Glossary

Glossary

Cold frame

Cold frame: An unheated box with a hinged or removable glass lid, which can be used in a similar way as an unheated greenhouse. This protects plants from rain and wind and provides some insulation from temperature fluctuations. Cold frames are used for propagation, hardening off, and winter protection of plants.

Garden hygiene

Everyday tidying up - collecting fallen leaves, removing diseased growth and debris, cleaning tools, weeding, and not allowing neglected areas to become breeding grounds for pests and disease.

Mulching mower

A mower producing more finely shredded grass clippings than an ordinary rotary lawn mower. Mulching mowers are easier and lighter to use than mowers with grass collection boxes. They are suitable for amenity and family lawns - not for fine lawns. The fallen clippings may protect the lawn from drought stress and returns some of the nitrogen lost in the clippings. First cuts of the season (when the grass is very long and lush) may require some raking and removal of excess clippings, unless the model used has an optional grass collection box that can be removed and attached.

Tender perennial

Describes a plant liable to injury or death when subjected to low temperatures. Tender perennials usually require frost-free conditions, but may survive outdoors. Even if the frost kills off the foliage to ground level, they may re-grow from below ground the following spring.