Lesson One

Welcome to the Greenhouses! I know it feels wonderful to get out of the castle for a while and to enjoy the interesting sights and smells here. Do remember though that many of these plants are delicate and some are even dangerous. Don't become so distracted by the sunshine that you let yourself get careless.

The plants in these greenhouses serve many purposes. Some are used for decoration, some are used for healing, some can be used in potions and others are just here because of how fascinating they are. Furthermore, some of them are intrinsically magical in themselves and some are just very useful for magical practices. In herbology, you will learn how to care for them, how to utilise their unique properties, and above all how to respect the risks they may pose. Herbology is a branch of magic that is as varied, powerful, and dangerous as any other.

Before we begin to look at plants in earnest though, I wanted to introduce you to the terminology and equipment that will serve you well during your studies of herbology. While it is always important to remember that most plants need the correct amount of water and sunlight to survive, a lot more goes into caring for both magical and non-magical plants.

Terminology

These are useful phrases that any herbologist or even muggle gardener should know.

Annuals: These are plants that only live for a year and possibly even less time than that.

Beds: These are larger patches of soil in which you can grow many plants. They might be directly cut into the ground or created by filling shallow trays/brick outlines with soil.

Crop: Sometimes called the yield, this is how we refer to the useful parts of a plant once we've gathered them. You might hear someone saying that the apple crop was particularly good, for instance.

Deadheading: Here, you trim the dead or dying flower heads off a plant. This encourages it to keep flowering for longer.

Fertiliser: Many substances can be used as fertilisers (we commonly use dragon dung here at Hogwarts). Fertilisers are materials that are full of minerals and other chemicals that will enrich the soil and in turn help the plant to grow well; they can be mixed with the soil or added as a layer on top of it. Common nutrients needed by plants are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Germination: This is where a seed begins to transition into a plant.

Harvest: The time we gather the useful parts of plants; this could involve the entire plant (if we need the root) or simply gathering fruit, seeds, or leaves from it.

Hardiness: This is used to measure how tough a plant is. How well a plant holds up to drought, cold, lack of sunlight and the like might all be considered when deciding how hardy it is.

Medium: The formal term for whatever the plant is growing in (usually soil).

Perennials: These are plants with a much longer lifespan than annuals. If cared for properly, they could survive for years.

Pruning: This is a little like deadheading though it isn't simply for flowers. Here, you will cut back branches, stems, and the like that have either died or are growing too fast. It will help the plant to grow more strongly.

Seedlings: This is the term for incredibly young plants that have just emerged from the seed.

Sowing: This is the practice of placing seeds in the soil to mature into plants.

Transplanting: Sometimes called repotting, this involves digging up a plant and placing it in a new location. You will often have to do this when seedlings or younger plants grow too big for their containers.

Parts of Plants

Plants can look very different but there are some structures that many of them have in common.

Roots: The base of a plant which sucks up and stores moisture and nutrients from the earth. They also help to keep the plant steady in the ground.

The Stem: Essentially a straw that carries water and nutrients to the rest of the plant.

The leaves: These absorb sunlight and convert it into energy to help the plant grow.

Flowers/blooms/blossoms: These help some plants reproduce and create more of their species. They attract pollinators (creatures like bees) who transfer pollen from one flower to another, allowing them to create seeds.

Fruits: These are the seed heads on flowering plants that form once the flowers have been pollinated. Once the fruits are broken open, the seeds are free to spread out and germinate into new plants.

Equipment

As with other subjects like potions, herbology requires you to use certain pieces of kit to help you accomplish the practical elements of the class. Some of this is functional and some of it is for your own protection.

Dibber: These are tools with a little blunt spike that you can use for making holes in the ground for seeds and bulbs.

Earmuffs: Occasionally we may be working with plants that make an annoying or potentially dangerous sound. These will protect your ears.

Fork: This is a small hand-held tool with several prongs that is useful for turning over the earth or spreading fertiliser. You can also use the tines to make small holes for planting seeds or bulbs.

Gloves: Gloves are important at all times as they protect your hands from scrapes, thorns, fangs and any substances that might cause an allergic reaction (they're also useful as they reduce the amount of time you have to spend scrubbing earth out from under your nails). We recommend using dragon hide or similar.

Goggles: I will sometimes ask you to wear goggles when we are dealing with plants that spray substances or that might get agitated and lash out. This is to protect your eyes from getting injured.

Overalls: You may sometimes want to wear overalls, particularly if we're doing a lot of digging or working extensively with messy substances. They will protect your uniform.

Secateurs: These are handheld sheers you can use for pruning and deadheading. You must be exceedingly careful with them as they are sharp.

Trowel: This is a small implement with a blunt, leaf-shaped head that you will use for digging.

Watering Can: This one needs little explaining. It's a water container with a spout that you can use to water the plants under your care. For plants that require a delicate touch, you may want to add a rose to the end of the spout; this is a little attachment with tiny holes in it, not unlike a colander or strainer that you might see in the kitchen.