What is the origin of 'common or garden'?

Question

Why do we speak, for example, of a 'common or garden' bicycle, meaning one that simply does the job of a bicycle without alloy wheels, Sir Bradley Wiggins pedals or any other bells and whistles.

'Common or garden' means much the same thing as 'bog standard' and can apply to anything animate or inanimate.

Edit 28/7/15

The OED entry says.

d.  passing into adj., in the slang phr. common or garden, a jocular substitute for ‘common’, ‘ordinary’.
  
  [1657   W. Coles Adam in Eden xxix. 59   But the Common or Garden Nightshade is not dangerous.] 
  
  1892   Autobiog. Eng. Gamekeeper (J. Wilkins) 67   It was as large as a common—or garden—hen.
  
  1896   Daily News 16 Oct. 3/4   Such common or garden proceedings not being to the taste of Noa.
  
  1897   Westm. Gaz. 4 Aug. 8/2,   I have—to make use of a common or garden expression—been ‘rushed’ in this matter.

Nick · Accepted Answer

The derivation of the phrase obviously does have something to do with gardening, or more precisely, agriculture. Its original meaning, as has already been said, relates to the type of plant, fruit or vegetable which is found frequently in gardens or on "commons". (Historically, "commons" were the large patches of grass or woodland that ancient rural villages designated as being for the use of the community as a whole.) If such a plant is found growing in "the common or garden" it is likely to be unexceptional because of its abundance. The phrase has since come to be applied to anything that is common or unexceptional.
(I was going to say "run of the mill" but that would be opening a whole new bag of worms, to coin a phrase).

user76399 · Answer

It means that it is no frills and generally unremarkable, in that it is easy to come by and not in any way fancy.

Think of the roses you may grow in your backyard- they are pretty common and wouldn't likely win a gardening competition; they simply aren't special.  That said, if you were to mention roses, most everyone would be familiar enough with the flower to know what you are talking about.  You would have yourself some garden variety roses.

Phil · Answer

I always assumed it came from the way we describe species of animals or plants. We call lots of abundant species the 'common ____', just a quick google search throws up the common shrew, the common vole, the common pheasant, to dissociate them from the less common species such as the water vole, the pygmy shrew and the golden pheasant.

The term garden is used similarly in colloquial language, especially for plats. As someone said earlier you can call a common rose a garden rose to distinguish it from a highly cultivated and rare species more likely to be found in some botanical garden.

So the term 'common or garden _____' just comes from these phrases used about animals and plants, and was just applied humorously to other objects, such as a common or garden bicycle to distinguish it from a racing bike or a BMX.

Andy J · Answer

I think you are all a little off the mark with respect to the term itself. Firstly, it is "common o' garden" and not common or garden. The truncation (o' ) means of. The phrase is similar to "common o' salt", whic is also erroneously stated as common assault, which is a completely different concept.
Both common o' garden and common o' salt have the same connotation: something that can be found in abundance - as in salt- or in every garden.

What is the origin of 'common or garden'?

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