Personality traits of garden club
members
& WEBSITES FOR GARDENING
That each day I may walk unceasingly on the banks of my water, that my soul may repose on the branches of the trees which I planted. - Egyptian tomb inscription
This will be an ever expanding list that will change often as my interests change. In the past I've been involved with and often an officer in many different plant societies. These include the African Violet Society, The Amaryllis and Hemerocallis Society, The Rose Societies in both Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the Orange County Orchid Society, and the San Jose "John Stowell" Branch of the American Dahlia Society. It's now much easier to find these groups through the internet.
I recommend that you consider joining societies that deal with your favorite flowers.
People who join these societies "self select" because of certain wonderful personality characteristics. Gardeners who join plant clubs are some of the most interesting and genuine people you'll ever meet. Lots of single people join these clubs too. If you are single I will give you many reasons below to join plant clubs. The big secret is the people!
These are terrific interesting people
who love to have fun.
They tend to have few vices and by and large would make good
partners in life.
GARDENER PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS
Gardeners personalities emphasize the patience to wait months for a plant to perform. These people may wait years for a seed to bloom such as I did with Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox).
These people tend to be "hands on" hard workers. It takes that to grow plants successfully.
These people are more intelligent on average than the rest of the population at large. Who else do you know who will memorize Latin and varietal names for fun?
Gardeners tend towards the professions. This is very interesting as well. Different types of people tend to join plant societies that match their personalities. The Orchid groups tend towards the medical and legal trades. African Violets honestly attract more older women who actually talk to their plants and frankly can grow rings around the average flower gardener. At least in Los Angeles the Amaryllis and Hemerocallis group had a lot of brilliant gay men who were wonderful raconteurs. The Rose Society is easily the most cosmopolitan and attracts the widest array of different people. The Dahlia Society here in San Jose has lots of computer types.
Gardeners in plant clubs are joining and participating peoples. These folks pay money to join and then donate time to make the club function. The plant shows are always done with volunteer help by the members.
Gardeners in plant clubs are joining and participating people. These folks pay money to join and then donate time to make the club function. The plant shows are always done with volunteer help by the members.
Gardeners are intense but friendly competitors. Large garden shows can attract flower entries literally from around the world! I saw people come from Canada and England and Japan to show flowers they grew to perfection get into the competition here in America. These are people of means. Yet to a person, every one of them I've met have offered me friendly hints on how they grew their plants to perfection.
Gardeners are happy positive people. Working with slow growing plants would and does frustrate people who are unwilling to learn and practice the simple things that make plants happy. Remember the movie "Mommy Dearest"? Joan Crawford took out her anger whacking her roses to shreds with loppers. Such irrational anger is rare in gardeners.
Gardeners tend to be good family people. It's the usual practice among gardening parents to teach their children from a young age to appreciate the benefits of gardens both for food and beauty. This civilizes children and teaches them about the world of science and nature far more concretely than learning abstractly in school. This binds the parents and children closer. When a child raises his first sunflower or tomato the pride that gives him when he feeds his family is unmatchable.
Gardeners are helpful people. They get together in each others gardens to help improve each others plantings.
Gardeners are sharing people. Plants multiply and gardeners ususally give the extras to other gardeners. Other times they are brought to club meetings and auctioned off to earn club operating money or are given away as door prizes. Sharing comes naturally to gardeners.
Without a doubt I could come up with many more reasons to join plant clubs.
But the main reason to join is to associate with wonderful folks like you!
Now on to the internet weblinks for gardeners!
Sun
Precautions: SOLUMBRA SUN PROTECTIVE CLOTHING. I found this
company through a dermatologist friend. gardeners have to take
the sun seriously. this company does. check them out.
Gloves In A
Bottle This is terrific stuff! It prevents
gasoline, dirt, garden chemicals and more from being absorbed
into the skin. I was told about it by a Dermatologist to treat my
cracked, bleeding hands from washing my hands during my work as a
Registered Nurse. It works. My skin healed. I recommend this
product.
EZYlifter This is a
device that attaches to your shovel to ease lifting a loaded
shovel.
Life With
Ease A whole panoply of items
including gardening tools for people with disabilities.
Gardenscape
Tools Look for the
"enabling" links to tools to help those with
disabilities garden.
