📙 Part 2: Describe a park or garden in your city

This episode's vocabulary

Botanic garden (noun) - a garden, usually open to the public, where a wide range of plants are grown for scientific and educational purposes.

Built environment (noun) - the parts of the places in which we live that have been built by people, for example, buildings and streets, rather than the parts that exist in nature.

Scenery (noun) - the general appearance of the natural environment, especially when it is beautiful.

Clime (noun) - a place where the weather is different in a particular way.

Greenhouse (noun) - a building with a roof and sides made of glass, used for growing plants that need warmth and protection.

Surroundings (plural noun) - the place where someone or something is and the things that are in it.

Urban sprawl (noun) - the spread of a city into the area surrounding it, often without planning.

The outskirts (plural noun) - the areas that form the edge of a town or city.

To sack (verb) - to remove someone from a job, usually because they have done something wrong or badly, or sometimes as a way of saving the cost of employing them.

Questions and Answers

M: Off you go.

R: Well, like most large towns, there are botanic gardens in my hometown, which I think is best described as something like a zoo for trees. It sounds silly but that’s as close a description as I can get.

I haven’t actually been there in years, to be honest. I think the last time was part of a university course on how to use the built environment to teach…and if that sounds like a complete waste of time, it’s because it was. However, at least the scenery was nice; there are huge trees and bushes from all parts of the world, even from hotter climes in the greenhouses there. I always wondered why we even went there but come to think of it, the place is owned by the university so from their point of view it makes sense to use it as much as possible. Value of money and all that.

I’m sure there is plenty to do but most of the time people just walk around and enjoy their surroundings, which makes sense since lots of places in Dundee are just urban sprawl without much in the way of green space. Now I think about it, I am sure there is a café there (my friend used to run the place), and companies sometimes host different events.

In terms of how I feel about it, I have mixed emotions to be honest; it’s great we have this place for people and it could be quite calming, but once that is done, it’s just a big garden with different trees. It’s a good thing I don’t work for their marketing team or I’d be sacked.

If I didn’t have this place in my town, I think I’d have talked about another garden near where I live, but the Botanic Gardens was just the one that came to mind the most easily.

M: And what about your friends? Do they enjoy this place?

R: The ones that have been there didn't have any complaints.

Discussion

M: So a park or a garden? What's the difference? Park or a garden? Yeah, usually when we say things about a garden, we say about botanic gardens. Okay? And the name is botanic gardens.

R: Or botanical garden.

M: Botanical gardens as well. So Rory told us there are botanic gardens in my hometown. So like a special place, you pay money, you go there. And you see this variety of trees and plants.

R: I think it's actually free for me. But do you pay money to go to the botanic gardens in Moscow?

M: No, actually in Moscow, it's free. But we have, for example, botanic gardens in Sochi by the sea, so you have to pay.

R: But I think that's Sochi, you have to pay for everything there. You have to pay for... In New York as well, also. I think there are ones in... Is it Harlem or Brooklyn? There's a neighbourhood that has these giant gardens. It's nice, but I'm sure we had to pay lots of money to go in.

M: So dear listener, here, you can talk about a park. A park could be just like, okay, it's free for everybody, it's just like trees, and maybe paths, some roads for people to walk on. So it could be like a nice park or it could be some kind of a wild place. Yeah? So like pick a park. Pick a place. But even if there are some trees and benches to sit on, it could also be called a park.

R: But if you pick a park, then you won't be able to see what I did for the Botanic Gardens, which is that it's a zoo for trees.

M: It's a zoo for trees. Yeah. And if you go to Botanic Gardens, then you can... Yeah, you can use more vocabulary items, for example. So it's a zoo for trees. A zoo for animals, but botanic gardens. Botanic Gardens, yeah?

R: I think it could be either, the Botanical Gardens are zoos for trees or the Botanic Gardens are zoos for trees because there's a plural in the title. Yeah. But it's one location where I am. So I don't see the problem.

M: I haven't been there for years.

R: I haven't.

M: So you haven't been there for a long time. The last time I was there was last year, for example. The scenery was nice. So the scenery is nice.

R: I keep telling people not to use the word nice, but it was the only one I could think of in the moment. Because it's like, this place is boring, but at least the scenery is nice.

M: The scenery? The general appearance of the natural environment. So what it looks like, like the scenery is beautiful, or like beautiful scenery? I enjoy the beautiful scenery of this park, for example. There are huge trees and bushes from all parts of the world. And then you should name certain trees and certain bushes, Rory, right?

R: Yes, but I didn't. Did I?

M: Did you?

R: I didn't. I just said there were huge trees and bushes throughout all parts of the world. I don't know what I would say, like aloe vera trees, cactuses, cacti?

M: Yes. For example. Exactly. Cacti.

R: Okay, fine. Cacti.

M: Or, for example, you can say like tropical plants or exotic plants, succulent plants. What are succulent plants? Like aloe.

R: I think they're like really juicy.

M: Do you say aloe?

R: Aloe vera.

M: Aloe vera. Yes.

R: So all of these specialists words that I didn't use, but you could use.

