horticulture

/ˌhɔrdəˈkʌltʃər/

/ˈhɔtɪkəltʃə/

Horticulture is a nice long word for "gardening." If you study horticulture, you learn about plant propagation, soil, fertilizer — everything that makes a good garden.

The word horticulture was coined in the late 17th century — when some serious gardens were being planned and executed in England — and is based on the Latin word for "garden," hortus, combined with the suffix -culture, mostly likely in the same way as the word agriculture.

Definitions of horticulture

1. noun

   the cultivation of plants
   synonyms: gardening

   types:

   landscape gardening, landscaping

   working as a landscape gardener

   market gardening

   the growing of vegetables or flowers for market

   floriculture, flower gardening

   the cultivation of flowering plants

   type of:

   agriculture, farming, husbandry

   the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock