There’s been an explosion in gardening websites over the last few years and a wealth of information is available. But if you can’t find the answer to your question, or you just want to connect with other gardeners all over the world, then you should check out some of the great gardening forums available. There’s a gardening forum to suit every gardener, no matter their skill level or areas of interest.
GardenWeb advertises itself as the largest community of gardeners on the Internet. The forum covers nearly all aspects of gardening, with sections for rose growers, kitchen gardeners, wildflowers and native plants and propagation techniques. There's also sections for gardeners in countries outside the USA.
Dave's Garden website contains a mountain of information for gardeners all over the world, as well as a comprehensive forum. This is the place to hang out if you want to chat about particular families of plants, specific gardening techniques, outdoor living and homesteading. There's even separate sections for the different US regions.
YouGrowGirl is a gardening website for real people - people who don't have unlimited space, live in urban areas or just don't have much time to garden. The forums offer practical advice to like-minded gardeners on subjects such as container gardening, native plants, indoor gardening, cacti and craft projects.
The Grapevine Forum is based on the website of UK gardening magazine Grow Your Own. It's a busy place and home to a community of keen vegetable and fruit growers who will happily respond to your queries and chat about what's growing in their gardens. Each month the magazine prints a round-up of posts on a particular topic.
The Kitchen Garden forum is another site hosted by a UK gardening magazine. Experienced kitchen gardeners hang out here, and it's a great place to check out technical details and gardening best practice.
The forum at SelfSufficientish is a friendly place inhabited by people who are trying to reduce their impact on the environment by becoming as self sufficient as possible (most people can't move to the country and start a homestead). The gardening sections cover everything from finding an allotment (community garden), growing vegetables and herbs, keeping livestock and foraging for wild food.
Allotments4All is a lively forum for kitchen gardeners, based in the UK but open to members from all over the world. The focus here is on growing edible plants, but there's also sections for ornamental plants, livestock, wildlife, ponds and recipes for making the best use of your harvest.
Vegetable Gardens is a new website, aiming to help gardeners grow tasty vegetables and fruit. The forum has all the sections you'd expect - seasonal vegetables, herbs, fruit, container gardening - as well as information on growing plants polytunnels and greenhouses and a place to brag about your gardening blog.
The forums at Moosey's Country Garden are a great place to chat about gardening in general, what's growing in your garden, organic gardening and how to have a garden that's good for you and your pets. You can even gets your plants identified, if you find something growing that you don't recognize.
The American gardening magazine Organic Gardening has a forum that's a natural home for all organic gardeners. Subjects covered here include advice for new gardeners, recipes and craft ideas, herb gardening, and organic gardening issues.
Always happy to find out about good gardening sites.
#2 by Linda, Nov 8, 2007
Thank you, Emma. This is a great gardening resource -- especially for a novice gardener like myself.
Cheers,
Linda
#3 by Mario Vaden, Dec 13, 2007
Several of those are ones I visit.
The best forums are generally ones where the moderators participate, which seems to be the case with at least half that list.
Lately, a bit disappointed that Arborist forum users don't think like landscapers, and that Landscape forum users don't think like Arborists, I started a brand new Pacific NW landscape FORUM to fill that void.
Turf to Trees
http://www.turftotrees.com
Includes and Ask an Arborist and Ask a Designer section. The FORUM is tailored to landscape design, soil care, watering, tree care, etc..
Because whether it's a home gardener working, an arborist, or a landscaper, there is only one set of knowledge, science and skill to do the work right. No mysterious skills. When the climbing gear, chippers, garden rakes and mowers are all set-aside, "horticulture" is the least common denominator.
That's Turf to Trees. A horticulture forum.
M. D. Vaden of Oregon
#4 by B Hawkins, Mar 3, 2008
Great sites! Thanks.
I visit one more www.backyardwildlifehabitats.com
Thanks for the list!
#5 by Bruce F, Mar 11, 2008
A few of us who live in the city of Chicago growing heirloom vegetables on our rooftops in cheap homemade earthboxes. In response to huge environmental problems, it's a small but rewarding way to push back. Also, we think they're a great way to build connections in a fragmented social/political landscape.
Here's the Flickr link, alongside the pics is a little how-to guide with plenty of relevant links.
