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Gardening

General Gardening and Garden Reference

The Internet has a huge number of general gardening sites. I've listed a few here for your perusal. Also on this list are some specifically reference sites, such as plant encyclopedias and a gardeners' search engine.

  • About.com's Gardening Area - "The Internet motherlode of gardening sites with categorized areas of specialty for the home gardener ranging from starting seeds to garden design and implementation. Representing Gardening on the Internet, this site pulls the best of the best and most useful gardening sites online, categorizes the content from each and offers links that go straight to the information gardeners need."
  • Better Homes & Gardens Gardening section
  • Botany.Com, the Encyclopedia of Plants - "Botany.Com, the Encyclopedia of Plants, is your complete resource for all of your Gardening Needs.It provides information regarding the general description of the plants, the various methods of cultivation, such as indoor or outdoor planting, soil and temperature requirements, pruning, and other important details, the means of propagation (seeds, cuttings, division, etc.), and the different varieties and hybrids."
  • Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Gardening Resources
  • Erie County (New York) Cooperative Extension
  • GardenCenters.com - "GardenCenters Online was established to provide the internet community with a comprehensive and detailed source of information about gardening of all types and where to find GardenCenters to assist you in your gardening needs. This site will take you on journeys around the world to visit all types of Gardens and see first hand their native habitat."
  • Heat Zone Map - The American Horticultural Society has developed the Heat Zone Map, which is described in detail at http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm.
  • Poisonous Plants and Plant Parts - It is important to know what plants, and parts of plants, in your yard or garden are potentially hazardous. This site lists the plant, what part of the plant is toxic, and what the symptoms of poisoning are for house plants, vegetable plants, ornamental plants, and others.
  • USDA Plants Database - "The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories."
  • Tips for Growing Your First Home Garden - "Gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby to practice in your spare time-not only is it a great way to spend time outdoors, but it is immensely satisfying to see something that you have nurtured grow and flourish. There are certain plants that are easier to care for when it comes to beginner gardening. Read on to learn more about the basics of growing flowers, vegetables, fruits, and trees in your own backyard."
     

Shopping

With most online garden stores, you can expect to find a wide selection of plants, usually including pictures of the plants and descriptions ranging from basics of height and flower color to instructions for planting and care. Some stores also offer things like gift lists (or gift registries or wish lists), "ask the expert" areas, and discussion boards for users. The discussion boards will be listed under Community, below. On this shopping list you will find a list of those garden centers that I have some experience with. It is by no means an exhaustive list.

  • Guide to Gardening by Mail, Mail Order Gardening, and Catalogs - "The Garden Watchdog is a free directory of 7,260 mail order gardening companies. Here gardeners share their opinions on which companies really deliver on quality, price and service." I've found this to be an invaluable site. If you have done any gardening, you're likely on a garden catalog mailing list. Some of the offers are tremendous. This site lets you know when those offers are too good to be true. Most of the time, they are. I highly recommend looking at this site before ordering from any mail order garden center. It also includes garden Web sites in its listings.
  • Burpee
  • Jackson & Perkins - "Jackson & Perkins is a full-service nursery offering all kinds of flowers, trees, shrubs, ground coverings, bulbs, decorative garden gifts, tools, garden accessories, plant care products and, of course roses. Over 3 million roses and other plants are shipped to customers every year."
  • Park's Gardens - "Welcome to Park's Gardens, home of Park Seed, Countryside Gardens, Park Bulbs, Park Tools, and Park Gifts! Here you will find everything from a complete collection of flower and vegetable seeds to easy-care annual and perennial plants, bulbs, shrubs, and trees. We even have seed-starting supplies, tools, garden art, and gifts."
  • Seeds of Change - "As the original and largest 100% certified organic seed company, our mission is to make the profound rewards of organic gardening available to all, while preserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable organic agriculture. We offer an expansive selection of open-pollinated heirloom, traditional, medicinal and original seed varieties, as well as farm-tested tools, books, posters, gardening and cooking products, as well as information relating to growing organically and living lightly on the planet."
  • White Flower Farm - "White Flower Farm is a family-owned nursery located in Litchfield, Connecticut. Since 1950, we have offered a wide range of annuals, perennials, shrubs, bulbs, and houseplants to gardeners throughout the continental United States."
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