find stuff on the net - Creating a Green Thumb

Article Library | Creating a Green Thumb - Gardening Web Sites

With spring here and summer just around the corner, many of us are turning our thoughts away from shoveling sidewalks and layering on coats. Instead, dreams of lush green lawns and densely leaved trees enter our minds. Not all of us are born with “green thumbs”, however, and we can use a little help with tending our lawns and gardens. Here are a few web sites that may be of interest.

National Gardening
http://www.garden.org/

This web site, created by the National Gardening Association (a nonprofit), offers all kinds of help for the experienced and “rookie” gardeners alike. Click on “Regional Reports” (on the left side of the page) for hints on what to plant based on your area of residence. A search engine (click the “Q &A Library” link) lets you find answers to common questions by entering in keywords. If you’re just in the mood to browse through some pre-written articles, click the “Article Library” to search for over 300 of them.

Interested in showing kids the fun of gardening? Check out the “kidsgardening.com” link near the top of the page. This takes you to a special section of the site geared for teachers and families alike. Teachers can get lesson ideas and purchase a full gardening course. Parents can browse an extensive online primer on bringing kids into their gardening activities.

For those looking not just to grow nice-looking plants but something to enjoy eating, examine the “Food Gardening Guide”. Need help planting, growing, or harvesting vegetables, fruits, or herbs? There is an extensive guide for each family of “goodies”. For example, the “Herb Gardening Guide” can show you how to plant and care for basil, dill, sage, parsley, mint, chives, oregano, thyme, and rosemary.

Combine these helpful tips and articles with a discussion board, recipes, calendar of events, and downloadable wallpaper, and you can see why National Gardening is one site you should not miss if you care for a garden.

Home & Garden Televison
http://www.hgtv.com/

hgtv.com is the online companion to the popular Home and Garden Television cable station. For gardening help, check out the “Gardening & Landscaping” section under “Our Categories” on the left side of the page.

Like this article? Want to know when new ones are available? Join the free FINDSTUFF e-mail list! Look at the bottom of this page for the easy sign-up form.

While the gardening content on hgtv.com is subject to change to reflect current programming, I found quite a few interesting articles while surfing the site in May. A “Gardening Basics” section provides all types of tips for the new gardener, everything from managing soil to buying fertilizer to how much to water (according to Paul James, host of Gardening by the Yard, approximately 80% of gardeners do not water correctly!) If you’re tired of reading, several video clips are available for viewing.

Other current content includes how to grow the perfect grapes, splitting up larger gardens into smaller “minigardens”, and taking better photos of your work (so you can gloat and show them off to your friends! ). And, of course, links and information about current HGTV shows are also available in case you’d rather digest information via the tube.

Although you might not find as much information here as on National Gardening (after all, I’m sure HGTV would just love it if you watched the shows on television), the information presented is of quite high quality. For some beginner’s advice, seasonal articles, and extra information about gardening shows on television, take a look through this site.

The Gardener’s Net
http://www.gardenersnet.com/

The Gardener’s Net is another web site and online community focused on gardening. There is a wealth of information available, especially in the “How to Grow” links on the left section of the site. Gain detailed help growing all kinds of bulbs, flowers, houseplants, lilacs, roses, and more. Not only does each section provide excellent advice but you’ll also find photographs and links to other relative web sites.

Check out the “Fun and Games” section if you’re looking to kill a few minutes. There are jokes such as “Top 10 Signs You Have Gone Over the Garden’s Edge” (are visions of “Sugar Peas” dancing in your head come Christmastime?) as well as, yes I kid you not with the title, “The Declaration of Pumpkindependance”. You can find a link to a garden-based jigsaw puzzle, various quizzes, and a soon to be famous “Flower Dance”.

Unfortunately, “The Flying Cow” link goes nowhere…

As this site is a community of gardeners, you should glance through the message boards. There are some useful hints and tips, but like other message boards on the net, you need to know how to weed out (very bad pun!) the good stuff from the spam such as work-from-home opportunities.

With a nice section of “how to grow” articles, links to other gardening web sites, and some … umm… interesting jokes and games, The Gardener’s Net provides a nice array of useful planting information and welcome diversions.

This is just a very small sampling of the gardening-related information available on the net. Whether you’re looking to keep your perennials looking fresh and alive, your tomatoes red and juicy, or your bulbs bursting with color, the Internet can provide a wealth of hints and tips for getting the most out of your gardening experience.

This article is copyright 2002 Andrew Malek of Envision Programming and may not be reproduced. All company names and web sites are copyrights or trademarks of their respective organizations.