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How Does Your Garden Grow?
Web sites to help you plan a garden
The Backyard Gardener http://www.backyardgardener.com provides links to a large number or resources about specific types of gardens, plus much more. Select garden/plant types such as Alpine Garden, Annual Garden, Bog Garden, Herb Garden, Perennial Garden, Rose Garden or Vegetable Garden for specific information about these garden types and the best plants for them. There are also links to items about fence designs, soil prep, lawn care, compost and insects. The Backyard Gardener also provides links to catalogs about gardening, and has a Plant Finder, allowing you to search for plants by their common or Latin names.
Better Homes & Gardens http://www.bhg.com/bhg/gardening/index.jhtml offers information about selecting, planting and maintaining gardens. Features include a question of the week and Editor's Choices for garden plans, plant guides and a plant gallery.
Cornell Cooperative Extension http://www.cce.cornell.edu and the Rensselaer County Cooperative Extension http://www.cce.cornell.edu/rensselaer/general/main_page.htm "enables people to improve their lives and communities through ... [programs in] Agriculture & Food Systems ... and Nutrition, Health & Safety. Of particular interest to gardeners are fact sheets, the publications catalog and the Master Gardener program
Garden.com http://www.garden.com offers a little bit of everything. There are links to a shop, where you can order plants and seeds for your gardening needs; a design a garden section; a section on regional gardening; and a searchable plant index. Additional features are available when you sign up to become a member of garden.com; there is no charge for this. This website comes from Burpee.
GardenNet http://www.gardennet.com, labeled "the premier gateway to gardening on the Internet," has Information Directories arranged by Plant Type and Plant Group, Question and Answers and Discussion sections, links to garden Web sites and online garden shopping sites and catalogs, and additional resources.
GardenWeb http://www.gardenweb.com offers forums to post and to respond to messages, garden exchanges, articles, contests, a garden-related glossary and online catalogs. Additionally, there is a weather link and a calendar of gardening-related events. GardenWeb also provides a direct link to The Rosarian http://www.rosarian.com, a site devoted to roses and gardeners who cultivate them. It includes frequently asked questions about roses, a roses forum, roses in art and literature, rose societies, gardens and dealers, and more.
The Garden Gate http://garden-gate.prairienet.org offers a collection of links to horticulture sites around the world. Sections include a Gardener's Reading Room providing online books, magazines, catalogs and catalog information about gardening; a Teaching Garden with databases, plant lists and more; a section for shopping for items for your garden; plus additional features. There is also a What's New section, where the latest additions to the Web site are posted.
HGTV's Garden and Landscaping pages http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gardening/0,1784,HGTV_3546,00.html offer everything from schedules for Home and Garden TV to calculators for fences and grass seed. You've seen the teasers on HGTV shows to go online for more information? This is where you'll find it!
National Gardening http://www.nationalgardening.com/ is run by the nonprofit, National Gardening Association (originally named Gardens for All). They focus on everyday home gardening, using every medium available, from books to radio and TV, to help beginners get started and keep old pros inspired. National Gardening was an enthusiastic early adaptor of electronic media, beginning as Gardening Forum managers on CompuServe in the early 1990s. In 1996 National Gardening launched their first Web site and began providing electronic gardening databases and customized editorial services to both consumers and companies on the Internet. [paraphrased from their web site]
Organic Gardening http://www.organicgardening.com/ offers the basics of organic gardening, and has features including an online almanac with gardening zones, a questions and answer section, an organic gardening bookstore and a free monthly almanac newsletter. There is also a section with links to gardening sites and an online archive of previously featured topics. You can also subscribe to, and maintain, your print subscription to Organic Gardener from this site.
WebGarden http://webgarden.osu.edu/ is maintained by the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at The Ohio State University, and offers "a collection of resources for beginning and professional gardeners, students, teachers, professional agronomists and horticulturists."
Newsgroup(s) can't be demonstrated at the school. However, you can go to http://groups.google.com/group/rec.gardens?gvc=2 and read articles there, or search the group at http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?num=25&hl=en&group=rec.gardens You can also access them through your news reader (probably Outlook Express on a standard Windows installation, though there are better readers available) at rec.gardens You will have to contact your ISP for news server information. AOL users can go to keyword "News". If you have any questions, please feel free to come into the library and ask Joe.
A sampling of recent topics:
Moved from Colorado to PA (2 articles)
Trellis vine in New Englands (5 articles)
Cats Fouling Gardens/Lawns (12 articles)
Climbing Rose (11 articles)
Tax deduction...garden produce donation to local cha... (3 articles)
Viburnum question (9 articles)
Backyard Pond (4 articles)
cow pies and daffodils (11 articles)
Cosmos (11 articles)
Naturalized flower like lily of the valley, southern... (16 articles)
Has your Murray riding mower been recalled? (1 article)
slugs/fertilizer question (15 articles)
Spindly Blueberry Bush (4 articles)
ideas for fountain base needed (4 articles)
using ginger in compost (3 articles)
Christmas Cactus Cuttings (9 articles)
Send questions or comments to us at Brunswick Community Library.