Let’s face it, not all of us have a metaphorical “green thumb.” I speak from experience, as I have murdered several plants and suffered no consequences, other than an ugly yard. I know I could get some swanky landscape architect to come in and redo my plants, but I really want to do it myself. I mean, have you seen how adorable some of those gardening accessories are? Wide-brimmed hat, matching clogs, long garden breaks for “tea?” The thing is, I don’t have the time or the patience to make it down to my local nursery and sift through seedlings. So, I have found some great sites that not only offer great gardening advice, but also deliver!

One of my favorite companies is Burpee, which has been around since 1876, and is still a family seed company operated in the Philadelphia area. It’s a great site where you can shop for vegetables, flowers, herbs, and bulbs. They also sell starter kits for the gardening impaired or for those who want a fresh start, as well as gardening supplies. Even if you’re not in the market to buy a perennial, their “Gardener’s Corner” is a great resource for cooking and gardening tips. The site is easy to navigate, but if you’re old fashioned, you should definitely order their hard copy catalog.

Another well established seed company is Park Seed, which is celebrating 140 years in business. Park Seed has a more in-depth website than Burpee offers. They seem to offer more of a selection and they have their categories of plants broken down better. While Park Seed also offers a hardcopy catalogue, it’s a better idea to order through thr website because they have Internet specials and you can sign up for a free e-newsletter. It’s not as visually pleasing as Burpee (nor as well organized), but there is more stuff if you take your time picking through it.

Another company I checked out is White Flower Farm - which hasn’t been around since the 19th century. They’ve been operating since 1950 as a family owned mail-order nursery located in northwestern Connecticut. They claim to be the “premier American mail-order source for plants, shrubs, bulbs, and gardening supplies,” and they seem to be living up to their tagline. The site is much more digestible than Park Seed, while still offering the online specials and wide selection of products. I really like how they have broken down the categories for plants; it makes it very easy to quickly make your selection. They also offer cute gifts and tools for gardening enthusiasts (like me). You can even get gift certificates for friend and family members with the itch to get their hands in the dirt. You can request a printed catalog, but the online catalog is the same thing, so try and be eco friendly by looking at the products online.

I love all these gardening suppliers, but they are all suit different needs. Check them all out and decided which one will help you create your perfect garden that YOU can maintain. I’ve been reading some articles to figure out which plants require the least amount of attention, because I will undoubtedly forget about them for periods of time. From what I’ve been able to tell though, as long as there are sprinklers involved, it seems like this is going to be a-OK.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 3rd, 2008 at 7:51 pm and is filed under This Place is a Dump. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.