Horticulture, Nursery Farming, and Truck Farming

8. 1. Horticulture

Horticulture (from Latin words for “garden” and “cultivate”)

is defined as a branch of agriculture. Horticulture is the
science and art of raising flowers and other ornamental
plants, and fruits and vegetables, usually on a smaller scale
than in the growing of field crops.
Gardens, ranging from elaborate outdoor arrangements to
small indoor terrariums, lend beauty to any environment. Popular
garden types include the following:
Formal Gardens. A formal garden consists of trees,
shrubs, lawn, and flowerbeds arranged in geometric – and usually
symmetrical – patterns. Since these patterns often resemble those
formed by knots, formal gardens are also called knot gardens. A
Japanese garden is a type of formal garden that also features
waterfalls, ponds, and symbolistic stones. Formal gardens are rare
except in parks and on large estates.
Flower Gardens. Flower gardens are usually in the form of
borders around the yard, driveway, terrace, or patio. Arrangement
of flowers is based on season of boom, height of plant, and colour
of blossoms. A well-planned garden has one or more kinds of
flowers in bloom at all time. Tall plants are placed at the rear, or, if
early blooming, are cut down when the flowers are gone.
Rock Gardens. A rock garden is one in which dwarf
perennial plants and vines – such as those that grow naturally in
mountains and among rock – are planted in pockets of soil
between rocks. A natural hillside or the slope of a terrace may be
made into such a garden. Good drainage is essential and often
requires a thick layer of gravel or cinders below the topsoil. Flat
rocks are slanted into the slope to direct water into the soil. The

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topsoil, which need not be rich, is pressed firmly between the
rocks.
Fruit and Vegetable Gardens. Fruits and vegetables
should be chosen to include both early- and late-bearing varieties.
Short-season crops may be combined in planting with long-season
kinds, as the early vegetables will mature and be gathered while
the later ones are still growing. This system is known as
companion cropping. Planting a late crop after an early one is
harvested is called succession cropping. A well-planned garden
will keep most of the ground producing throughout the season.
There are three types of fruit and vegetable gardens: truck (see
below, 8.3.), market, and home. Market Gardens are situated
near large cities and produce fresh vegetables for local markets.
Because of high cost of land, rows are planted close together.
Working this land is difficult. Cultivation must be done with small
rotary tillers or small garden tractors, and weeding is done mostly
with hand tools. Careful fertilising and irrigation are necessary.
Home Vegetable Gardens, or Kitchen Gardens, are common in
the United States and elsewhere. A strawberry patch and some
berry bushes will fit into many gardens, and most yards will
accommodate one or two fruit trees. Larger vegetable gardens are
especially practical for raising produce that cannot be purchased
at market in a condition of ideal freshness and ripeness.
City Gardens. For most apartment dwellers, the raising of
houseplants and the keeping of terrariums are the only practical
forms of gardening. City gardens also include backyard gardens,
roof gardens, patio gardens, windowboxes, and community
gardens. The typical backyard garden is a narrow, flat strip of land
hemmed in by surrounding buildings. City soil is usually poor, and,
therefore, fertilising and aerating are recommended before starting
a garden. Plants should be chosen for their hardiness, compact
growth, and resistance to pollution. Potted plants are usually used
for roof and patio gardens. Windowboxes, rectangular boxes in
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which plants are grown, are often used in balconies or windowsills.
Corporations or private citizens sometimes provide plots of land
for use as community gardens in the inner city; these gardens
provide a place where residents can plant what they want for their
own needs.
Herb Gardens. An herb garden is a garden devoted to
plants valued for their medicinal, savoury, or aromatic qualities,
such as rosemary, basil, or myrrh. Herb gardens demand little
care and provide unique fragrances. The leaves, stems, blossoms,
and roots of herbs are used as seasoning and garnishes. They
can also be dried to be used in potpourris and sachets.

8. 2. Nursery Farming

Nursery, in gardening, is an area where trees, shrubs,

vines, and herbs are produced and raised. Here young plants are
grown from seeds or cuttings until they are mature enough to be
transplanted. Nurseries are usually commercial establishments
used by gardeners and landscapers as sources of ornamental
shrubs, exotic plants, and fruit, shade, and forest trees. Private
estates and state and national forests often maintain nurseries for
their own use.

8. 3. Truck Farming

Truck Gardens, or Truck Farms, produce vegetables for

canning, freezing, or shipping fresh to distant markets. Usually the
crops are grown in large fields with rows wide enough apart to
allow cultivation by power machinery.

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 Exercises

1. Answer the following.

o What is horticulture?
o What types of popular gardens do you know?
o What does a formal garden consist of?
o What is a flower garden like?
o What are the features of a rocky garden?
o What is the difference between a market garden and a
kitchen garden?
o What do city gardens include?
o What is an herb garden?

2. Fill in with the suitable form of the verbs in brackets.

o A place where fruit-trees (grow) (be) an orchard.

o In spring fruit-trees (be) in full bloom.
o Each blossom (may) (give) a fruit.
o A fruit (have) a stone or pips.
o Its skin (be) (call) the peel.
o You (can not) (eat) an orange without (peel) it.
o You (must not) (gather) fruit until it (be) ripe and sweet.
o Unripe fruit (be) sour. When trees (be) laden with fruit, their
boughs (must) (be) (prop up).
o If fruit (be not) (gather) in time, it (will) (spoil) and (go)
rotten.
o Cherries (be) ripe in spring, apricots, peaches and plums in
summer.
o You (can) (eat) apples all year round.
o (Be) there a more delicious fruit than a juicy, mellow pear?

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o Plants and shrubs (have) no fruit but berries, like
strawberries and raspberries.
o Currants (be) either red, white or black.

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