Not Stooped
Garden Tools, lnc The name says it. for those
of you who have back trouble and can't afford to hire workers.
cheaper than chiropractors.
Holey Moley
Hydro Tools Need to dig post holes? Want
to do it the easy way? Check this site.
Aquatic
Plants Mailing List This is a chat room that
deals with all aspects of aquatic plants. those of you with ponds
with plants can learn new things here.
Carnivorous
Plant Database An interesting website that includes
some of the most interesting plants in the world.
The Visual
Garden This guy takes wonderful flower
closeup photographs and posts them. they load quickly and are a
nice break for the eyes.
DigitalSeed This is a
list of links related to southern California gardening clubs,
etc.
Rasland Farms This website
offers herbs and flowers to hang upside down from your ceiling
plus soaps, etc.
Bananas on
the Web Don't believe me? Check it out!
The Butchart
Gardens The most incredible flower garden in
the western hemisphere.
Harkness
Roses I visited this rose breeding and
growing farm in England. They are well known.
Tomato
Growers Supply Company This is "totally
tomatoes" competition because they have a website and
"totally tomatoes" doesn't. They don't carry 300
varieties but I'll never grow that many anyway. Grow
"brandywine" an Amish variety over 100 years old. It's
still probably the best tasting tomato I've ever grown.
The Fragrant
Garden The name says it all. check
it out.
California
wildflowers This website is for those of
you who wonder when a particular wildflower or area is blooming.
If you love traveling to see wildflowers this site is your guide
if you are in California.
Texas gulf
coast butterfly page As a child I raised and
released hundreds of butterflies from my home in Avalon, Catalina
Island. These folks down south count them for fun and education.
Cool!
Fancy
Hibiscus The most awesome hibiscus you
will ever see. Did you know hibiscus is used to
make a delicious tart sweet drink in Mexico called
"Jamaica" (pronounced heh-mike-ah). Hibiscus flowers
are used in many teas and are edible stuffed with pates, etc. I used them
when I was in chef school (for two and a half years-top grad
1990).
Benrose
Daylily Garden A daylily farm located in Atascadero,
California that specializes in evergreen varieties.
Some nice wineries in the area too. Also famous for a local ice
cream shop called Burnardoz Village Ice Cream & Eatery-home
made ice cream. Take a walk across the rope bridge over a ferny
canyon behind the place too if you visit.
Happy Moose
Daylily Garden Nice website. Daylilies are supposed
to be deer proof. Are they also Moose Proof?
FancyFronds P. 0. BOX
1090, GOLD BAR, WA
98251,(360)793-1472 --- Fax
(360)793-4243. Specializing in temperate species of ferns.
Fuchsia Links A large list
of links dealing with fuchsias of which I have a bunch, over ten
plants, maybe more, I've lost count. Deer don't like them much
either.
American
Fuchsia Society Tells about the plant, clubs
in your area, nice website.
Gardens
Galore Links Another huge collection of
garden related links.
Dowdeswell's
Delphiniums A gorgeous website from new Zealand.
he's breeding them and has them growing eight feet tall! you'll
enjoy this spot!
Carolyn Moore
Well's Cottage Garden Home Page A remarkably
organized and informative general home garden site. She's even
included graph paper for you to print out. lots of projects from
her garden that are well illustrated. I believe she told me she
lives in Kentucky. Long name for the website though. But
accurate.
North
American Heather Society No they are
not a fan club for ms. Locklear. They are located up on the rainy
far north coast of California that these plants thrive on.
Heathers are a subtle plant that in just the right windy moist
coastal condition like the north coasts of California and Maine
is hard to beat.
American
Rhododendron Society With members
worldwide.
D.Causey's
Earthworm Key We've all seen earthworms in our
soils. Most people however don't know nearly enough about these
important critters. Darwin spent a great deal of time writing
books about earthworms before and after he wrote "Origin of
Species". That book was about his observations aboard the
H.M.S. Beagle. a book I read as a child. Another book by Martha
Latham details how she sent eleven foot long earthworms
from the amazon rainforest to the Smithsonian Institution. They
still hold the record there. She also found the world's largest
cockroaches there too. Read and learn.
