For centuries, most people’s knowledge, know-how and wisdom in the field (pun intended) of gardening was learned directly from family members and neighbors. While this is still one of the best ways to learn about gardening, the Internet now provides ways to delve into a much larger reservoir of knowledge. So… we’ve collected the best gardening sites on the Internet, so you can go straight to the best gardening resources. Feel free to dive in!
General Garden Knowledge
For the best advice in regards to what grows best where you live, soil needs and testing, information on noxious weeds in your area and common plant diseases and insects you need to be aware of, visit your local County Extension Office website. Your State Department of Agriculture, or local Farm Service Agency may also be good sources of information.
One particularly good website is DianeSeeds.com. This site offers direct links to the top gardening websites available. What makes this site so useful is that in addition to the direct link, there are brief explanations of what you will find there. For instance, TendingMyGarden.com has lots of great general gardening tips and is fun to read, SuccessWithSeed.org is an online encyclopedia of seed starting information, and HerbExpert.co.uk offers excellent advice on growing and cooking with herbs.
Other helpful sites are BHG.com (Better Homes and Gardens), GardenGuides.com and WeekendGardener.net. These sites (as well as others) offer advice on how and when to plant, garden designs, information on insects and diseases and how to rid them from your garden, question and answer sections, and reliable sources for gardening supplies.
Gardening with Kids
What better way to teach your kids good nutrition and an appreciation for where their food comes from than teaching them to raise their own food? Or what better way to give them a summer science lesson and the satisfaction of caring for something beautiful than to let them take ownership in a flower garden? Here are some great gardening resources for getting kids involved:
In addition to your local extension office, county 4-H office or summer school program, the following websites offer helpful age-appropriate projects for gardening with your children: KidsGardening.com , No-Dig-Vegetablegarden.com and Learn2Grow.com. These gardening sites make gardening fun and educational all at the same time. Another site, GardeningwithKids.org provides ordering information on dozens of gardening project kits for children of all ages.
Gardening Magazines
The following is a list of wonderful online gardening magazines for your enjoyment and education:
Gardening Seeds and Supplies
1. Burpee.com – Flower and vegetable seeds and plants, nut and fruit trees, as well as gardening supplies
2. Parkseed.com – Flower and vegetable seeds and plants
3. Gurneys.com – Vegetable and flower seeds and plants, fruit and nut trees, roses, bulbs, shrubs, ornamental grasses, house plants, seed sprouting kits, ground covers, containers and gardening supplies of all kinds
4. Jungseed.com – Vegetable and flower seeds and plants, trees, shrubs, bulbs, and gardening supplies
5. Seedman.com – Exotic plants and seeds for house plants and outdoor gardens, cacti, bonsai trees, edible landscaping plants, Bible gardens, and deer-resistant garden plants
6. Henryfields.com – Time -honored company offering a full range of seeds, plants, trees, shrubs, gardening supplies and ornamental grasses and bulbs
7. Springhillnursery.com – Fruits and berries, bamboo and ornamental grasses, ground covers, bulbs, plants, flowering trees and supplies
8. Tulipworld.com – Bulbs and growing supplies
9. Jacksonperkins.com – Their specialty is roses; lots and lots of them
10. Homeharvest.com – Grower supplies for gardening and greenhouses, gardening books, water garden supplies
11. Gardeners.com – Plants and seeds, containers, pest control, yard and garden décor, composting supplies, indoor seed starting supplies, greenhouses and other supplies
Gardening is one of life’s most rewarding experiences. With all the wonderful gardening resources available — literally at our fingertips — there is no reason to believe you’ll be anything less than successful.
Go to Dave’s Garden and search through the categories there. Check the feedback of the company before ordering (The Garden Watchdog at the same site). I have ordered from LazySS, Select Seed, Diane’s Seeds. Rosey Dawn for coleus. Bluestone used to be a fav for many people but they changed their modus operandi from three packs of starter plugs to one per pot and now the prices compete with buying at my local fancy dancy nursery and so now I only buy bulbs form them or things I can’t find elsewhere. I now order starter plants from Santa Rosa – excellent company with well packaged, healthy plants If you wait until June they have an incredible sale. The only reason I order earlier form them is because I start going crazy right about now, longing for spring.