Subject classification exercise: part 1
In a group of 4-5 people, review the following concepts. Select 30-40 of the concepts and define the subject
your set of concepts represents. For example, you might select a set of concepts to represent “sustainable
gardening in central Texas” or “garden design for beginners” or “home garden activities” or “gardening for
food”—whatever you see emerging from the larger list of gardening concepts.
You should be able to explain:
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Your group’s definition of the subject area you’ve selected.
How the concepts you’ve chosen to constitute the subject express that definition.
There is no correct answer here; think about this task as making a case, or creating an argument, for a
particular subject definition. For example, you might define “lifestyle gardening” as planning and enjoying
one’s garden, but not performing actual tasks with plants, which would be delegated to one’s gardener. So
you might include concepts for types of gardens (planning what to do) and activities that take place in
gardens (barbecues) and skip concepts for dealing with pests, and so on.
Next week, you will determine hierarchical and associative relationships between the concepts that you
select.
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annuals
ants
aphids
arbors
balance
barbecues
biennials
borders
bulbs
clay soil
color
community garden
compost
container garden
croquet
cuttings
deer
edging
English garden
fertilizer
fertilizing
flowerbed
flowering plants
focal points
fountains
French garden
full-shade exposure
full-sun exposure
garden decor
garden design
garden furniture
garden ornaments
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garden parties
garden shears
garden tools
gardening
gazebos
grasses
greenhouse garden
harvesting
hedges
herbs
hoes
hydroponic garden
Japanese garden
kitchen garden
landscaping
lawns
loam soil
manure
mulch
native plants
nooks
orchard
organic gardening
partial-sun exposure
patios
perennials
pesticides
pests
plant diseases
plant hardiness zones
plant nutrition
planting
plants
ponds
potting
pruning
rabbits
raised beds
rakes
rock garden
rocky soil
roof garden
sandy soil
seeds
shovels
shrubs
simplicity
soil
soil acidity
soil aeration
soil amendments
soil fertility
soil texture
sprinkler systems
staking
terrace
89. texture
90. tilling
91. topiary
92. trees
93. trelllises
94. trowels
95. tubers
96. unity
97. vegetable plants
98. vines
99. watering
100. weeding
101. weeds
102. weevils
103. windowsill garden
104. xeriscaping