Gardeners on the Internet

Almost no one gardens alone anymore. In the past, gardeners spent hours poring over gardening books, gardening magazines and gardening catalogs to scheme and plan out a gardening year. This all changed when gardeners started taking advantage of the internet.

The internet offers the latest information that can help gardeners get their season underway. Online gardeners can find information on their USDA Plant Hardiness Zone and on the Farmer’s Almanac Gardening Calendar. The Hardiness Zone information determines the types of plants that can survive the local weather conditions, while the Almanac calendar relies on the cosmos to determine the optimal planting dates.

One of the best outcomes of the internet is the thriving online gardening communities. Gardening communities offer the opportunity for gardeners to get together and exchange gardening ideas and tips. Gardening forums like the Garden Web, Dave’s Garden, Helpful Gardener Gardening Forum, and the UBC Botanical Garden Forums draw gardeners by offering a variety of topic related forums. In the forums, visitors and community members can find information on specific plants, garden types, region specific topics, and gardening news. The contributors to the forums range from master gardeners to beginners. Some of the gardening forums even have blogs. On Gardenweb, the blog GardenVoices is a place where gardeners can share their stories.

Gardeners can join and access information from different gardening associations. The associations offer content that can be used by gardeners, consumers, and educators. The American Horticultural Society (AHS) provides gardening and horticultural education. The society also supports the Master Gardening program. Master Gardeners volunteer their time to help with local gardening lectures, exhibits, and other projects. Gardeners use the internet to connect with local master gardeners. Another association, the National Gardening Association has timely information that benefits the gardening community. The association offers plant-based education, health and wellness, environmental stewardship, community development and home gardening. For gardeners interested in starting a community garden, the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) has a lot of helpful information. Community gardens help get a community together, beautify a neighborhood, and provide fresh and nutritious food to a community. ACGA teaches people what a community garden is and offers information on funding opportunities.

Gardeners can go online to watch gardening videos on variety of topics which include caring for plants, row vegetable gardening, and information about seeds and designing perennial gardens. Gardeners can also read gardening journals online that were inaccessible before. Shopping for rare seeds and plants and purchasing garden supplies that were unavailable locally are also among the many benefits available to the internet gardeners.

The internet is a successful tool in providing gardeners the social networking they need. Gardeners can now find a variety of information ranging from plant propagation & canning to different types of garden storage and metal sheds from other seasoned gardeners.