Gardening Resources
As I find good gardening resources, I’ll add them here. Magazines are my mainstay, but I surf the web and watch television as well. I haven’t been paid for these reviews, but if I am, I’ll let you know.
My old-school favorite is Southern Living. I poured over the pages of Southern Living when I was a little kid, usually looking for photos of gardens with water features. I had an obsession with water features from ponds, lakes, creeks, pools, and even fountains. My Mom’s coffee table bears the weight of at least a year’s worth of Southern Livings and other gardening magazines at a time, and now my coffee table and some bookshelves look pretty much the same. The magazine features lush gardens and plant care advice for southern gardens. I dream of being featured in Southern Living, but I think most women raised on Southern Living have that dream.
Garden Gate Magazine came into my life a couple of years ago. It maps out entire garden plans and provides advice about the best types of plants for defined spaces. Plus, you get a sneak peak at the new varieties of plants hitting the market each spring and summer.
Birds & Blooms gives great advice about flowers, garden plans, and the creatures that inhabit your garden, including birds and butterflies. The magazine features DIY projects that can help the everyday backyard gardener like me!
My heart broke when HGTV stopped aired Gardening by the Yard. I loved watching Paul James “The Gardener Guy,” and I recorded his show to watch as a special weekend morning treat (well, technically, afternoon treat since I tend to wake up around noon on weekends). He had wonderful gardening advice, especially for organic gardening. You can watch entire old episodes on HGTV. He had a website of his own for a while, but he lost interest in it and closed it down. I’m disappointed that HGTV doesn’t have more shows about plants and everyday gardening. Everything seems to be focused on massive landscape overhauls.
Smits Greenhouse – Local Greenhouse
Smits Greenhouse in my hometown provides the best advice for gardening in my area. Even when I lived in a neighboring city, I still traveled to Smits each spring for my plants. I recommend finding a good local greenhouse and getting to know the staff. You can learn all sorts of planting tips and tricks to make your garden flourish. My local greenhouse even carries heirloom tomatoes, which are some of my favorites (Mortgage Lifter, San Marzano, and others). When my San Marzano tomatoes appeared to be suffering from wilt, the folks at Smits advised applying copper sulfate. The advice saved my plants, and they produced like crazy the rest of the summer.
Family & Friends
Family and Friends are some of the best resources a gardener could ever have. Fortunately, my Mom, who is pro gardener, lives right next door to me. We garden together, and she gives wonderful advice even if I don’t always take it. A friend of the family showed Mom and me how to shock grapevines so that they will produce better. This should be the year we get to see how well it worked, and I’m excited. My yard proudly displays Japanese Anemones, Sensitive Fern (Beaded Fern), and even trees that are transplants from loved ones. The other night a friend told me about chaining/beating Wisteria to make it bloom better. I’ll be investigating that practice and might give it a whirl this fall. As I run across good tips, I’ll pass them along.