Gardening & Horticulture
Dig deep into the topic of gardening and horticulture, which involves the cultivation of plants in public and domestic gardens. Ornamental plants, such as flowers and decorative grasses, are cultivated for their beauty, while useful plants and trees, like those that produce fruits and vegetables or are used as herbs, are grown for consumption, to use as dyes, or for medicinal purposes. Gardening tends to be distinguished from farming by the scale of operation—gardens usually involve smaller plots requiring individual attention, and farms operate on a larger scale, with the intent of growing crops as goods for sale.
Gardening is a popular hobby for beginners and experts, and requires little more than access to an open plot of land, some seeds to grow or plants, and a few tools such as a shovel. In more elaborate forms, a garden involves a complex design that can span several acres. Horticulture is a broad category that includes gardening as well as plant conservation, landscape restoration, soil management, landscape and garden design, construction, and arboriculture. It differs from farming in that it doesn’t include large-scale fruit or vegetable crop production or animal husbandry. Horticulture is an important part of agricultural studies in colleges and universities.
