garden
noun /ˈɡɑːdn/
/ˈɡɑːrdn/
Idioms - [countable] (British English)(North American English yard)a piece of land next to or around your house where you can grow flowers, fruit, vegetables, etc., usually with a lawn (= an area of grass)
- a front/back/rear garden
- a vegetable garden
- a rose garden (= where only roses are grown)
- The main bedroom overlooks the garden.
- in the garden children playing in the garden
- a garden shed
- garden flowers/plants
Culture gardens and yardsgardens and yardsMost British houses have gardens. The garden is surrounded by a fence or hedge and is a place where people can be outside and yet private.If a house has a front and back garden, the front is likely to be formal and decorative, with a lawn (= an area of grass) or paving and flower borders. Many front gardens in towns have been covered with a hard surface so that the owners can park their cars on them. The back garden usually also has a lawn and flower beds, and sometimes a vegetable plot or fruit trees. There may also be a patio or a deck for sitting at a table and chairs in the summer. There is often a bird table (= a raised platform on which food is put for birds) and a shed in which garden tools are kept.Many British people spend quite a lot of money on their gardens and even the smallest may contain a variety of flowers and shrubs. In spring some people fix window boxes containing bulbs or other plants on their windowsills, or attach a hanging basket on the wall near the front door.Some houses have only a very small paved back garden, called a courtyard. People often decorate it with plants in large tubs, or in pots or hanging baskets. In the US the area of grass in front of and behind most houses is called a yard. The word garden is used only for the areas where flowers and vegetables grow. Yards usually consist of a lawn and trees, flowers and bushes, with a deck or patio. In both Britain and the US many backyards have swings, slides or climbing frames for children. Garden decorations include bird feeders (= containers of food for birds) and lamps so that people can use the yard after dark.During warm weather, Americans spend a lot of time in their yards, especially the backyard. Children play there and often have small pools or sandboxes. People like to eat outside and prepare meals on a barbecue.For many British people gardening is a hobby and they are very proud of their gardens. Some towns and villages have competitions for the best-kept small garden. Keen gardeners may have a greenhouse in which to grow plants. People with a small garden, or no garden at all, can rent a piece of land, called an allotment, from the local council. Most people grow vegetables on their allotments.There are garden centres near most towns, selling everything a gardener might need, from flowerpots to ponds as well as a huge range of plants.Although a smaller percentage of Americans enjoy gardening, it is increasingly popular and many retired people garden. People work to make the yard a pleasant place to sit. Modern garden design, which sees the garden as additional living space, was developed in California.The British interest in gardening affects the appearance of whole towns. Public parks and traffic roundabouts often have bright displays of flowers in summer, and public buildings have window boxes and hanging baskets. Towns and villages enter for the annual Britain in Bloom competition.At weekends many British people like to visit famous gardens, such as that at Stowe near Banbury, developed by William Kent and 'Capability' Brown in the 18th century. Other popular attractions include Vita Sackville-West's gardens at Sissinghurst, and the garden and glasshouses of Kew Gardens (the Royal Botanic Gardens). Every summer the National Gardens Scheme publishes a list of private gardens belonging to enthusiastic gardeners which are open to the public on a particular day. Visitors like to look around and get ideas for their own gardens.In the US, parks and other public green spaces usually have paths for people to walk along, large areas of grass where children can play, and trees and flowers. There are some formal gardens in the US, and, as in Britain, many universities have botanical gardens which are used for research and teaching. Famous American gardens include Longwood in Pennsylvania and the Huntington Botanical Gardens in California.Extra ExamplesTopics Gardensa1- She has created a garden out of a wilderness.
- The garden is laid out in 18th-century style.
- They hang out washing in their back gardens.
- We got someone to design the garden for us.
- We planted the garden with herbs and wild flowers.
- Weekends were spent doing the garden.
- a large country house with beautiful landscaped gardens
- a lovely Victorian walled garden
- aphids, one of the commonest garden pests
- plants suitable for a small town garden
- Ease of cultivation makes it one of the best garden plants.
- They planted a garden of woodland plants that were native to the area.
- They sat in the garden and enjoyed the sunshine.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- lovely
- pretty
- …
- create
- design
- lay out
- …
- flower
- plant
- soil
- …
- in a/the garden
- into a/the garden
- the bottom of the garden
- the end of the garden
- [countable] (North American English) an area in a yard where you grow flowers or plants
- These flowers brighten up backyard gardens all over the country.
Extra Examplessee also beer garden- Old Mr Kenyon still keeps a garden.
- Maggie unwound the hose and watered the garden.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- lovely
- pretty
- …
- create
- design
- lay out
- …
- flower
- plant
- soil
- …
- in a/the garden
- into a/the garden
- the bottom of the garden
- the end of the garden
- [countable](usually gardens)a public park
- Thousands of people now visit the gardens every year.
- in the gardens The concert will take place in the gardens.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- lovely
- pretty
- …
- create
- design
- lay out
- …
- flower
- plant
- soil
- …
- in a/the garden
- into a/the garden
- the bottom of the garden
- the end of the garden
- gardens[singular](abbreviation Gdns)(British English) used in the name of streets
- 39 Belvoir Gardens
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old Northern French gardin, variant of Old French jardin, of Germanic origin; related to yard ‘area outside a building’.
Idioms
common or garden (British English)
(North American English garden-variety)
- (informal) ordinary; with no special features
everything in the garden is rosy
- (British English, saying) everything is fine
lead somebody up/down the garden path
- (informal) to make somebody believe something that is not true