral. If it is described as having a pH above 7.0 it is alkaline, whereas if the figure is below 7.0 the substance is acid.In general the most satisfactory reaction for a garden soil in which many different plants are to be grown, is between pH 6.5 and pH 7.0. Soils with readings below 6.0 become difficult for many plants except those that thrive in acid conditions. Similarly, above pH 8.0 trouble may be experienced with many plants and there may be signs of severe mineral deficiency( a form of starvation), owing to the locking up of certain essential foods in the soil.
Any soil that is being cultivated extensively, will tend to become more acid in time and this increasing acaidity will be most rapid when heavy applications of dung or compost are made. It is part of the gardener's task to assess from time to time the acid-alkaline reaction of his soil and maintain at the level most suitable for the particular plants he proposes to cultivate.
In the British Isles, the degree of acidity of most soils is controlled by the amount of lime they contain. A soil containing free lime will always be to some degree alkaline and therefore unsuitable for the really acid-loving plants. It is however, possible for lime to be present in the soil without being free: this so-called 'active' lime(i.e. lime that has become combined with humus and the finest soil particles or 'colloids') is a vital constituent of all fertile soils. The less active lime there is, the more acid the soil will be usually; harmful acidity can, in consequence, always be remedied by giving dressings of lime. Acidity may be caused by an excess of organic matter in the soil and also by poor aeration. In consequence, besides treatment with lime as above, cultivation, which improves both aeration and drainage must be considered as possible methods of counter-acting acidity.

Acorn The fruit of the oak.

Acre An area of 4840 square yards.

Acuminate A botanical term usually applied to leaves, indicating that they taper to a rather long and narrow point; and that the sides of this point are themselves curved inwards.

Acute A botanical term applied to leaves, indicating termination in a sharp point. The term differs from acuminate in that in this instance the sides of the point are either straight or curved slightly outwards.

Adventitious A botanical term for a growth or organ produced by a plant at a place which would not normally have a growth or organ of that type. For example, if a young willow is cut off and inserted in the soil in autumn or winter, it will almost certainly produce roots from the base, and these are known as adventitious roots because they would not have produced had the branch been left to row on the tree. In the same way, if a tree is cut down, buds and, later, shoots may be produced near the top of the stump, despite the fact that there were no buds there previously. These are known as adventitious buds. It is sometimes possiblew to produce adventiotious growth by chemical means. For example, if one of the root-forming hormones is smeared or painted on the shoot of a growing plant, it is possible that a few weeks later roots will appear at this point despite the fact that the shoots may be nowhere near the soil and the roots are quite useless to the plant.

Aerate (of soil) Loosen by mechanical means in order to allow air (oxygen and carbon dioxide) to enter: for example, using a spiked roller to aerate a lawn.

Aeration Applied to gardening this means the presence of air spaces between the soil particles. A lawn which has been subject to heavy wear will become so consolidated that little or no air can penetrate the soil. To remedy this; the gardener perforates it with a spiked roller or even with the prongs of an ordinary garden fork, so letting in air and restoring the fertility of the soil.
Coarse sand is a usual ingredient of most seed and potting composts, because it prevents the more adhesive constituents of the mixture from binding too closely together and so excluding air. Digging, forking and hoeing - though necessary for other reasons - are also valuable because they increase aeration. In a soil which contains insufficient air, harmful bacteria and other micro-organisms thrive and acid conditions are rapidly produced.

Aerial root A plant root growing above ground to provide anchorage and, on an epiphyte, to absorb atmospheric moisture.
Aerial roots are most important to certain orchids, which in nature live on trees, where there is little or no soil. In consequence they obtain most of their nourishment from the moisture in the air; which they absorb by means of these aerial roots, as well as by their leaves. Some climbing plants cling by means of aerial roots, e.g. ivy.

Aerobic A term used to describe bacteria which require air, in contrast to those that can live without it and are therefore described as anaerobic. In general anaerobic bacteria are harmful from the garden standpoint whereas many aerobic bacteria perform useful functions such as releasing the plant food stored in organic matter. Part of the benefit gained by soil cultivation is due to the fact that it permits air to penetrate more freely and so stimulate aerobic and discourages aeroboc bacteria.

Aggregate The hard material used to form the bulk of concrete or to act as the rooting medium in soilless cultivation. Gravel and sand are the materials most commonly employed, but broken clinkers are sometimes used.

Air Layering A method of rooting branches of shrubs by wounding them, encasing the wound in damp sphagnum moss, and covering this with a sleeve of thin polythene.

Alkaline (of soil) With a pH value of more than 7. An alkali is a mineral salt that occurs in dry or arid soils. Alkaline is used to describe such soils. The term comes from chemistry, where an alkali forms a soluble base or solution of a base (a base being a chemical compound).

Allelopathic The deleterious interaction between two organisms or cell types. Allelopathy is seen between different species of plant.

Alpine A plant that grows above the tree line in mountainous regions; loosely applied to rock garden plants that may be grown at relatively low altitudes.

Alpine house An unheated, well-ventilated greenhouse used for cultivating alpine and bulbous plants.

Alternate (of leaves) Occurring successively at different levels on opposite sides of a stem.

Anemone-centred (of flowers) Flowers or flowerheads in which the central petals or flowers (modified stamens form a cushion-like mound and the outer rim of petals or ray florets are flat and spreading, as in some chrysanthemums).

Annual A plant that completes its life cycle (germination-flowering-seeding-dying) in one growing season (see also Biennial, Perennial).

Anther The part of a stamen that produces pollen: usually borne on a filament.

Arbour A leafy glade or bower shaded by trees, vines or shrubs (see also Bower).

Aquatic Any plant that grows in water; it may be free-floating, totally submerged, or rooted on the pond bottom with leaves and flowers above the water surface.

Asclepiad A member of the family Asclepiadaceae

Asexual reproduction A form of reproduction not involving fertilisation and in propagation often involving mechanical methods.

Auxins Naturally occurring or artificially synthesised plant growth substances controlling shoot growth, root formation, and other physiological processes in plants.

Awn A sharp point or bristle, commonly found on a glume of a grass inflorescence.

Axil The upper angle between a leaf and a stem, between a main stem and a lateral branch, or between a stem and a bract

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Aged Poodle.

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa , taking her  faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.

One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost.. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading  rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the  bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about  to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of  terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him  heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that connivin canine!

Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog  sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says.

"Where's that monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!

Moral of this story....

Don't mess with old ones...age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! Bullshit and brilliance only come with age and experience.

Art from Telephones and their Cable

Argyranthemum 'Madeira Machio'

A new slant to the meaning of the word communication!

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