Young man tending to his lettuce patch. - stock photo

Gardening is the practice of growing plants for their flowers or foliage, and vegetables or fruits for consumption. Gardening is a human activity in which plants are used to produce edible foods or to beautify the environment. Its scale ranges from fruit orchards, to long boulevard plantings with one or more different types of shrubs, trees and herbaceous plants, to residential yards including lawns and foundation plantings, to large or small containers grown inside or outside. Gardening may often be very specific, with only one type of plant grown, or involve a large number of different plants in mixed plantings. It involves an active participation in the growing of plants and tends to be labor intensive, which differentiates it from farming or forestry.