From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_130_igardengar‧den1 /ˈɡɑːdn $ ˈɡɑːr-/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 [countable] British EnglishDLG the area of land next to a house, where there are flowers, grass, and other plants, and often a place for people to sit SYN yard American English He’s outside in the garden. Grace brought us some flowers from her garden.back/front garden (=at the back or front of the house)2 [countable] a part of the area next to a house, which has plants and flowers in it The house has a beautiful herb garden.3 → gardens4 → Gardens → kitchen garden, market garden, → lead somebody up the garden path at lead1(12)COLLOCATIONS – Meanings 1 & 2ADJECTIVES/NOUN + gardenovergrown (=covered with plants that have grown in an uncontrolled way)The garden is getting rather overgrown.well-kept/tidy British English (also neat American English)The hotel is set in a well-kept garden.untidyThere was a small untidy garden behind the house.the front garden British English (=at the front of a house)Their house had a small front garden.the back garden British English (=behind a house)The children are playing in the back garden.a flower/rose garden (=a garden planted with flowers/roses)The cottage was surrounded by a flower garden.a kitchen garden British English (=where you grow fruit and vegetables)The kitchen garden supplies vegetables to the manor house.a vegetable/herb garden (=where vegetables/herbs are grown)Rows of lettuces had been sown in the vegetable garden.a rock garden (=a garden with rocks that have plants growing between them)She helped me choose plants for the rock garden.verbswater the gardenIt hasn’t rained for a week – I should water the garden.weed the garden (=remove unwanted wild plants)She was outside weeding the garden.plant a gardenThey planted a beautiful rose garden in her memory.garden + NOUNa garden shed (=a small building in the garden for storing tools and equipment)We keep the lawnmower in the garden shed.garden tools (=tools that you use for digging, planting etc in the garden)Choose the right garden tool and you’ll do the job properly.a garden centre British English, a garden center American English (=a shop selling plants and things for the garden)I bought the plants at the garden centre.garden furniture (=chairs and tables used in a garden)Garden furniture sells well when the weather is warm.a garden hose (=a long rubber tube used for watering a garden)He accidentally left the garden hose running.a garden pond (=a small area of water in a garden)The garden pond was full of fish.a garden gnome (=a stone or plastic figure in a garden, which looks like a little old man with a pointed hat)Somebody had stolen one of their garden gnomes.the garden gate (= the gate between a garden and the street)Martin was waiting by the garden gate.a garden pathElaine walked up the garden path and into the house.garden waste (=grass, leaves etc that you have cut and do not want)The brown bin is for garden waste.phrasesthe bottom of the garden British English (=the end of the garden, away from the house)There was a trampoline at the bottom of the garden.THESAURUSareas and structures in a gardenlawn [countable] an area of short grass in a gardenThey were sitting on the front lawn of the house.flowerbed [countable] an area of ground where you grow flowersThe flowerbeds were well maintained.rockery [countable] British English an area of a garden where there are rocks with small flowers growing between themhedge [countable] a row of small bushes or trees growing close together, used for dividing one garden from anothera beech hedgevegetable patch/plot [countable] (also kitchen garden British English) a part of a garden where you grow vegetablespatio [countable] a flat stone area next to a house, where people sit outsidedecking [uncountable] a flat wooden area in a garden, where people can sitpond [countable] a small area of water in a gardenwater feature [countable] a small pool or structure with water running through it, used to make a garden look more attractivegreenhouse [countable] a glass building where you can grow plants that need protection from the weathershed [countable] a small wooden building in a garden, where you can store thingswork you do in a gardencut the grass/mow the lawn to cut grass using a machineI need to mow the lawn.trim a hedge to make a hedge look neater by cutting small pieces off itHedges need to be trimmed regularly in summer.cut back/prune shrubs to cut pieces off a bush in order to make it grow betterMarch is the ideal time for pruning roses.weed the flowerbeds/do some weeding to remove unwanted plantsDad was doing some weeding.sow seeds to put seeds in the groundThe children had been sowing sunflower seeds.plant a plant/tree to put a plant or tree in the ground so that it will growThey’d planted a row of cherry trees.deadhead plants to remove the dead or dying flowers from a plantWhen deadheading roses, make sure you use sharp pruning scissors.
Examples from the Corpus
garden• High railings guarded the small courtyard gardens, the gates of which were usually protected by push-button security-code entry locks.• When Charles moved in to Highgrove there was practically no garden at all, just acres of lawn and some box hedges.• It has a secluded garden bordered by a stream.• At night, however, the garden is difficult to appreciate through the tinted windows.• The grass in the garden was uncut and came up to her calves.• Red and purple salvias blend well to give a sense of harmony in the garden.• a vegetable gardengardengarden2 verb [intransitive] DLGto work in a garden, keeping it clean, growing plants etc→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
garden• Topping the list of my favorite prose pieces are Kenyon's incredible hiking and gardening essays.• Stephen's mom loves to garden in her spare time.• She doesn't garden you know.Origin garden1 (1300-1400) Old North French probably from Vulgar Latin (hortus) gardinus “enclosed (garden)” 