Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank.

Some patches of the ______ garden have a rich cover of grass now.

sprawling

The most appropriate option to fill in the blank is sprawling.

• Stroking, slouching, and stretching do not make sense in the context of the sentence.
• Sprawling means to spread out over a wide area in an untidy way. This is the most appropriate word to fill in the blank because it describes the way that some patches of the garden have spread out over a wide area and have a rich cover of grass.

Here is a more detailed explanation of why the other options are not as appropriate.

• Stroking is a verb that means to rub or caress something gently. It does not make sense in the context of the sentence because gardens are not typically stroked.
• Slouching is a verb that means to sit or stand in a lazy or ungainly way. It does not make sense in the context of the sentence because gardens are not typically slouched.
• Stretching is a verb that means to extend something to its full length. It does not make sense in the context of the sentence because gardens are not typically stretched.