英語學習點: Gardening Vocabulary 和園藝有關的詞匯

Odd things are happening to Brits... we seem to be developing green fingers!

The number of people growing their own fruit and veg has almost doubled in the past year, according to Gardeners' World magazine.

Gardens and allotments across the UK have been put to use as people discover the joys of home-grown produce.

But not everyone has space for a vegetable patch or a flowerbed. And sometimes a window box just isn't enough of a gardening challenge.

That's why some people have been turning to guerrilla gardening. This is when people plant flowers or vegetables in public spaces to make them greener and more pleasing to the eye.

Many people would approve of prettifying towns and cities, but guerrilla gardening is not strictly legal. Therefore, this type of gardening often takes place in the dead of night.

But the stereotype of the keen gardener is not someone who wears combat boots and breaks the law. It is of someone who wears wellies and spends all their time in greenhouses and potting sheds. We expect such a person to know every aspect of how to tend and cultivate their plants.

Yet, despite the increase in people growing their own, more than half of the UK population still do not know when 18 out of the top 22 fruit and vegetables are in season, according to Gardeners' World.

It seems that Britain still has some way to go before we can justifiably be called a nation of gardeners.