carpet-bed

A gardener carefully trims the colorful carpet-bed in the park.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A garden bed designed in a decorative pattern: A "carpet-bed" is a flower bed in which low-growing plants are arranged in intricate, often geometric or ornamental designs, resembling a carpet. This type of gardening is typical of formal or Victorian-style landscapes.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The palace gardens feature a stunning carpet-bed with swirling patterns of begonias and marigolds. (A decorative flower bed with low plants arranged in a design.)
  • She carefully tended the carpet-bed, trimming the boxwood to maintain the crisp outlines of the floral pattern. (A carefully shaped garden bed.)

Advanced Usage

• "to lay out a carpet-bed": to design and plant such a bed.

  • The head gardener laid out a new carpet-bed for the spring festival, using dwarf alyssum and lobelia. (To create a patterned flower bed.)

• "carpet-bedding": the horticultural practice or art of creating such beds.

  • Carpet-bedding reached the height of fashion in the 19th century. (The technique of arranging low plants in patterns.)

Variants and Related Words

• Carpet-bedding (n): the activity or method of designing and planting carpet-beds.

  • Carpet-bedding requires careful planning and regular maintenance. (The practice of creating patterned flower beds.)

• Bed (n): a garden plot, especially one for flowers or vegetables.

  • The rose bed is next to the carpet-bed. (A distinct area of a garden.)

Synonyms

• Patterned flower bed: a garden bed with a deliberate design.
• Formal bed: a symmetrical or geometric arrangement of plants.

Related Idioms