The Garden Gate: What's Coming Into Bloom?

What's Coming Into Bloom?

Check out The Gardener's Guide to Finding Answers on the Internet for useful pointers on how to zero in on answers to specific gardening questions.
Look for The Garden Gate's Picks!

Gardening in Illinois
The Garden Gate's own page, newly updated. Information on resources, plant selection and care, and native plants. Although many of the resources will be useful to gardeners throughout Illinois, the focus is on East Central Illinois, centered on Champaign-Urbana, home of the University of Illinois. If you are new to gardening in East Central Illinois, you might enjoy Gardening Notes for the Transplanted Gardener.

Curtis Botanical Magazine Image Collection
An oldie but goodie. The National Agriculture Library's digitized collection of wonderful hand-colored botanical illustrations published from the late 1700s on. In an interesting aside, you will find represented many of America's native plants, like the purple coneflower, which were long-time garden favorites in Europe for all that they were neglected on their home soil and only came into 'fashion' in America in the latter half of the 20th century.

Evergreen Canadian Native Plant Database
A project of Canada's innovative Evergreen. Its motto is "Bringing Nature to Our Cities" and it educates and advocates, encouraging Canadians to naturalize outdoor spaces in communities, schools and backyards. The database also offers an advanced search. In the Teaching Garden.

The Garden Watchdog - Guide to Gardening by Mail
One-stop shopping for gardeners looking for information on the best and most reliable mailorder nurseries. Thousands of vendors are listed and rated by visitors.

Perennials Database
Heritage Perennials offers a searchable, illustrated database of over 1500 plants. Browse the archives of their monthly e-mail newsletter.

Horticultural IPM
Integrated Pest Management. Another excellent resource from those useful Aggies (Texas A&M). Thumbnails of groups of pests allow quick ID. Factsheets have thrilling closeups and life cycle information. It's not immediately obvious from the homepage, but there is also a list of pests you can browse. Any pesticide recommendations will be specific to Texas. Please check with your local Cooperative Extension for recommendations for your state.

Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
Chuck Griffith's excellent dictionary is one of my perennial favorites. I didn't realize it wasn't included in the Teaching Garden's list of glossaries until I received a question from a Garden Gate visitor! An egregious oversight, indeed.

Glick Pick of the Week
An archive of Barry Glick's illustrated Pick of the Week, highlighting interesting and unusual perennials. Also available as an e-mail newsletter.

Plant-of-the-Week

A delight for houseplant fans, Cal's Plant-of-the-Week features a new houseplant every week. Attractive photos, detailed cultural and propagation information. An index conveniently lists plant by botanical name, common name, and family. Provided as a service by the Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma by Cal Lemke. In the Sun Room.

Rooting Database
Extensive information on rooting cuttings of woody plants, organized by botanical name. Developed for commercial growers but of interest to the serious home gardener as well. In the Teaching Garden.

Hort.net Gallery
A very straightforward image gallery, searchable by botanical or common name. Certainly the best photo of the elusively blue Echinops ritro I've ever seen. In the Teaching Garden.

Xeriscape Plants for the Southwest
Hundreds of tough, beautiful plants for the water-conserving gardener. Nicely illustrated. Browse or search by name. Also available on CD. Under Plant Lists in the Teaching Garden

Mailing List Archives

Delve through the accumulated wisdom of over two dozen horticultural mailing lists. Archives are maintained as a public service by the nice folks at Mallorn Computing.

Plant of the Month

Not quite a monthly feature, but well worth a look. Well-researched, beautifully illustrated articles featuring garden and native plants of interest by Chris Lindsey.

bulb.com

The Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center is the US Press Office of the Dutch bulb industry and is designed for journalists. However, this straightforward and informative site will be of interest to anyone looking for good information on growing and enjoying spring- and summer-flowering bulbs.

Illinois' Best Plants

Just for us in Illinois! The Chicago Botanic Garden's Illinois' Best Plants site, features a searchable database of plants for Illinois as well as a browsable index. The database of over 300 recommended plants includes small flowering trees, deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, and perennials. Individual listings show a picture of the plant and cultural information. The straightforward layout and simple design make the site easy to navigate. On the Gardening in Illinois page.

Plant Lists

Looking for a houseplant that will survive in that drafty spot in the hall? Wonder if there's anything that deer won't eat? Want to attract butterflies? Need to keep that slope to the driveway from washing away every time it rains hard? The Garden Gate's collection of links to plant lists will help you solve a variety of gardening problems.

Thompson and Morgan's Guide to Germination

A guide for gardeners raising plants from seed. From the folks at Thompson and Morgan, publishers of one of my favorite seed catalogs. Who else offers baobab seeds?

USDA Hardiness Zone Map

Detailed climate zone information for the North America and Hawaii. More detailed maps for states with a wide variety of climates.

Quotes for Gardeners

A labor of love by Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo of the online Garden Digest

Prairie Nursery

Wildflowers and native grasses. Online version of their informative catalog offers solid information on planning, planting, and maintaining meadows and prairies. An excellent source of seeds and plants for gardeners in the tallgrass prairie areas. In the Reading Room

I generally don't link to commercial sites but this site's clear, simple organization and straightforward design make it one of the most attractive sites I've seen anywhere.

Horticulture Online

Horticulture magazine joins the online community with an attractive and content-rich site. Under online magazines in the Reading Room.

Seed Germination

Covers annuals, biennials, perennials, as well as trees and shrubs. An archive of Tom Clothier's Garden Walk and Talk. Under databases in the Teaching Garden.

Garden Gate Homepage

Last modified April 13, 2008.
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