M: Yes. Huge trees and bushes from all over the world. And then like greenhouses, usually there are greenhouses there. Special, you know, like small houses. And you walk inside and then you see like, cucumbers or tomatoes, or different exotic plants. So what do we usually do in such places? Well, and you can start off with there is plenty to do there. Just walk around. Enjoy the surroundings. Surroundings? Like what is around you. Yeah? So I just enjoy walking around. I enjoy the surroundings of a park or of Botanic Gardens. And usually, we have this urban sprawl.

R: An endless sea of houses.

M: Yeah.

R: Or buildings, I should say. There's no nature.

M: We don't see any trees. It's just like buildings, houses, urban sprawl. So the spread of a city into the area... Into the area. Yeah? And how can you use it in a sentence? Urban sprawl.

R: I don't like to live in an urban sprawl. I don't think anybody does.

M: And it's a nice green space. So this park or Botanical Gardens is a nice green space. And there is a cafe there. So you can sit there, and have a drink. And maybe this park hosts different events. Cause there are concerts and other events like, I don't know...

R: Parties.

M: Parties, yeah. Concerts, parties in this park or in this Botanic Gardens?

R: They might have presentations and product launches. I mean, I don't know. Those are different kinds of events. We could just lie about what happens in the Botanic Gardens. I don't know.

M: Yeah, we have a park where you can go and listen to a live concert, like classical music and there are musicians there. It's really beautiful. And you're surrounded by roses and different flowers, mosquitoes. In terms of how I feel about it, I have mixed emotions, to be honest. So if you have mixed emotions, you are happy and you're sad at the same time. So it's kind of like you have different emotions. So on the one hand, it's great to have such a place. So it could be quite calming. Right? So it's calming, it calms you down. But then it's just a big garden.

R: It's just a big zoo for trees.

M: Yeah, it's just like a zoo for trees.

R: I wish they had some animals there because that would be cool just to see the animals but they don't. It's just endless greenery. Which is nice, but I like to be around animals too.

M: But usually there are some birds.

R: Well, yeah, but you know.

M: And usually there's like a body of water, like a pond or something. And there are like birds or geese.

R: But there's still no fish. No. Although, when my friend Lena and I went to the Botanic Gardens in New York, there was a fish in the pond. But we were chased away by the security guards because apparently, it was illegal for people to be there. So we accidentally broke into this place. Oh my gosh.

M: You see? Scotland freedom. It's just Rory just walks everywhere. He can walk everywhere.

R: This was in New York, though, I don't think Americans, despite all of their protestations to the contrary, believe in that kind of freedom.

M: So greenery is another good word when you talk about parks and Botanic Gardens. Green plants or branches. Greenery. And how can we use it in a sentence? Greenery.

R: Greenery? Something like the Botanic Gardens for the greenery. It's nice to be around the greenery.

M: It's nice to be around the greenery or I enjoy the greenery of this place. Yeah, very nice. What else can you say? I am happy to be there. Or I feel calm when I'm there.

R: It's a cool place to chill out.

M: You can also say that walking in this park is therapeutic for me. It's a kind of therapy, therapeutic.

R: Did I say that?

M: No, you just can say that. Like speaking about your emotions, and how you feel about it. Yeah. Or you feel sad maybe. Because it's such a small place. And you want to have more greenery. If I didn't have this place in my town, I'd have something else. Yeah? Or I'd have another garden.

R: Well, I'd have picked another garden. I hope. I like that paraphrase, though, still. It's a zoo for trees.

M: It's nice, huh? But like it is a zoo for trees.

R: It is.

M: So if our listener chooses to talk about a park, what can we say about a park? Because the activities are different in a park, for example.

R: They are. There's probably a greater choice of activities. So you could talk about what you could see people doing, playing football, throwing a Frisbee, but you could also talk about the open space. Sometimes events are also hosted in parks. What people do to maintain the park. I would pick Botanic Gardens, though. I'm pretty sure that most cities in the world have Botanic Gardens. Hold on. List of Botanic Gardens.

M: Or maybe you can go on a hike in your park. If your park is huge, there might be hiking trails, to go on a hike, to go on like a walk with a backpack. And to enjoy local wildlife, to do bird watching. You can watch some birds to enjoy the greenery.

R: I've just checked Wikipedia there. And there's something called Botanic Gardens Conservation International that has more than 800 participating botanical gardens. So I think there is one for just about every single country and place on Earth. Even North Korea has Botanical Gardens.

M: Yeah, if you talk about Botanical Gardens, you can mention all these, you know, names for trees. And yeah, but also you can speak about a park. You can also mention that this park is an outdoor gym, cause some people go to a park to work out. There's equipment such as like pull-up bars, step-ups, static bikes, and parallel bars. You see? Specific vocabulary. What helped you organize this answer?

R: The prompt and the fact I really wanted to use my expression zoo for trees. I love that. But yes, I pretty much answered it in the order there was. Although, I mentioned specifically what the place was first. So I added some information. And then when I go there, I haven't been there in years. But I did go there on point. And then what it's like. I didn't actually introduce anything specific. I didn't say in terms of things you can do there. I just said I'm sure there's plenty to do. But most of the time people do these things. However, I did get specific with my feelings, in terms of how I feel about it. And then I round it off with, of course, if I hadn't blah, blah, blah, I think I'd have blah, blah, blah.

M: Yay. Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in speaking part three, where we talk about parks and gardens in general. Bye!

R: Bye!

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