The Inside Dirt @ iloveplants.com - September 2007

iloveplants.com - YOUR ONLINE RESOURCE FOR THE BEST GARDENING INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET!

In This Issue:
Featured Web Site: Wikipedia
Seasonal Web Site: Autumn Folklore
Garden News: Healthy Sprouts Grant Program Deadline
Garden Bargain: Gardener's Supply Co.'s Hot Summer Sale!
Garden Blogs: My Sister’s Garden * Hoe and Shovel * Leave Me Alone, I’m Digging * A Larrapin Garden
From my Garden…Simply Susan!

Greetings fellow gardeners, and a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers! Thank you for subscribing to The Inside Dirt @ iloveplants.com. Each month I bring you the “inside dirt” on garden Web sites and blogs, keep you up-to-date on the latest garden news and bargains, and give you an insider’s look at new Web sites and blogs added to iloveplants.com during the last month.

I hope you enjoy this month's newsletter. Drop me a line anytime you like with requests for future information or just to say hi and let me know what's growing in your garden. And, if you have a garden blog, please email the “url” to me. Thanks. Susan


FEATURED WEBSITES

A GARDEN REFERENCE - Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia. Many of you may not realize that it is packed with fabulous plant and garden information. Use their search box to enter a plant/tree name or garden term to find a plethora of information.

FALL IS IN THE AIR - Autumn Folklore
In my eyes, autumn is one of the best seasons. At Ottawa Plus - Autumn Folklore you will find some interesting history on the equinox, the symbols of autumn, and many folklore sayings connected with the season - some you’re familiar with and others not.

GARDEN NEWS - Healthy Sprouts Grant Program
The National Gardening Association & Gardener’s Supply Co. is encouraging schools and organizations through their Healthy Sprouts Award Program to plant health-focused youth gardens that provide healthy foods and nutrition information. This year 20 schools or organizations will be recognized and will receive an award of products to continue their good works. The deadline to submit an application is October 15, 2007.

GARDEN BARGAINS ONLINE: Gardener’s Supply Co.‘s Hot Summer Sale
Save up to 63% at Gardener’s Supply co.’s Hot Summer Sale! Sizzling offers you can’t resist on self-watering planters, pest controls, landscaping supplies, patio sets and more!

FEATURED GARDEN BLOGS

My Sister’s Garden
Two sisters, Country Girl and Apple, share with others their gardens located at the east end of Lake Ontario. This is a unique blog in which the two of them use one blog to write about each of their gardens - one located in zone 4 and the other in zone 5. It’s a very inviting blog with plenty of colorful photos and advice mixed in. You’ll feel like part of the family as you read along.

Hoe & Shovel
When you visit this central Florida gardener’s blog, I guarantee you will be adding it to your favorites list. Meems has created a stunning (words pale in comparison) shade garden awash in soft shades of magenta, deep purple, green and white. Just be warned - the photos are intoxicating!

Leave Me Alone, I’m Digging
David in Greensboro, North Carolina shares his garden experiences in his online “gardener’s notebook.” He’s only been blogging since 2006, but has managed to amass a very thick notebook about his garden - birds, butterflies, plants, problems, and even his archeological garden finds. It’s obvious how much he enjoys digging in his garden!

A Larrapin GardenAccording to Leigh in Fayettevile, Arkansas, “"Larrapin" is an old hill term that means delicious, yummy.” And that term describes her one year old organic garden which contains yummy treats for people, birds, wildlife, and the barnyard critters.

FROM MY GARDEN…Simply Susan!
I have now taken to the cultivation of my own garden blog. Please visit Simply Susan! to see what’s happening in my zone 9 garden and please be sure to leave your footprints by posting a comment. I would love to hear from you!

For more great horticultural websites, please visit iloveplants.com – your online garden resource!

The Inside Dirt @ iloveplants.com - August 2007

iloveplants.com - YOUR ONLINE RESOURCE FOR THE BEST GARDENING INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET!

In This Issue:
Featured Web Site: Green Gardening by WWF
Featured Web Site: 163 Things You Can Compost by Marion Owen
Garden Book Review: The Massachusetts Gardener's Companion
Garden Bargain: Plow & Hearth Summer Clearance
Garden Blogs: A Study in Contrasts * Robin’s Nesting Place * Bliss
From my Garden…Simply Susan!

Greetings fellow gardeners, and a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers! Thank you for subscribing to The Inside Dirt @ iloveplants.com. Each month I bring you the “inside dirt” on a couple of garden Web sites and blogs, keep you up-to-date on the latest garden news and bargains, and give you an insider’s look at new Web sites and blogs added to iloveplants.com during the last month.

I hope you enjoy this month's newsletter. Drop me a line anytime you like with requests for future information or just to say hi and let me know what's growing in your garden. And, if you have a garden blog, please email the “url” to me. Thanks.Susan

“No garden is without weeds.” - Thomas Fuller

FEATURED WEBSITES

GOING GREEN IN THE GARDEN - World Wildlife Federation Green Tips
Going green in the garden is easier than you think, especially with these 16 helpful tips from the World Wildlife Federation. Get involved today by incorporating some of these ideas into your garden, and suggesting some of your own green tips.

COMPOST HAPPENS - 163 Things You Can Compost
Alaskan garden writer, Marion Owen, shares her long list of items you can successfully compost. The list seems endless and some of the items will be ones you never thought of. Turn your everyday trash into rich compost for your garden.

GARDEN BOOK REVIEW: The Massachusetts Gardener's Companion: An Insider's Guide to Gardening from the Berkshires to the Islands

This book is a must have for those who garden in the New England area. Barbara Gee, a regional editor of People, Places and Plants magazine provides a bounty of valuable information and helpful tips in her new book. The book is arranged in three categories:

* Firm Foundations - soils, the site and water.
* Green Things - annuals, perennials, vegetables, trees, shrubs, lawns, invasive plants.
* Garden Solutions - pests & diseases, special challenges for city & seaside gardens, resources.

Gardeners will find that she packs a lot of information into the 185 pages of her book. Everything from water-wise tips, lists of desirable and invasive plants, garden definitions, local and Internet sources, tips to extend your growing season and much more.

Gee feels like a friend and mentor disseminating practical and down-to-earth advice learned from many years of personal trowel and experience. It is a timeless garden book that should be on every New England gardener's bookshelf.

GARDEN BARGAINS ONLINE: Summer Clearance sale at Plow & Hearth

Save up to 60% on in-season items at the Plow & Hearth Summer Clearance Sale. Choose from a great selection of garden (planters, globes, furniture) and home (lamps, clocks) items.

FEATURED GARDEN BLOGS

A Study in Contrasts
Kim, who grew up in the Black Swamp in Ohio now gardens on the sandy shores of Lake Erie in Ohio. Her goals for her urban yard is to turn a small garden into one that thinks big, is environmentally sensitive, and one that marries form with function.

Robin’s Nesting Place
This central Indiana gardener is a southern transplant who has learned how to garden in a totally different climate. She adds new posts to her blog frequently, along with lots of beautiful photos of her flowers.

Bliss
Yolanda gardens in the tiny 400 year old village of Dinteloord in the Netherlands, where she has created a fairytale-like kitchen and cottage garden. You will enjoy not only the pictures of her garden, but also those of her beautiful (and many) cats.

FROM MY GARDEN…Simply Susan!
I have now taken to the cultivation of my own garden blog. Please visit Simply Susan! to see what’s happening in my zone 9 garden and please be sure to leave your footprints by posting a comment. I would love to hear from you!

For more great horticultural websites, please visit iloveplants.com – your online garden resource!