Etymology

Noun

1. A decorative place outside, usually where plants are grown for food (vegetable garden) or ornamental purposes (flower garden).
2. Such an ornamental place to which the public have access.
3. The grounds at the front or back of a house.
4. The collective noun for microphone.
   • 1965: Charles McDowell, Campaign Fever: The National Folk Festival, from New Hampshire to November, 1964, page 11 (Morrow)

     Behind the tangled garden of microphones that had sprouted on the lectern, Goldwater spoke softly and casually about his family.

   • 1967: Roderick MacLeish, The Sun Stood Still, page 41 (Atheneum)

     Above them, speaking over a steel garden of microphones, the agitator sweated and scowled out into the darkening street.

   • 2002: Laura Lippman, In a Strange City, page 71 (HarperCollins; ISBN 0380810239, 9780380810239)

     […] between the huge Depression-era horses on the plaza opposite City Hall — and Rainer was completely focused on them as they moved toward the podium and the little garden of microphones that had sprouted there. The Hilliards walked stiffly, as if they had been in a car accident.

   • 2005: Tom Stanton, Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America, page 177 (HarperCollins; ISBN 0060722908, 9780060722906)

     Aaron perched himself on a wooden folding chair behind a garden of microphones and beamed as he answered questions. Sure, he was disappointed.

   • 2006: Tim Miller and Glen Johnson, 1001 Beds: Performances, Essays, and Travels, page 109 (University of Wisconsin Press; ISBN 9780299216900, 9780299216948)

     Walking back down the marble stairs, which now felt more like I was leaving Principal Lambas’s office than the Forum in Rome, Holly, Karen, and I made our way to a garden of microphones for the press conference. I was dreading having to say something.

   • 2009: Caroline B. Cooney, If the Witness Lied, page 53 (Random House Children’s Books; ISBN 0385734484, 9780385734486)

     […] garden of microphones, which stuck up like metal flowers in her face.

5. Pubic hair or the genitalia it masks.
   • 1995: Lee Tyler, Biblical Sexual Morality and What About Pornography? viewed at http://www.etext.org/Religious.Texts/Polyamory/BiblcaLSexPornMorality on 9 May 2006 - Blow on my garden [speaking of her genitalia], so the spices of it may flow out. Let my Beloved come into His garden [her pubic area] and eat His pleasant fruits. (A commentary on Song of Solomon 4:16, which was written in Hebrew c950 BC; book footnotes shown here bracketed within the text; many scholars disagree with the Biblical interpretation, which is included as evidence of usage in 1995 rather than intended meaning in 950 BC.)
   • c2004: Hair Care Down There, Inc, The History of Hair Removal viewed at http://www.haircaredownthere.com/articles.asp on 9 May 2006 - Primping and pruning the secret garden might seem like a totally 21st century concept, but the fact is women have gotten into below-the-belt grooming since before the Bronze Age.
   • 2006: Guest on Female First Forum at http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/board/viewtopic.php?t=4636&start=15&sid=1eeba9e1263e75b259d0d72ed4ed9f0c posting on Fashionable to shave the pubic area?? viewed on 9 May 2006 - A woman's [unshaven] dark pubic triangle, glistening with pussy nectar and promising access to a hidden garden of delights.

Synonyms

• (decorative place outside):
• (gardens with public access): park, public gardens
• (grounds at the front or back of a house): yard (US)
• (the pubic hair): See pubic hair

Verb

1. to grow plants in a garden; to create or maintain a garden.

   I love to garden — this year I'm going to plant some daffodils.

   (UK equivalent)I love to do gardening.

2. of a batsman, to inspect and tap the pitch lightly with the bat so as to smooth out small rough patches and irregularities

Adjective

1. Of, relating to, in, from or for use in a garden.

   garden salad (= a salad from a garden)

   garden shed (= a shed in a garden)