Using Online Gardening Resources to Educate Gardeners

Gardening requires two types of resources: physical supplies like tools, soil, plants and seeds, as well as human ones including volunteers. Community gardens need both, especially if they want to grow more food for their neighborhood and cultivate a culture of gardening within the community.

Educating gardeners on how to do just that is a top priority for many green-industry professionals. They often rely on the wide range of reputable gardening resources found online to answer plant-specific questions, and also use them to find research-backed answers to general horticultural queries.

The National Gardening Association is one of the largest websites dedicated to gardening and offers a wealth of resources for novices as well as expert growers. Its library of how-to articles covers topics such as creating a raised bed garden, attracting pollinators, growing herbs and veggies, and avoiding pests in the vegetable patch.

Other reputable online resources include the sites of individual plant societies and other gardening organizations. These can provide a wealth of information on exotic or rare plant species, or tips on specific gardening tasks. For example, the American Orchid Society provides learning modules on growing this beautiful and exotic flower. The American Hydrangea Society has a similar page of how-to tips on caring for this beloved shrub.

There are even online gardening courses available for those who are looking to learn more about a particular topic or skill. This is especially true of a number of popular horticultural schools, including the University of California at Davis. Their Master Gardener Training course teaches new gardeners the skills needed to grow healthy and productive gardens. Another great option is the University of Minnesota’s Sustainable Landscape course. It focuses on how to create and maintain healthy gardens that support native wildlife.

Then there is the plethora of books and magazines that are a treasure trove for gardeners at any level of expertise. Some of the most popular titles include Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening system, which has been adapted by millions of home gardeners, with All New Square Foot Gardening (3rd Edition) being the latest in the series. Another excellent resource is Bringing Nature Home by Evelyn J. Hadden. This book explores the ways we can reduce our lawn size and replace it with natural groundcovers that nurture native grasses, flowers and trees and promote a healthier environment for ourselves, pets, and wildlife.

In 2021, PHS opened the McLean Urban Agriculture Tool Library at Glenwood Green Acres. This amazing community resource offers all the tools needed to keep a garden thriving, and is available to gardens enrolled in our City Harvest program for free. It is a wonderful way to encourage community involvement in the garden, while reducing the need for gardeners to purchase and store their own tools. PHS also hosts seedling distributions in the early spring and summer for gardeners to obtain plant starts they can then take to their own plots. These seedlings give the gardeners a head start and are more resistant to pests than adult plants.