Plants & Flowers

aerial root: Roots produced along the stem above ground, mainly by monopodial plants. They usually do not enter the medium.

air plants: Air plants (also called epiphytes) are plants that live attached to a plant (or other structure like a telephone pole or a building) and not in the ground). Epiphytes are not parasites; they get water and nutrients from the air (and not from their host).

alpines: Small shrubs or perennials that grow naturally in mountainous areas; often used in rockeries.

angiosperm: Angiosperms (meaning “covered seed”) are flowering plants. They produce seeds enclosed in fruit (an ovary). They are the dominant type of plant today; there are over 250,000 species. Their flowers are used in reproduction. Angiosperms evolved about 145 million years ago. They became the dominant land plants about 100 million years ago (edging out conifers, a type of gymnosperm).

annuals plants: Annuals are plants that live for a year or less based on Latin ‘annus’, meaning ‘year’. Annuals are also known as seasonal flowering plants which flower only for three to four months. They are normally grown through seeds. They grow, flower, make more seeds and die, within a year. Annuals are great for creating instant effect and adding color to your garden. Planting annuals also gives you the option of changing the layout of your garden after a year. Most annuals are tender and some of them like phlox look beautiful and are excellent as borders and hedges.

bamboo: Bamboo is a fast-growing monocot grass of the Poaceae family, characterised by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem.

bedding plants: Bedding Plants are usually used to fill gaps in the borders for a temporary affect. Once flowering is complete they can be disposed of.

biennials plants: A plant that takes two years to grow from seed to fruition, bloom and die or a plant that lasts two years is a biennial, based on Latin ‘biennis’ meaning ‘two years’. These are also seasonal flowering plants that flower only in the second year of planting. After blooming, they don’t perform well the following year or become untidy and then dies. To have blooms year after year with biennial flowers, you have to plant seeds every year.

bulbs: A bulb is a specific stem structure which is planted beneath the soil and stays underground. Roots grow down from it, and stem and leaves grow up from it. Most bulb plants have a dormant (resting) period during which there is no growth visible. Bulb plants grow, flower, then the leaves remain for sometime and disappear completely until next year. They are easy to grow and guaranteed to bloom.

cacti: A cactus is any member of the plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. Cacti are unusual and distinctive plants, which are adapted to extremely arid and/or semi-arid hot environments, as well as tropical environments as epiphytes or hemi-epiphytes. They show a wide range of anatomical and physiological features which conserve water. Their stems have adapted to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have become the spines for which cacti are well known.

climbers: These are the plants with soft stems that grow only with a support. They rely on something else for support; another plant, a wall or trellis. Different types of climbers have devised many crafty ways to hold on to whatever they grasp.

conifers: Conifers are similar to trees but there are a number of biological differences, most are evergreen but some are deciduous. They make great architectural features in a garden, particularly planted in groups, they also provide excellent ground cover.

creepers: These plants can be grown along the top of the compound wall or as a cover for walls, or at the entrance as an arch.

deciduous plants: Deciduous plants lose their leaves seasonally, usually for the dry season.

evergreens: An evergreen retains it’s leaves throughout the year.

epiphytes: Epiphytes are plants that live attached to a plant (or other structure like a rock) and not in the ground. Epiphytes are not parasites; they get water and nutrients from the air (and not their host).

ferns: A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants. Unlike mosses they have xylem and phloem (making them vascular plants). They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants. Ferns do not have either seeds or flowers (they reproduce via spores).

flowering plants: Flowering plants are angiosperm: plants having seeds in a closed ovary and producing fruits.

foliage plants: Decorative plants cultivated for their ornamental leaves. The flowers of such plants are often insignificant.

fruit: Plants that are grown for their fruit. They can be trees, shrubs or perennials.

ground cover: Low growing, spreading shrubs which can cover a large area of ground. They suppress weeds and require very little attention.

grasses: Grasses are a group of flowering plants (angiosperms) that belong to the family Graminae.

gymnosperms: Gymnosperms (meaning “naked seeds”) are seed-bearing plants that don’t produce flowers.

hanging plants: Hanging baskets can be a creative way to utilise restricted or waste space where you can parade your plants, inside or outside. Ferns, trailing Fuchsias, ground covers and other hanging plants or similar can appear sensational when the foliage cascades over the edge of the hanging basket.

hardy plants: A hardy plant is one that can withstand the extremes of climate, like frost.

hedges: Hedges are trees or shrubs which are planted close together to form a continuous row. They are usually cut to maintain a particular shape and height.

herb: An herb is a seed plant that does not have a woody stem. Every year, herbaceous plants produce a completely new stem.

heterophyllous: A heterophyllous (meaning “other leaf”) plant or branch has two or more different leaf shapes on it. Although these leaves have different shapes, they have similar internal anatomical organizations.

hybrid: A hybrid is the offspring of two organisms that belong to different breeds, varieties, species or genera.

hydrophyte: A hydrophyte is a plant that grows in water or in water-logged soil. Hydrophytes have a reduced root system, reduced support and vascular systems, and specialized leaves.

indoor plants: A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as residences and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes and health reasons such as indoor air purification. Plants used in this fashion are most commonly, though not always, tropical or semi-tropical.

landscape plants: Landscape Plants are plants that are loose, straggly in growth habit. Landscape Plants would be similar to native American plants.

mesophyte: A mesophyte is a plant that has moderate water requirements.

ornamental grasses: Ornamental grasses thrive in open positions in full sun in the herbaceous border, as a specimen plant or in containers.

ornamental trees: Tress can be flowering trees, fruit trees, shade trees, ornamentals etc. Flowering trees or ornamental trees would be ideal for a home garden. Trees take a number of years to mature.

outdoor plants: Plants suitable to thrive in gardens and parks.

palm: Palm is any plant of the family Palmae having an unbranched trunk crowned by large pinnate or palmate leaves.

perennials plants: The Latin ‘perennis’ means ‘many years’. Perennials are those flowering plants that last longer and keep on flowering. Most take two years until they are old enough to bloom. Once you plant them there is no need for replanting year after year. But they are not a good option, if you want to change the layout of the garden frequently.

pot plants: Pot plant is a plant suitable for growing in a flowerpot (especially indoors).

rhizome: A rhizome is a thick, horizontal underground stem (not a root) of a plant, that grows close to the ground. Rhizomes have nodes and scale-like leaves; roots form on the lower surface and new shoots can form at nodes.

shrubs: Shrubs are woody plants smaller than trees, having a short stem with branches near the ground.

succulent plants: Succulent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants, are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climate or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaves, stems and/or roots.

trees: Woody perennial usually with a clean main stem with branches above. Most trees are deciduous but there are some evergreens.

tropophytes: a yearly cycle with one season in which water is unavailable to plants because of lack of precipitation or because the soil water is frozen. This season alternates with one in which there is abundant water.

tubers: Bulb stems or roots with food stores which looks like a potato.

vegetables: Plants that are grown to provide food. The edible part can be roots, stems or leaves.

xerophyte: A xerophyte is a plant that is adapted to very dry conditions (like deserts and the emergent level of the rainforest). Their adaptations include small or absent leaves, small, sunken stomata, and thick cuticles.

water plants: Usually perennials that have adapted to growing in water (aquatics) or wet soil (bog plants).