gardens
gardens — noun
1. the outdoor area, usually with grass, flowers, or other plants, that belongs to
the outdoor area, usually with grass, flowers, or other plants, that belongs to a house and is used by the people who live there.
Mei was reading on a bench in the back gardens behind her cottage.
in the back garden / gardens: location at home
Tanvi keeps a small wooden table and four chairs in her front gardens.
front gardens: the area in front of a house
Most of the houses on Pine Street have long, narrow gardens at the back.
Children from the neighbourhood often play hide-and-seek in the family gardens after school.
Omar painted his shed bright blue and built a path through the gardens.
文法句型
in the garden / in the gardens
the back / front garden
用法筆記
In British English this private area beside a house is normally called a garden; in American English the same space is more often called a yard. Often appears as plural when a single house has more than one such area (front / side / back).
常見錯誤
2. an area of soil that someone digs and waters so that vegetables, fruit, herbs, o
an area of soil that someone digs and waters so that vegetables, fruit, herbs, or flowers can grow there.
Nkechi grows tomatoes, beans, and chili peppers in her vegetable gardens every summer.
vegetable gardens: collocation
Iris dug two flower gardens along the fence and planted forty rose bushes.
flower gardens: collocation
The school children watered the herb gardens behind the kitchen every morning.
Tamar's grandmother taught her how to plant onions and carrots in their gardens.
Heavy rain on Saturday flooded the small kitchen gardens behind the farmhouse.
- vegetable patch
specifically the part used for vegetables; informal British term
- allotment
British: a small rented piece of public land used for growing vegetables, not beside your own home
- plot
neutral; emphasises the marked-out piece of ground rather than what is grown on it
文法句型
vegetable / flower / herb garden
plant + garden
grow + in + the + gardens
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense focuses on the cultivated patch where things are grown, not on the whole outdoor home area. Common compound forms are vegetable / flower / herb / kitchen + garden(s).
常見錯誤
3. a piece of land open to everyone, planted with flowers, trees, and pathways, whe
a piece of land open to everyone, planted with flowers, trees, and pathways, where visitors can walk and rest.
Trang met her cousin at the entrance of the Botanical Gardens at ten o'clock.
the X Gardens: proper-name pattern
Tourists pay a small fee to visit the Kensington Gardens during the summer months.
visit + the Gardens
Elena and her grandfather often walk through the public gardens on quiet Sunday mornings.
The city council planted new cherry trees in the gardens behind the museum.
Concerts are held in the rose gardens every Friday evening throughout July and August.
- park
broader; usually larger and may focus on lawns and trees more than flower beds
- botanical gardens
more specific; a public garden built for studying and showing many plant species
文法句型
the X Gardens
visit / walk in + the + gardens
用法筆記
Often appears as part of a proper name (Kew Gardens, Tivoli Gardens, Botanical Gardens). Distinguish from sense 1 by the public access: anyone may enter, no single house owns the land. The plural form is especially typical here.
常見錯誤
gardens — verb
1. if a person gardens, they spend time digging, planting, and looking after the pl
if a person gardens, they spend time digging, planting, and looking after the plants in a garden.
Kevin gardens every weekend, mostly weeding the flower beds and watering the tomatoes.
intransitive: subject + gardens
Élise gardens with her two daughters in the small yard behind their cottage.
garden + with + person
Christopher gardens whenever the rain stops, because the soil is easier to dig.
Many retired teachers in our village gardens for hours each spring morning.
- tend the garden
phrase; emphasises careful, regular care of plants rather than just the activity
- do the gardening
very common everyday phrase in British English with the same meaning
文法句型
subject + gardens
love / hate / enjoy + gardening (gerund related)
用法筆記
Used intransitively in this sense — no object. The gerund 'gardening' is far more common in everyday speech ('I love gardening'); the simple verb 'gardens' appears mainly in habitual third-person statements.
常見錯誤
2. to change a piece of empty land into a garden by clearing it, marking out beds,
to change a piece of empty land into a garden by clearing it, marking out beds, and planting things.
Andrei spent two years gardening the rough field behind the old farmhouse.
transitive: garden + land
Volunteers gardened the wasteland next to the school and turned it into a play area.
garden + wasteland
A local charity has gardened several abandoned lots in the east side of the city.
The new owners gardened the side strip and planted apple trees along the wall.
