We all understand the saying that – Man does not live by bread alone, gardeners also say that – Plants do not live by watering alone. The message that both maxims are trying to convey is quite simple- they need something else. Man needs lots of things that are sometimes hard to find. However, almost all of the necessities that plants require are called garden supplies, which can be bought in your nearest garden supply store or in some cases can be made by yourself.

Gardening is like painting, painting may require you to have a brush, paint and a canvass, gardening may require you to have a shovel and some fertilizer and soil. Gardening is also like sculpting. To make a sculpture you may need a gavel, a chisel and wood. To tend to a garden you may need cutters, trimmers and seeds.

For the millions of true blue gardeners, gardening is an art.

To help them further this art, they would need garden supplies.

Different folks, different strokes, another saying that is fitting for gardeners. There are gardeners who have made their own Garden of Eden on their rooftops, in their backyards, inside their houses and even in their living rooms. Make no mistake about it; gardening can be done almost everywhere.

The different types of garden that can be done anywhere will also be requiring different types of garden supplies that suites them. Indoor gardens may require a hand held shovel not a ditch digger. Living room gardens may require a specialized watering system not a water sprinkler.

There are stores for garden supplies that specialize in indoor gardens, rooftop gardens and all the others kinds of gardens. There are also stores for garden supplies that offer alternative garden supplies such as natural pest control methods, organic fertilizers and ergonomic garden tools.

To make purchasing of garden supplies more convenient, online garden supplies stores have been made available to consumers. Online stores offer the gardeners unlimited options on how to compare prices, shop for the best tools, get to know the latest trends in gardening and order for the merchandize without having to leave their homes. Some online stores feature tips on gardening. Some online stores for gardening supplies also offer gardening packages at discounted prices.

Gardening supplies may not be so expensive. There are other ways by which you can have garden supplies without having to spend much. You can water your plants without having to resort to having a complicated watering device. You do not have to get expensive decorated pots, you can get a simple pot and have a beautiful flowering plant that can enclose the pot.

Garden supplies are a necessity when growing a garden, just like paint and canvass to a painter. A lot of would-be gardeners are just too excited to think about what they really need before making any purchase, making them pay more for what they really need.

To save on garden supplies you may only need your resourcefulness and a lot of imagination.

Gardening also takes place in non-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens (botanical gardens or zoological gardens), amusement and theme parks, along transportation corridors, and around tourist attractions and hotels. In these situations, a staff of gardeners or groundskeepers maintains the gardens.

Indoor gardening is concerned with the growing of what are essentially houseplants within a residence or building, in a conservatory, or in a greenhouse. Plants grown in a conservatory or greenhouse may or may not require more exacting care and conditions than ordinary houseplants. Indoor gardens are sometimes incorporated as part of air conditioning or heating systems.

Water gardening is concerned with growing plants adapted to pools and ponds. Bog gardens are also considered a type of water garden. These all require special conditions and considerations. A simple water garden may consist solely of a tub containing the water and plant(s).

In cryptanalysis, gardening was a term used at Bletchley Park during World War II for schemes to entice the Germans to include known plaintext, which they called cribs, in their encrypted messages. It is claimed to have been most effective against messages produced by the German Navy’s Enigma machines

In China, for instance, farmers regularly set up outhouses on the roads to attract tourists to use them, furnishing the farmers with “night soil” (human manure) for use as a fertiliser. These meth ods make excellent use of calories and minerals and water, but of course violate the aesthetics of most Westerners, who would balk at using stranger’s human wastes on their own gardens. There is thus some conflict between gardening for personal or aesthetic reasons, and for practical food-raising, even for one household.
The living wall is an unusual variant of a living machine and is effectively a vertical garden: water dripping down feeds a surface growing with moss and vines, other plants, some insects and bacteria, and captured at the bottom in a pool or pond to be recirculated to the top. These are sometimes built indoors to help cure sick building syndrome or otherwise increase the oxygen levels in recirculated air.

Gardening is considered to be an absolutely essential art in most cultures. In Japan, for instance, Samurai and Zen monks were often required to build decorative gardens or practice related skills like flower arrangement known as ikebana.

Social aspect
In modern Europe an d North America, people often express their political or social views in gardens, intentionally or not. The Green parties and Greenpeace often advise their campaigners to call first on homeowners who have lush chaotic wild gardens, as these are deemed to be more likely to respond to the Greens’ political message than those with AstroTurf or bluegrass lawns. No reliable statistics support such claims, but for many years, in the United States, there was a widespread belief that there was such a thing as a Republican lawn and Democratic lawn.

The lawn vs. garden issue is played out in urban planning as the debate over the “land ethic” that is to determine urban land use and whether hyperhygienist bylaws (e.g. weed control) should apply, or whether land should generally be allowed to exist in its natural wild state. In a famous Canadian Charter of Rights case, “Sandra Bell vs. City of Toronto”, 1997, the right to cultivate all native species, even most varieties deemed noxious or allergenic, was upheld as part of the right of free expression, at least in Canada.

Gardening is thus not only a food source and art, but also a right. The Slow Food movement has sought in some countries to add an edible schoolyard and garden classrooms to schools, e.g. in Fergus, Ontario, where these were added to a public school to augment the kitchen classroom.

In US and British usage, the care, installation, and maintenance of ornamental plantings in and around commercial and institutional buildings is called landscaping, landscape maintenance or groundskeeping, while international usage uses the term gardening for these same activities.

History
Gardening for food extends far back into prehistory. Ornamental gardens are known in ancient times (the Hanging Gardens of Babylon), and ancient Rome had dozens of gardens. See the History of gardening article for more information, including a List of historical garden types, as well as a List of notable historical gardens.