Glossary of Gardening Tems
An easy guide to making sense of gardening terminology. On this page are clear explanations of everyday gardening terminology so as to understand the difference between such much used terms as perennial, ericaceous, hardy and half hardy and many baffling words on plant labels and in gardening guides.
Chelsea Chop and Pinching Out

Chelsea Chop is a term used to explain cutting back plants, usually perennials in or around late May. It's purpose is to make the plant more bushy, stop it becoming sprawling later in the season and to vary it's flowering time. Detailed explanation How and When to do the Chelsea Chop and video guide
Gardening guides often also refer to pinching out- commonly in relation to annual plants and this is also to make the plant more bushy. Pinching out is to nip out the growing point, which will make the plant throw out more shoots to become bushier.
Germination

Technically Germination is the time when the seed first sends out a seedling which occurs in the soil. The first we know of germination is, as in the image, when the seedling emerges out of the soil and becomes visible.
Germination usually requires a steady warmish temperature and a degree of moisture, and light,
When seedlings emerge they are very delicate and any sudden changes in temperature or moisture can damage or kill the seedling; they need to be checked carefully until the seedling becomes study and grows into a small plant.
Mulch

Mulch is a layer spread onto the soil or around a particular plant. The purpose of a mulch is to keep the plants roots protected in winter, cooler in summer and to retain moisture which is why a mulch maybe spread around a particular plant. A mulch may also be spread over a whole border to suppress weeds.
Membrane maybe planted to weeds and covered with a layer of composted bark to disguise it.
The best mulches are organic such as composted bark, compost, and leaf mould. An excellent commercial mulch is Strulch, which is an excellent all round mulch.
It is very good at suppressing weeds, light and easy to handle and over time will decay down into the soil. It also looks tidy on a border.
All mulches are best applied, ideally, after weeding and when the soil is not frozen, or waterlogged.
Inorganic mulches are often used as part of the garden design, coloured slates and pebbles.