Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating
plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often
grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants,
such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits, and herbs, are grown
for consumption, for use as dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use.
Gardening ranges in scale from fruit orchards, to long boulevard
plantings with one or more different types of shrubs, trees, and
herbaceous plants, to residential back gardens including lawns and
foundation plantings, and to container gardens grown inside or outside.
Gardening may be very specialized, with only one type of plant grown, or
involve a variety of plants in mixed plantings. It involves an active
participation in the growing of plants, and tends to be labor-intensive,
which differentiates it from farming or forestry.