the cultivation of plants
"She spent her weekends mastering the art of gardening by planting vegetables in her backyard."
The process or action of cultivating the soil, particularly in a garden; the care of a garden; horticulture.
"After spending years working in corporate offices, she finally found her peace in gardening by tending to the rose bushes and vegetables in her backyard."
In plain English: Gardening is the hobby of growing plants and taking care of them in a garden.
"His favorite hobby is gardening, and he spends most of his weekends in the backyard planting flowers."
Usage: Use gardening as a noun to refer to the general activity or hobby of cultivating plants and maintaining a garden, rather than for specific tools or individual tasks. For example, you can say that she enjoys gardening as a relaxing pastime, but avoid using it to mean a single act like weeding or watering unless describing the overall practice.
present participle of garden
"While I was gardening, I noticed a few aphids on my rose bush."
In plain English: To garden is to take care of plants by planting, watering, and growing them in soil.
"She is gardening in her backyard every Saturday morning."
Usage: Use gardening as the present participle of the verb to garden to describe the ongoing action of cultivating plants or maintaining a yard. Do not use it as a standalone noun when referring to the general activity, in which case simply say "gardening" without the ing form if treating it as an uncountable concept.
Gardening is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the word garden. This construction simply indicates the activity of working in a garden.