Home &
Garden Shopping Resources Did you know
women have a part of the brain that is dedicated to shopping? It
must have been selected for during evolution. Nice site.
Gardener's
Source Guide Another link spot.
Where It's At
Public
Butterfly Gardens & Zoos Around The World
Hot links for
Birders
The Ginko
Pages All kinds of stuff about the
beautiful Ginko trees.
Heronswood
Nursery 7530 NE 288th Street,
Kingston WA 98346, Phone: (360) 297-4172 An excellent source for many hard to
find perennials such as the Phormiums.
FAIRWEATHER
GARDENS, P.O. Box 330,
Greenwich, NJ 08323, Phone (856) 451-6261 - Fax (856) 451-0303.
Another well regarded perennial purveyor. Be aware, this is a
small, family owned operation and they only ship and offer
catalogs to the states east of the Rocky Mountains.
The Magnolia Society Over 90 species of
magnolias worldwide and hundreds of cultivars. If you want to
know something about these beautiful trees check out this site.
GardenNet.com Similar to
GardenWeb.com.
The International
Clematis Society This website offers cultural
information and deals forthrightly with the severe problem that
affects some of the early, large flowering hybrids called
"Clematis wilt". Wilt resistant cultivars are also
listed, many among the most beautiful of all vines.
Drought Monitor A national database on
the climate and impact of water use on crops.
American Association
of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, 351 Longwood Rd., Kennett Square, PA
19348, Voice: (610) 925-2500, FAX: (610) 925-2700. This is an
area where professional groundskeepers and managers of large
estate gardens can exchange information, advertise, and find
employment.
Ian's Plants Page An outstanding website
by a young man with a big future in horticulture.
Magnar's Arctic
Alpines & Perennials This guy got tired of the perennials
offered in catalogs and instead started a huge garden of plants
that no one thought would live near the arctic circle.
Geoff's Pages An Englishman who'se
specialty is the Meconopsis and Primroses. Lots of great
pictures.
Graham's Paradise
Gardens A large and excellent English garden
website.
Monet's Gardens in
Giverny, France Among the most beautiful gardens in
the world.
Diablo Disas Orchids
Home Page This man's fancy includes an
excellently illustrated page on Agar propagation techniques for
growing large numbers of clones orchids.
The United States
National Arboretum Plant Hardiness Zone Map
The Washington Park
Arboretum A wonderful Northwestern park in
eastern Seattle. Legendary plant sales.
The Garden Watchdog A website that deals
with which of the mail order nurseries are good or bad.
The Cyclamen Society The authority on
these lovely plants of which many flower all winter.
Two Rainy Side
Gardeners A nice little spot to visit Pacific
Northwest gardeners.
SweetViolets.com Everything you'd want
to know about fragrant violets.
The Hardy Plant
Society of Oregon, 1930 NW Lovejoy Street, Portland, OR
97209-1504, Telephone (503) 224-5718, E-mail: admin@hardyplantsociety.org The Hardy Plant
Society of Oregon is a non-profit volunteer organization for
beginning, experienced, amateur and professional gardeners.
FindNurseries.com A business directory
for the whole United States nursery industry.
The Gannon Garden This is an individual
website showing how a inspired gardener created a small paradise
right in his own front and back yards around a newly built home.
Well worth viewing!
GreenPeople.org This is the link to
their organic seed company list. I found a source for Jerusalem
Artichokes here. Hardly anybody knows that these come in several
varieties and their flowers smell like chocolate! It's organized
state by state too; not necessary but it is an interesting way to
categorize. Also if you click on their logo on the top left
corner it'll take you to all kinds of "green" resources
for your home and family. Very "holistic" which is
fine....I'll take mine with Bt, thank you....
International Society
for Horticultural Science A huge collection of
scientific articles on growing aspects of practically any plant
on earth.
The Natural Food Hub This is an
international site that collects links dealing with not only
growing plants but also meat, seafood, hunting, and much more.
Because it's an international source you'll encounter information
that may be illuminating but also frustrating. Many of the items
in nurseries are nearly impossible to import from places like
Australia.
The World Carrot
Museum Yes, that's the name and here's where
anything on carrot lore grows!
Cabbage Links I'm not done
yet....here's another one....
