Your other gardening websites?

[MaryMary]

Whether it's veggies or trees or flowers or bees, what have you found interesting or particularly helpful? DIY garden projects? Worm bins? Food preservation? Butterfly gardens? Topiary or Bonsai?

A brief description with the link would be nice. (If there are any cautions about the site, that would be nice, too.)

I've had an interest in helping the bee population, and I like this website. The whole site is interesting to me, but the link I provided is to their list of best bee plants.
http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/bee-plants.html

Since joining the forum, and reading many posts from @JBtheExplorer, I've had an increased interest in native plants. I found a Native Plant Database that will tell you what is native for some members areas. (US and Canada.) What I really like is that you can specify things like sun and soil requirements, height, color, and bloom time. My only caution is: I specified perennial plants in pink, blue, purple and violet. It showed me several that were white or red. So now I'm wondering if they were all perennial. But it's a start, and I'll do the research...
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/


I realize I have no control over what you choose to post, but I will make one request. In the interest of this .forum, please, no links to other gardening forums. (That would just be tacky. )

 

[Beth_B]

I joined Dave's Garden site a few years ago but full access requires a paid membership. It is insanely active though, if you're looking for that. Honestly I prefer the pace of this site. It's mellow. And despite not being insanely active, I've received solid advice whenever I've had questions.

 

[marlingardener]

I like the solid advice given on this forum. I also appreciate the civil, kind, and helpful posts.
I am also on GardenStew, which is also helpful, kind, and civil. I love to discuss gardening, find new plants, and see other gardeners' gardens.
Aren't we lucky to have more than one great gardening website?

 

[MaryMary]

It is insanely active though, if you're looking for that.

I am also on GardenStew, which is also helpful, kind, and civil.

Thank you for your answers; but I think you are misunderstanding me...

I'm not looking for another gardening forum. I'm looking for information, pure and simple.

I cut and pasted part of the page from the Native Plant Database. There were .pull down menus, and little boxes to tick, but they're gone... nevertheless, you can see what I mean. Fine-tuning it to my area/preferences is about the most interaction I want.

Select State or Province
Habit (general appearance)
Duration (lifespan)
Light requirement
Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day
Part shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day
Shade - Less than 2 hours of sun per day
Soil moisture
Dry - soil does not exhibit visible signs of moisture
Moist - soil looks and feels damp
Wet - soil is saturated with water
Bloom Characteristics
Bloom Time: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Bloom Color: White Red Pink Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple Violet Brown Black
Size Characteristics
Height: 0-1 ft. 1-3 ft. 3-6 ft. 6-12 ft. 12-36 ft. 36-72 ft. 72-100 ft. More than 100 ft.

I kind of thought it would be interesting to have a thread where we showed each other our other resources for learning things. Think less "forum-chat" and more "online gardening book." Does that make sense?

We can share our own personal interests, and in doing so, maybe pique someone else's... or share a super-cool website for online tutorials...

 

[JBtheExplorer]

=
Since joining the forum, and reading many posts from @JBtheExplorer, I've had an increased interest in native plants. I found a Native Plant Database that will tell you what is native for some members areas. (US and Canada.) What I really like is that you can specify things like sun and soil requirements, height, color, and bloom time. My only caution is: I specified perennial plants in pink, blue, purple and violet. It showed me several that were white or red. So now I'm wondering if they were all perennial. But it's a start, and I'll do the research...

Glad to hear you're becoming more and more interested in natives!

Prairie Moon Nursery is the best site, in my opinion, for learning about US natives and what areas they're native to, especially for those in the midwest and east coast. Each plant has a map to show its location. I don't think you can search for "perennials" specifically, but I'd say just about everything they list on their site is perennial, if not everything. Their plant finder will help you search for plants based on sun exposure, soil, bloom time, color, etc.

I mention them probably too often, but they really helped me get started when I was getting to learn about natives. If I wanted to learn more about a specific plant, wildflower.org, illinoiswildflowers, and davesgarden were helpful resources.

 

[MaryMary]

Aside from the other links I've provided, I'm asking for things like this :
http://www.coolcrafts.com/diy-planters/

If you click that link, it will take you to a site with 60 different tutorials for DIY planters. Everything ranging from old tires, tin cans, kid's toys, milk cartons, or decorating terracotta pots with paint, lace, or old cloth. There are pictures of each planter, a brief description, and a link to click for the tutorial.

.

So if you have a special interest, and know a website catering to it, I'd like you to post it here. I may not have an interest in it, but maybe another forum member will...or maybe someone will click the link out of curiosity, and gain an interest in it.

I can always expand my interests. I can always learn, and grow.

 

[MaryMary]

Glad to hear you're becoming more and more interested in natives!
...snip...

I'm sure you are... considering it is all your fault!!

But once you think about it, planting natives makes perfect sense. Why keep trying to "fix" my soil to accept something that doesn't belong here, when I can find something just as pretty that is accustomed to this .soil?! And is something the local birds, bees, butterflies expect to find for a food source. (I'm still going to have my "imports," but I'm paying more attention to natives.)

Thank you for the link to Prairie Moon Nursery!

It was the blue-eyed grass that hooked me... such pretty pictures. I've learned it is native and perennial in my area. I've called Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, and 3 local greenhouses; no one sells it as seed. If .they have it in stock, I might .be able to buy it in a 2.5 quart planter from Lowe's, and the site I saw said I can divide it. So I might get two plants for the price of one...

Wish me luck!! Thank you for the site, and for sparking my interest in natives.

 

[Vinaya]

I am a hobbyist gardener, I do not have ant training related to gardening. Since my ancestors were farmers, gardening naturally came to me. The only gardening community I am engaged online is this forum. When I have questions, I come to this community. When I want to ask something, I come to this community.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

If .they have it in stock, I might .be able to buy it in a 2.5 quart planter from Lowe's, and the site I saw said I can divide it. So I might get two plants for the price of one...

Make sure to check any local garden centers, they would be most likely to have it.
When I bought mine, I broke off 6 parts and planted them around. They all seemed to take hold and many flowered this year. The plant was big enough that even after dividing them off, it still looked like a nice size plant. Once you get them going, seed is very easy to collect and spread to get more the following year. Sisyrinchium angustifolium is the type that I grow, though I'm sure other species all look great, too!

 

[Beth_B]

Apologies, I did misunderstand your question!

Really this is the only garden-related site I visit regularly, though I've bookmarked the Prairie Moon site. Also I subscribe to the following blog:
http://www.gardenmyths.com

It's irreverent but well-written. The author debunks "garden myths" and provides plenty of cites and references to back up his claims. He also politely responds to comments.

 

[priticious]

To find weather a plant is native or invasive in California you can follow calflora.org. It is a useful resource for home gardener.

How to use the search -

How to find if a plant is native or invasive in California

I read blog post here, most of the member share their garden pic which inspire me to explore more. I have joined a local facebook group for gardening to discuss about nursery , swaps and communicating issues in my Zone.

Hope it help.