Gardening – Part 3

Garden Essentials

Aside from plants, a garden can be a refuge, an entertainment center.  Romantics propose and get married in gardens; some use it as a place to argue so that the children or guests don’t have to hear the heated exchange of words.

For this third and final series on gardening vocabulary, I compiled a list of terms of garden tools, components and accessories.  When I say “final series”, I don’t mean that this theme is forever closed.  Lexicons for plants and gardens are numerous and I shall re-start a series at a future time and add more terms.

Take your typical home in the suburbs with a garden.  What do you see?

FRENCH	ENGLISH
chaise longue	lounging chair
barbecue au gaz	gas grill
piscine hors terre	above-ground pool
appareil de nettoyage automatique pour piscine hors-terre	automatic above-ground pool cleaner
hamac	folding hammock
tapis d’extérieur	outdoor rug

You need not travel to far away places to enjoy the esthetics and symmetry of gardens.  Two dominant types of gardens have influenced the landscape and development of gardens:  French and English.  But nowadays distinctions blur, as more and more people prefer to mix elements taken from both styles.  In fact, most people who like recreational gardening don’t really pay attention to principles and methods.  They learn as they go!

Despite the recession, people are spending their money to embellish their gardens.  As one gardener said,  “why not, my garden is my safe haven.”  According to a report by Beth Johnston of Sun Media, this year’s hot ticket is the strawberry vanilla hydrangea.  The red Mandeville (an annual) is also popular.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
jardinière à 3 tablettes	3-tier plant holder
paniers à suspendre	hanging baskets
topiaire de cèdre artificiel	artificial cedar topiary
abri-moustiquaire	screen house
parasol de patio	patio umbrella

If you like to entertain in your garden, you’ll need…

FRENCH	ENGLISH
table de bout carrée en bois dur pour l’extérieur	hardwood outdoor square end table
desserte/porte bouteille	wine rack/serving rack
coffre à roulettes	deck box with wheels
ustensiles de cuisine	kitchen utensils
sac à rebut	waste bag
brocs	pitchers

Some fancy items for the garden include…

FRENCH	ENGLISH
marqueurs pour plantes	plant marker sets
housse de balancelle	patio swing cover
carillon éolien en bois	wooden wind chimes
vasque décorative pour oiseaux	decorative bird baths

Next week, I’ll start a new theme – summer sports!

Gardening - Part 2: Flowers!

Today we continue our gardening theme and give you 20 different flowers in French and English.  Ah flowers…they replace words of love and probably do a better job in healing the sick and uplifting the downtrodden.  They stir the poet in each of us. 

(Note:  images of the flowers here are from Wikipedia, not from my garden)

Landscaping and gardening experts say that spring is the best time of the year to plant.  They advise adding a root stimulant like bone meal or mycorrhizae to encourage roots and healthy growth.  Broken branches must be pruned and the surface must be covered with mulch.  The soil has to be moist until the plant is “settled in.” 

When shopping for flowers – especially perennials and annuals – examine their leaves.  Inspect the undersides to make sure there are no pests or signs of disease or decay.

One thing to remember about annuals:  they can’t survive the winter so they have to be replanted every year unless you choose re-seeding annuals.  Perennials will keep though.  Perennial bulbs like daffodils and tulips will remain in the ground throughout winter.  This way you don’t need to dig them up and store them during autumn.

A writer mentioned an interesting thing about edible flowers.  There are some species that you can eat, but do be careful:  you can eat only the petals, and don’t eat edible flowers that you buy at stores unless you’re 100% sure that they were not sprayed with chemicals.  Eat them in small quantities first, in case you’re allergic.  Lastly, don’t eat those that you plucked out of the roadside – think “exhaust” and “pollution.”

The 20 flowers below are a mix of annuals (A), perennials (P), bulbs (B) and others (O).  The letters follow the English names. 

FRENCH	ENGLISH
Amarante	Amaranth (A)
Amaryllis	Amaryllis (B)
Arctotis hybrid	African Daisy (A)
Campanules	Blanketflowers (P)
Crête-de-qoc	Cockscomb (A)
Digitale poupre	Foxglove (P)
Fougère	Fern (O)
Hortensia	Hydrangea (O)
Jasmin trompette	Trumpet Vine ((O)
Liatride	Blazing Star (B)
Lis de paques	Easter Lily (O)
Narcisse des près	Daffodils (B)
Narcissus tazette papyraceus	Paperwhite (B)
Oeillet giroflée	Carnation (P)
Pied d’alouette	Larkspur (A)
Racine de pivoine	Peony (P)
Rose trémière	Hollyhock (P)
Tulipe	Tulip (B)
Violette d’Usambara	African Violet (O)
Violette pied d’oiseau	Pansy (A)

I’ve been watching this TV ad promoting a product called Roll N Grow.  It’s a cloth-like piece of padding that you can put in pots, beds and along the edge of your driveway.  It contains 1,000 seeds and claims that when used, there is no need to do any weeding, hoeing, and all the prep work required before planting flowers.  The company’s web site is www.rollngrow.com.

Has anyone ever tried it?

Gardening: Part 1

The store flyers are out.  From fertilizers to weeding tools to garden hats, we’re reminded that it’s that time again to tend to our gardens.  Soon the nursery a few blocks from my place will be packed with green and not-so-green thumbs hauling heavy bags of soil and outdoor ornaments into the trunks of their cars.  Thanks to their zeal and creativity, neighbourhood yards will come alive with the colors of spring.

I don’t have space for a garden because I live in a condo building although there is a tiny plot of land out front where I could plant some dainty flowers to break the monotony of red brick and concrete. 

As Cicero once said, "he who has a garden and a library wants for nothing.”

Gardening and landscaping experts advise that the choice of plants and flowers must be based on the type of soil and climate of a given geographical area.  Any garden project must consider the sun’s intensity, soil conditions and the amount of rainfall. 

This week, let’s build a French-English gardening lexicon:

For starters, decor items and fertilizers!

FRENCH	ENGLISH
pierre décorative	decorative stone
galet doré	pea pebble
pierre de rivière	river stone
argile broyée	brick chips
paillis rouge	red mulch
paillis noir	black mulch
paillis de cèdre	cedar mulch
ecaille de cacao	cocoa shell mulch
semence à gazon	grass seed
terre noire	black earth
fumier de mouton	sheep manure
engrais verdissant pour pelouse	green-up lawn fertilizer
grazonneur	turf starter
terreau de tourbe avec fumier	manured peat loam
gazon supplément de croissance	turf growth supplement
pâturage fertilisé	fertilized pasture
carreaux de parterre	lawn tile
mélanges de gramineés à gazon	lawn/turf grass mixture
teneur d’un engrais	fertilizer grade
distributeur d’engrais	fertilizer spreader

 

Tip:  It is safe to mow your lawn after the fertilizer you have applied has been rained on or watered.