Roses...And Everything
About Them An outstanding and informative site
about my favorite flower!
A Woodland Rose Garden Excellent site about
this man's adventures growing roses in a forest in Ohio.
Wonderful pictures by Olympus digital cameras. Same for the link
above this one. Great!
JustOurPictures.com This is another place
to see terrific pictures of lots of varieties of roses. I have used their
site several times to find out more about roses. It's well
organized by color and catagory and loads well too!
Garden of Mu A wonderful
individual website by a knowledgable collector.
My Bit of the Planet A charming homespun
chronology of this garden's denizens. Nice closeups!
Don Tveter's Home Page Among the heavy
intelligence straining information on his homepage you'll find
his "How to Grow It" section. Well written,
informative, and with good pictures and his recommendations. Then
go back and check out his treatise on artificial intelligence.
Joanna's Nordic Garden "Gardening Near
the Arctic Circle" is a lovely and passionate site to enjoy!
Historic Daffodil Hill
I
was there many years ago and just enjoyed the heck out of it! If
you live in the Yosemite area this place is a "MUST
SEE"! It's a tiny village, just a few old homes and such but
the area is one of great beauty high in the mountains near
Volcano, California, fascinating caves, Yosemite, and the
Placerville/Gold Rush towns nearby.
The Reblooming Iris
Society They exchange knowledge on the
reblooming and even "everblooming" irises now being
bred.
Susan Tomlin's
Disabled Gardening Page This remarkable lady continues to
garden in spite of becoming increasingly disabled by severe
disease. Her positive personality is an inspiration! She has
pictures of her garden as well. Bravo!
The Gardening Launch
Pad
A huge and interesting assembly of links including disabled
gardening links.
Gardening for the
Disabled An excellent resource for those who
have physical challenges interested in gardening.
The Spirit of
Gardening Another huge site of excellent links.
Eclectasy This is one of the
most unusual garden websites I've come across on the Internet!
Richard F. Dufresne has a Ph.D in chemistry and has worked in
flavor development and Alzheimer's research. Among the other
things this amazing guy has done is to start a business that
specializes in Salvias and related plants. Not one to be
satisfied with the routinely available species he has gathered
dozens and dozens of varieties and species and is offering them
for sale through his website. Read his bio on the "Sultan of
Salvias" page, it's fascinating.
Moosey's Country
Garden A lovely large private website given
to Moosey by her son in 2000. New Zealand is her home country.
With Roses This is an unusually
beautiful site on this person's roses. Gorgeous photographs,
graceful gardens, a real treat except for one little
detail....it's a Japanese site. But if you love roses this is
still one of the loveliest sites I've run across!
A Southern Garden A lovely site showing
the evolution from bare ground to a voluptuos colorful paradise!
Gardening with Bevan
and Margaret This is the Tasmanian site of Bevan,
a horticulturist and his wife. Nicely done.
RoseGathering.com A lady's excellent
private website dedicated to roses in art, gardens and history.
My Garden A coastal English
garden with nice photos through the seasons, a section on his
apiary hobby, and don't miss the "before" pictures from
the small link in the left lower corner to see what he started
with and the results 10 years later.
The Fuchsia Page is a Swedish site
that has a huge amount of information on HARDY fuchsias, lots of
links and pictures. If you love fuchsias check out this website!
Kari's Garden A lovely spot because
of her writings on her gardens in the UK. She brings you into her
gardens with thoughts from her childhood, her favorites, and her
"Escential" plants for fragrance.
S-weeds This is one of the
more unusual and artistic websites I've happened across. Eva
Ekeblad walks in fields in her city near her home and finds
treasures in the weeds. The website is a visual poem helping you
find the beauty of a plant growing from a crack in a sidewalk
curb, drops of water, the little things we notice then forget.
Unusual, lovely.
Vintage Bloomers This is the website
of a lovely young lady named Robin Lowe (nee: Robin Delargy) who
lives in Tacoma, Washington and who adores roses. In fact, she
loves them enough that her hobby became a nice little business
propagating and selling roses. She knows her roses and is
propagating several I'm interested in...hmmm, do I have any room
left???
The Old Rosarian She loves her 700
mostly OGR roses and has a lovely website to show them to you.