Scale An insect with a waxy shell-like covering that camouflages and protects it from enemies and insecticides. It destroys plants by sucking the plants juices. Shade A reduced amount of sunlight. Light shade usually refers to a few hours of morning or late afternoon sun, but considerable skylight all day long. Moderate shade is filtered light as that coming through trees with light foliage, but little or no direct sun at anytime.
Heavy shade is that under trees with thick foliage, and is suitable for only a few plant species.
Shearing Wholesale cutting back of a plant, rather than selective pruning or deadheading. Often used to regenerate plants with many, small stems, where deadheading would be too time consuming. Sheet Composting A method of spreading undecomposed organic materials over the soil's surface, then working them into the soil to decompose, rather than piling them and spreading the resulting compost. Shrub A woody plant with a framework of branches and little or no central stem. Slip A herbaceous soft-wood cutting used in propagation.