文法句型
garden + a + piece of land
garden + the + area
用法筆記
Less common than sense 1. The object is normally a piece of land or an area, not specific plants. Distinguish from sense 1 (intransitive: working in an existing garden) — sense 2 is transitive and refers to creating the garden in the first place.
常見錯誤
3. to add ornamental gardens to a building or area as a form of decoration, often a
to add ornamental gardens to a building or area as a form of decoration, often around a palace or large estate.
The Ottoman sultans gardened their palaces with rose beds and reflecting pools.
transitive: garden + palace
Victorian architects gardened the new railway station with flower beds along every platform.
garden + station / building
Wealthy merchants in eighteenth-century Suzhou gardened their courtyards in fine classical style.
The grounds of the embassy were carefully gardened with rare tropical plants from each colony.
- adorn with gardens
more transparent phrasing; common in architectural writing
- landscape
covers shaping land and adding plants together; far more common in modern English
文法句型
garden + place
be + gardened
用法筆記
Rare and literary. Mainly used about historical or architectural descriptions of large buildings and estates. Often appears in the passive (be gardened with). Distinguish from sense 2: sense 2 turns plain land into a garden; sense 3 decorates a place that is mainly something else (palace, station) with gardens as ornament.
常見錯誤
gardens — adjective
1. used before a noun to mean connected with a garden, made for use in a garden, or
used before a noun to mean connected with a garden, made for use in a garden, or normally found in a garden.
Mei keeps her garden tools in a small wooden shed beside the kitchen door.
attributive: garden + noun (tools)
On Saturday Tanvi bought four wooden garden chairs and a long matching table.
garden chairs: typical collocation
The new garden centre on the main road sells seeds, soil, and small fruit trees.
Heavy garden gloves protect children's hands when they pull up weeds and thorns.
- outdoor
broader; covers any space outside, not only a garden
- indoor
opposite spatial setting; used of furniture and plants meant to stay inside the house
文法句型
garden + noun
garden tools / chair / shed / centre
用法筆記
Used attributively (before a noun) only — not after 'be'. Distinguish from senses 2 and 3: this sense covers anything connected with a garden in the broad way (tools, furniture, places), without saying anything about the type of plant or quality.
常見錯誤
2. used before a noun to describe a type of plant, flower, or vegetable that people
used before a noun to describe a type of plant, flower, or vegetable that people usually grow in gardens rather than in the wild or on farms.
Tamar prefers garden roses to wild ones because their colours are brighter and longer-lasting.
garden + plant noun (roses)
Many garden vegetables, such as lettuce and radishes, grow well in shallow soil.
garden vegetables: collocation
The botanist studied the difference between wild strawberries and the larger garden strawberries.
Pink garden peas were planted in three neat rows along the south wall.
- cultivated
more formal; emphasises that people have selected and grown the plants over time
- domestic
used of animals more than plants; for plants it can sound a little old-fashioned
- wild
growing on its own without people; the most common contrast for sense 2
文法句型
garden + plant / flower / vegetable
garden + variety + of + plant
用法筆記
Often contrasts with 'wild' — garden roses vs wild roses, garden strawberries vs wild strawberries. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 covers any garden-related thing (tools, chairs); sense 2 is specifically about the plants chosen and bred for garden growing.
常見錯誤
3. used before a noun to say that something is the very ordinary, common kind, with
used before a noun to say that something is the very ordinary, common kind, with nothing special or unusual about it.
Iris said her shoulder pain was just a garden-variety strain from carrying heavy shopping bags.
garden-variety + noun: informal
The detective decided that the break-in was a garden-variety burglary, not a planned attack.
ordinary, unimportant kind
Omar thought the result was a garden-variety cold, but the doctor found something more serious.
Many teenagers face garden-variety worries about school, friendships, and what to wear.
- ordinary
neutral and far more frequent; works in both formal and informal writing
- run-of-the-mill
informal; same meaning of common and unremarkable, slightly older flavour
- standard
more neutral; suggests it matches a usual pattern, not necessarily dull
- exceptional
much better or more unusual than the normal kind
- unique
the only one of its kind; the strongest contrast
文法句型
garden + noun (the noun is something abstract or general)
garden-variety + noun
用法筆記
Almost always appears as the compound 'garden-variety' rather than 'garden' alone. Mostly American English and informal. Used to play down the importance of something — 'just a garden-variety X' = 'just an ordinary X'. Distinguish from senses 1 and 2: nothing in this sense refers to real gardens or plants.