garden

Pluralgardens

Formsgardens, gardening, gardened

1. 1
   where plants grownouncountable

   An area of ground where flowers, vegetables, or other plants are grown for food or beauty, whether beside a home or open to the public.

   Every spring she fills the garden with herbs and vegetables.

   A small garden of native wildflowers wrapped around the cottage.

   Similarplot, patch

   Note

   A garden was first a fenced-in plot. John Parkinson, writing in 1629 of a "Garden of Pleasure," sets the ornamental garden beside the useful one. That split is still heard in vegetable garden and flower garden. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • John Parkinson's relevant gardening work was first published in 1629. gutenberg.org
   • Parkinson used the exact words Garden of Pleasure. gutenberg.org
   • Parkinson treats ornamental and food gardens alongside one another. gutenberg.org
2. 2
   grow plantsverbintransitive

   To grow plants in a garden, or to create and look after one.

   Retirees often garden to stay active and spend time outdoors.

   She has gardened on this plot for over thirty years.

3. 3
   yardnoundialectalAppalachiaBritishIrelandNew York Citycountable

   The yard or grounds lying in front of or behind a house.

   Their terraced house has a small garden at the back.

   He spent Sunday mowing the lawn in the front garden.

   UsageElsewhere in American speech this ground is usually a yard: front garden, front yard.

   Similaryard

   Note

   Here the word covers the ordinary ground around a home, front or back. That ground may hold flower beds, a lawn, a swing set or a swimming pool.

4. 4
   nounbefore a noun

   Taking place in, or intended for use in, a garden.

   The hotel hosted the wedding reception in its garden pavilion.

   He stored the garden hose in the shed for winter.

   Note

   Placed before another noun, the word becomes a label for whatever belongs outdoors among the plants: a garden party, a garden path, a garden spade. In An Autobiography (1977), Agatha Christie remembers the garden parties before 1914 for their muslin frocks, leghorn hats and ices. Her memory shows how far such a compound can drift from horticulture toward a social occasion. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Agatha Christie wrote An Autobiography, first published in 1977. en.wikipedia.org
   • Christie recalls garden parties before 1914 with muslin frocks, leghorn hats and ices. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   ordinaryadjective

   Common, ordinary, or of an everyday, domesticated kind.

   The diagnosis was common or garden flu, easily treated at home.

   It's a garden-variety scam that fools the unwary every year.

   UsageMostly in garden-variety or common or garden, meaning nothing special.

   Similarordinary, common, everyday, commonplace, standard

   Oppositeunusual, extraordinary, exotic, rare

   Note

   The link to the noun is domestication. What grows in a garden is the tame, everyday kind, not the wild or rare one. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The ordinary sense is linked to familiar, domesticated garden plants. en.wiktionary.org
   • Gardens can contain wildflowers; the contrast describes the figurative image, not everything that grows in gardens. rhs.org.uk
6. 6
   street namenouncountableplural

   Used in street names, usually in the plural as Gardens, for a road or street, sometimes one built on former garden ground.

   The address reads 12 Cherry Tree Gardens, in the old part of town.

   Diamond dealers have done business on Hatton Garden in London for well over a century.

   UsagePart of the proper name, with a capital: 32 Windsor Gardens is an address, not a park.

   Similarstreet, lane, road

   Note

   Street names borrow the plural and capitalize it, so 32 Windsor Gardens is an address, not a park. Some such streets do run over ground that was once planted, but the name alone promises nothing green. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • 32 Windsor Gardens is an address rather than a park name. paddingtonbearexperience.com
   • Some streets called Gardens occupy former garden ground, but this is not a necessary feature. en.wiktionary.org

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