Some gardeners are interested in particular plants, often to the exclusion of others.
They may grow them as part of a decorative garden or they may grow them in special beds designed to suit their particular plants.
Examples of some of the more popular groups of plants for growing in general beds are hellbores, geraniums and hostas.
Some collectors with large collections, however, grow them in beds devoted to their specialization.
These plants will often need special growing conditions, and so lovers of alpine plants will construct special raised beds where the soil is very free draining, while those interested in hellebores may well construct shade beds made with wooden frames covered with shade netting.
These may not be the most elegant of gardens, but they serve the purpose for which the gardener required them and certainly suit the needs of the plants, as the conditions are tailor made for them.
What are small nurseries? There are certain gardeners who get so passionate about plants that they are not content with the confines of their own garden and may want to start growing them from everybody else as well.
What might have started out as a conventional garden soon turns into a small nursery.
Frequently, such a garden will contain plants planted randomly in stock beds, so that they are readily available for propagation.
It will also contain lots of plants grown in pots, ready for sale.
What are other ways of gardening? None of these types of gardens may be conventional but they are certainly all perfectly worthwhile ways of gardening.
There are undoubtedly many people who gain a great deal of enjoyment from these kinds of specialist approaches.
Most specialist gardeners are likely to have started out simply by devoting a relatively small plot to their purpose until enthusiasm has really taken over.
Such specialization can be exciting and if you succumb you will come to know a great deal about plants.
So, how do we grow rare plants? As mentioned before, there are other gardeners who are not especially interested in gardens as such, they are really only interested in growing plants.
While they may not specialize in any particular genus or family, they get their enjoyment from growing unusual and rare plants.
One of the reasons that some plants are rare in gardens is straightforward; they are very difficult to grow.
This presents a challenge to certain gardeners, who will spend a lot of time making certain that the conditions are just right and giving nurturing attention to individuals' plants, much more than would be given to normal ones.
Many people find this a particularly exciting form of gardening.