Como Park Zoo Gardens

We’ve been drowning in rain for past month, but the sunshine has poked through the clouds today. Here are some gardening social network websites to help you connect with fellow gardeners. Have fun, and happy growing!

• gardenersindex.com: I found this interactive gardening community on Facebook. It offers a place for 19,000 gardeners (and growing) to share photos, ask questions and chat about gardens.
• Oh My Bloom: Oh My Bloom claims to be “America’s Largest Gardening Social Network,” where gardeners can share tips and photos.
• Garden Tenders: This site seems smaller that the others, but the projects section provides some great gardening ideas.
• Gardening Network: This no-frills site offers basic blog, forum, chat and picture sharing for gardeners.
• Koiface: And now for something completely specific! Koiface  provides a social space specifically for koi and pond garden enthusiasts.

Dakota Garden: This blog offers lots of beautiful garden ideas and inspiration for anyone gardening in a tough, cold climate.

Hometown Seeds: If you have trouble deciding what to grow in your vegetable garden, check out this online seed catalog’s Survival Seed Packs.

Studio G: Landscape designer Rochelle Greayer shares plenty of landscaping ideas, inspiring photos, product reviews, and garden tours on her blog.

The Gardener’s Eden: Garden designer Michaela has a whimsical touch to her writing about horticultural history, products, and recipes.

Freedom Gardens: This online community offers a place for “gardening enthusiasts who are fed up with foreign oil, frequent food miles and high food prices.”

If you want to share some link love, send it to me at: Meagan@thegardeningjournal.com.

Many eager gardeners decide to tackle expansive gardens on their own. While you can save money by not hiring help, you pay for it in extra time spent in the garden. When, eventually, you notice Fido is looking a little pudgy because he hasn’t been walked in a month, you discover your kitchen has become a highly effective science experiment, and you wonder just how many times you can wear the same pair of shorts before they can stand up on their own, it might be a good idea to invest in some time-saving measures for you and your large garden. Here are just a few ideas for saving time in the garden:

Soaker hoses – Link soaker hoses together (but no more than 100 feet per section) and attach your regular hose to them when needed. This way you don’t need to walk around your beds to water and you have an efficient, water-wise way to soak your beds that causes less evaporation than a sprinkler system.

Low-maintenance plants – There is no such thing as a no-maintenance garden, but you can minimize the time you spend fussing over plants if you choose the right ones for your space. Pick native plants whenever possible. Natives tend to need less coddling than exotics. Also look at gardens in your neighborhood for what works and what doesn’t. Shrubs and bushes also need less regular care than perennials, so consider that when you design your garden.

“See-no-ground” planting – Sow seeds thickly and plant your beds so that you cannot see any ground. Choose self-sowing plants to fill in as much space as you can.
The more leaves you have, the more shade you have to keep weeds in check. Fewer weeds means less time weeding. Less time weeding means more time by the pool.

Mulch – Covering the ground smothers most weeds. Mulch also holds moisture, which conserves water (and time). You can use newspaper as an inexpensive, decomposable bottom layer under a bark, wood chip, leaf, or needle mulch. Skip the cocoa husk mulch, which can be dangerous for dogs if they eat it.

For inspiration, check out the 55-acre Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

Balcony Garden

Originally uploaded by Let Ideas Compete

Balcony garden design uses the same principles as regular garden design, only on a smaller scale. Patty Brown offers some excellent tips for designing a balcony garden.