Community Garden Shared Language

Defining Key Terms for Inclusive and Informed Engagement

Imelda Gutierrez

  • ADA Compliant: meeting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design. ( ADA, 2010 )
  • Arboretum: a living museum where trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. ( USDA, 2016 )
  • Community Garden: collaborative projects on shared open spaces where participants share in the maintenance and products of the garden, including healthful and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. ( USDA, 2020 )
  • Container Garden: when plants are grown in containers such as pots rather than into the ground, common for urban areas where having an actual garden is not possible. It is space-efficient and mobile, so it can be arranged to fit wherever you choose to set up your garden. ( Cornell Lab )
  • Culturally Preferred Foods: safe and nutritious foods that meet diverse tastes and needs of customers based on their cultural identity. ( CDC, 2024 )
    • Culture: membership, such as racial, ethnic, linguistic or geographic groups. Culture may also be a collection of a specific group's beliefs, values, customs, ways of thinking, communication, and behaving. ( CDC, 2024 )
  • Equitable Food System: all community members are able to grow, procure, barter, trade, sell, dispose and understand the sources of food in a manner that prioritizes culture, equitable access to land, fair and equitable prices and wages, human health, and ecological sustainability. ( University of Buffalo )
  • Food Insecurity: a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. ( USDA, 2023 )
  • Food System: complex networks that include all the inputs and outputs associated with agricultural and food production and consumption, “everything from farm to table.” ( USDA )
  • Gardener: persons who tend a garden.  (USDA, 2012) 
  • Horticulture: branch of agriculture concerned with growing plants that are used by people for food, for medicinal purposes, and for aesthetic gratification. ( USDA, 2017 )
  • Horticulture Therapy: a therapeutic treatment that uses plants and nature-based activities to help people with physical, intellectual, or emotional disabilities. ( American Horticulture Therapy Association )
  • Land Acknowledgement: used by Native Peoples and non-Natives to recognize Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of the lands on which we now live. ( Smithsonian )
    • Example:  Beardsley Farm Land Acknowledgement : "Beardsley Farm would like to acknowledge that the farm sits on the traditional land of the Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East) and Tsoyaha (Yuchi) People, who stewarded this land for countless generations."
  • Wildlife Certifications:
    • All-America Selection Display Garden: an All-America Selections (AAS) Display Garden is a public garden that showcases the latest AAS Winners, or top-performing varieties of flowers and edible plants. ( AAS )
    • AAS Test Garden: or trial ground, is a location where new plant varieties are tested and compared to industry standards. ( AAS )
    • American Conifer Society Reference Garden: a public garden that has been recognized for its notable conifer collection. ( American Conifer Society )
    • American Hosta Society Reference Garden: a public garden that meets certain criteria to be designated as an AHS Display Garden. ( American Hosta Society )
    • ArbNet Certified Arboretum: an arboretum that has been recognized for its professionalism and development through the Arboretum Accreditation Program. ( ArbNet )
    • Bee Campus USA Affiliate: a college or university campus community that has committed to conserving native pollinators. ( Bee City USA )
    • Monarch Watch Certified Monarch Waystation: a property that has been certified to help monarch butterflies and their habitats through the Monarch Waystation program. ( Monarch Watch) 
    • NABA Certified Butterfly Garden: a garden that meets the requirements of the North American Butterfly Association's (NABA) Butterfly Garden Certification Program. ( North American Butterfly Association )
    • NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat: a yard, garden, or other green space that has been recognized for providing a habitat for local wildlife. ( National Wildlife Federation )
    • Tennessee Community Smart Yard: a community organization that aims to create healthier and more ecologically-sound landscapes. ( UT Institute of Agriculture )
    • TUFC Certified Arboretum: a place that is part of the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council's (TUFC) Arboretum Certification Program. ( Tennessee Urban Forestry Council )