We hope this lexicon forms a solid foundation for the vocabulary we employ throughout The Gardening Drawing Club. Please get in touch with us to suggest terms we shall add.
Seva
Seva is a selfless effort for the good of all - humans, society and other life-forms. It is a form of service defined in Hindu and Sikh practices. This word is of Sanskrit origin - Read more.
Veganic
It is an organic form of agricultural practice, free from voluntary animal input. It is also known as 'vegan organic', 'stock free' or 'plant-based'. You can read more about it on the FAQ page.
Permaculture
Combining the two words 'permanent' and 'culture (or agriculture)', it is a holistic approach to designing and maintaining sustainable ecosystems.
Natural farming
It is an ecological farming method established by Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher. You can learn more about it on the Video Library page.
Poetic Pastel
It is a positive and collaborative cultural project in tune with Deep Ecology. Its endeavours are defined as an open conversation through art, publishing, textile and gardening. The Gardening Drawing Club is a Poetic Pastel initiative - poeticpastel.com.
Deep Ecology
It is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs and the restructuring of modern human societies following such ideas - Read more.
Ikebana
It is the Japanese art of arranging flowers, also known as Kado (the way of flowers). Depending on the school, there are specific rules for composing and selecting materials (flowers, branches, stems and leaves) and how to match them with a vessel.
Togetherness
It is affectionate and compassionate closeness, a state of being, living, eating and playing together with others.
Emotional Intelligence
It is the ability to understand your emotions and those of people around you, how they can affect others, and how to manage them to guide positive thinking and behaviour, including empathy - Read more.
Attention Restoration
Attention restoration theory suggests that interaction with a restorative environment, such as spending time in a natural environment, for example, a forest or a garden, relieves mental fatigue and stress and can improve one state of mind and focus - Read more.
Biophilia
It is an innate affection toward life. The biophilia hypothesis suggests that humans have an innate tendency to interact and connect with nature and other living beings. - Read more.
Holistic
The physical, emotional and spiritual are intimately interconnected and create the whole. A holistic approach means dealing with the whole of something or someone, not just a part.
Loneliness
It is an unpleasant feeling of isolation or lack of intimacy. It is a psychological pain and longing for social bonds. People can feel lonely even when they are surrounded by others.
Community
It is a group of living entities with commonality, such as shared interest, location, values, goals or faith. Community members may share time, space, food, tea, ideas, etc. They usually work toward a shared vision and support each other in a community. A community can spend time together IRL and/or online.
Mindfulness
It is the intentional practice of focussing one's attention on the ‘here’ and ‘now’. One can develop the skill through meditation or other training to be fully present.
Horticulture
It is the art of growing plants. Purposes vary from ornamental, medicinal, culinary and more. Crops include fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, and ornamental plants. Horticulture studies and practices are dated as beginning thousands of years ago.
Animal Liberation
It is a social movement that believes non-human animals have intentions, interests and feelings that deserve recognition, consideration and protection and seeks to end the exploitation of animals in all its forms.
Nature Reserve
It is an area of land managed and protected by an entity to preserve, support and restore its wildlife, flora and fauna and provide opportunities for study, research and appreciation.
Soil
It is a material on the earth's surface that supports the plant's root system and multiple life forms. It consists of a mixture of solids (organic matter and minerals), liquids and gases.
Compost
It is decomposed organic matter. Compost can be made from plant, food waste and recycled organic materials, amongst others. It is rich in nutrients and can be added to soil to help nurture plants and support healthy growth.
Pollination
It is the transfer of pollen from the male organs of a plant to the female organs of a plant. Pollination allows certain plants to produce vegetables or fruits, which will then turn into seeds (for example, tomato or French bean). Pollen can be spread by wind or animal pollinators such as insects.
Pollinator
It is an animal that transfers pollen from plant to plant, including bees, beetles, butterflies, flies, hummingbirds and moths. Pollinator populations are currently at risk.
Annual
An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle in a single growing season and then dies. Annuals include many native species (often called weeds), flowers and vegetables.
Perennial
A perennial plant is a plant that lives for several years. Perennials grow back after harvest. Perennials include trees and shrubs. Certain perennial plants may appear 'dead; in winter from the surface of the soil, but their root system is well alive and will produce new top growth during their next growing season.
Germination
It is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. Significant factors to initiate the process include water, temperature and oxygen. The most common example is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed.
Evergreen
It is a plant with leaves that remain green and functional through more than a single growing season and do not fall out in the winter or dry season.
Bulb
It is a rounded underground storage organ in some plants such as onions and flowers, including lilies, hyacinths and tulips. It consists of a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases, lying dormant for a particular season.
Ayurveda
It is a natural healing practice and way of living that originated in India more than 5,000 years ago, focusing on maintaining health through keeping balance in one’s life, diet and usage of herbs. The term means “knowledge of life” in Sanskrit.
Reciprocity
It is a group of practices including, for example, exchanging things with others, helping each other for mutual benefit and flourishing together.
Photosynthesis
It is the process by which plants, algae and other organisms use sunlight to synthesise nutrients from water and carbon dioxide. Oxygen is created as a by-product of this process. Read more.
Foliage
It is the leaves of a plant as a group rather than an individual leaf. For example, stems with leaves are foliage.
Herb
It is a herbaceous plant (annual or perennial) with savoury or aromatic properties, at times both. Herbs have been used for centuries across cultures and continents for their aromatic, culinary, medicinal and spiritual properties.
Seedling
It is a young plant grown from seed. It is how a plant just a few days or weeks old is usually addressed.
Responsibility
It is to be in charge of your own life or an element of your life or the well-being/condition of someone or something. Being responsible often means being able to make decisions that will shape one’s future or the future of the person or thing one is responsible for.
Garden
It is a piece of land often next to a house where grass, shrubs, flowers and vegetables may be cultivated. There are multiple definitions of what a garden is or may be; equally, many types of gardens exist.
Natural medicine
It is a form of alternative medicine that relies principally on plants and includes methods such as homoeopathy, herbalism and acupuncture. It differs from Allopathic medicine.
Ecophobia
It is a fear of one's home, the planet Earth. It is described as a fear of the natural environment, worries about ecological problems and disastrous events such as fire, floods, climate change etc. - Read more.
Reference Library
It is a collection of publications and possibly other selected material that inform and aid research by providing accessible information about a particular subject. Unlike in a ‘lending library’, the publications that compose a ‘reference library’ can not be borrowed and are to be used at the location where the reference library is established.