Here are a list of links to which I often refer. Whether I want to order a plant, look up a plant, identify a plant, or chat about a plant, there’s a place to go and a lot of information out there. A list of favorite books follows.
Horticultural Information:
www.extension.umd.edu – Educational gold mine for Maryland Gardeners.
www.ohioline.osu.edu – Excellent database of fact sheets on everything garden.
www.plants.usda.gov – Another smart resource for the gardener looking for a specific plant or pest.
www.davesgarden.com – Popular worldwide gardening forum and chat site.
Catalog Sites:
www.peacefulvalleyfarmsupply.com – Organic catalog site with seeds, plants, equipment and great advice.
www.heirloomseeds.com – Seeds for the gardener who wants self-perpetuating varieties.
www.bluestoneperennials.com – Catalog site recommended by a friend – what a selection, and they guarantee for life!
www.forestfarm.com – Not only a wonderful database for plants, but a place to buy them too!
www.gurneys.com – Seed/plant site with lots of old fashioned and newer varieties, fairly easy on the pocketbook – great for the beginner with a lot of room to fill.
www.waysidegardens.com – Lots of “rare” varieties for lots of money. Great wish list site.
Favorite Books:
Am I even allowed to mention the word “books” on the internet? If it hasn’t already become apparent from my writing, I am a bricks & mortar kind of gal. This means that although my husband continues to push me to visit iTunes when I’m looking for a piece of music, I am far happier going to Borders and picking up a CD (although the selection is definitely dwindling).
This also means that I would rather thumb through a volume of Robert Frost’s collected works to find “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” than look up the stanzas via Google. It also means that I prefer the feel of a book to the feel of a laptop. I know my days are numbered. I can see the writing on the wall. But until Kindles have taken over the world, I will revel in the pleasure of opening a book, turning the pages, making notes and inserting them therein. A few of my favorites (broken down by categories) include:
General Flower Gardening:
Christopher Lloyd’s Flower Garden – Christopher Lloyd
What Plant Where – Roy Lancaster
Growing North America’s Favorite Plants – Barbara Ellis
The Complete Gardener – Monty Don
On Gardening – Penelope Hobhouse
Rodale’s Garden Problem Solver – Rodale Press
General Vegetable Gardening:
The New Victory Garden – Bob Thompson
The New Kitchen Garden – Anna Pavord
The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible -Edward C. Smith
The Countryside Cookbook – Gail Duff
The Backyard Beekeeper – Kim Flottum
And when I’m in the mood to just read about the pleasures of gardening:
In My Garden – Christopher Lloyd
The Living Garden – George Ordish
The Art of The Kitchen Garden – Ethne Clarke
Thomas Jefferson - The Garden and Farm Books – Robert C. Baron
