Lawn care is very important for the beauty and maintenance of your yard. If you are interested in lawn care for your home, consult the following glossary of lawn care terms to become familiar with everything from Aeration to Lanceolate.
aeration:
when you put air into the soil via poking holes into it or pulling cores of soil out of it.
aerification:
the mechanical removal of soil cores.
algae:
any of a group of chiefly aquatic lower plants without root, stem, or leaves, classified according to color.
aphids:
any of various small insects, such as the greenfly, that suck the juice of plants.
appressed:
lying close and flat against, as a bud against a twig.
auricle:
an ear-shaped appendage.
awnless:
without the beard or bristle-like appendage of the outer glume of numerous grasses.
axillary:
pertaining to, springing from, or situated in the angle formed by the upper side of an organ or branch with the stem or trunk to which it is attached.
blade:
a straight, narrow leaf of grass OR (usually plural) the devices on a lawn mower or rototiller that cut through the grass or dig up the thatch.
caryopsis:
a small dry fruit with the thin pericarp (wall of the ovary) adherent to the seed.
compaction:
state of being closely packed or condensed.
compost:
a mixture of decomposed organic matter for fertilizing soil.
core aeration:
when the machine takes a core of soil out via a hollow cylinder.
core aerify:
to remove cores from the soil so that the soil can receive more water and grow better. cores: plugs of soil.
crown:
the top of a plant.
de-thatching:
when the clippings/bulk are purposely removed from the lawn so that the grass can receive water more easily and grow better.
excelsior:
soft wood shavings for stuffing.
flail mowers:
a type of mower where the blades are on a cylinder (as opposed to a disk with a regular mower,) and the blades rotate from top to bottom.
floret:
one of the small flowers forming the head of a plant.
frost heaving:
a bulge in the ground or pavement caused by the freezing of moist earth.
fungicides:
substances that destroy fungi.
glumes:
the husk of grasses.
grading:
to make level or evenly sloping.
humus:
dark brown or black organic matter in the soil, formed from partially decomposed leaves, plants, etc.
inflorescence:
the producing of blossoms; the arrangement of flowers on a stem.
intensively-maintained lawns:
highly watered, highly fertilised, mowed twice a week at least. This is the truly immaculate lawn or the high-usage lawns.
lanceolate:
tapering to a point at either end.