Gardening Resources

Gardening Resources, Help, and Tips

Our BHL partners have helped us compile a great list of online gardening resources to answer many of your questions. From deciding what species to plant, to choosing fertilizers, finding locations to buy specific plants, and viewing great historic plant information, it’s all here!

http://www.nbh.psla.umd.edu/. Website resource to a natural heritage collection that includes ~87,000 specimens of flowering plants, cone-bearing plants, algae, mosses, liverworts, lichen, and fungi. Established in 1901. Norton-Brown Herbarium.
http://hort.uconn.edu/. UConn Plant Database. Resource for ornamental attributes, appropriate use and identification of landscape plants. This site is geared toward the teaching of landscape plants and contains valuable information for students, homeowners and plant professionals.
http://woodyplants.cals.cornell.edu/home . Use this tool to help you choose the right tree, shrub or woody vine based on your site’s conditions. It may also introduce you to new plants that you may not be familiar with. This Cornell University Woody Plant Database contains detailed information about more than 300 species.
http://vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu/. Cornell University Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners (VVfG) is a web-based tool that compiles information from gardeners to help you decide what to grow. The information you supply may also influence breeding efforts and seed availability. The database contains descriptions of nearly 8,000 vegetable varieties and reviews from gardeners across North America.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx. Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT) Plant Finder. Site to look up, view a photo and read about the over 6,400 plants which are growing or have been grown in the Kemper Center display gardens (plus selected additions) by scientific name, common name and/or selected plant characteristics.
http://floranorthamerica.org/. Flora of North America (FNA). Information on the names, taxonomic relationships, continent-wide distributions, and morphological characteristics of all plants native and naturalized found in North America north of Mexico.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/. USDA PLANTS Database. Provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.
http://specialcollections.nal.usda.gov/. Special Collections - USDA National Agricultural Library (NAL). Rare books, manuscript collections, nursery and seed trade catalogs, photographs, and posters from the 1500s to the present. Materials cover a variety of agricultural subjects including horticulture, entomology, poultry sciences, natural history, and are not limited to domestic publications.
Tropicos® http://www.tropicos.org/ Resource for nomenclatural, bibliographic, and specimen data accumulated in electronic databases; the system has over 1.2 million scientific names and 4.0 million specimen records.
http://bison.usgs.ornl.gov/#home. An integrated and permanent resource for biological occurrence data from the United States. Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON).
http://www.doi.gov/invasivespecies/index.cfm. National Invasive Species Council (NISC). Information source for Federal programs and activities which work to prevent and control invasive species.
http://www.eppo.int/. European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). An intergovernmental organization responsible for European cooperation in plant protection in the European and Mediterranean region. Under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), EPPO is the regional plant protection organization (RPPO) for Europe.
http://www.naeppc.org/. The National Association of Invasive Plant Councils (NAIPC). Information and contact resource for Exotic Pest Plant Councils (EPPCs) and Invasive Plant Councils (IPCs) representing professional natural resource managers, scientists and others with an interest in invasive plant management.
http://www.cabi.org/isc/search/?q=&types=7,19&sort=DateDesc. The Invasive Species Compendium (ISC). CABI datasheets are part of its encyclopaedic resource that brings together a wide range of different types of science-based information to support decision-making in invasive species management worldwide.
http://www.invasive.org/. Invasive and Exotic Species of North America. An invasive species reference resource for species information, publications and images.
https://communityofgardens.si.edu/. Community of Gardens - A digital archive where gardeners of all types can contribute personal images, videos, and stories about gardens to help capture the meaning and value of gardens to American Life.
www.gardening.cornell.edu The Cornell-Garden Based Learning program’s portal to how to gardening information related to lawn, garden and landscape as well as lessons for children, youth and families plus program planning tools for educators and volunteers.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id941197948. Free ibook Lawn Care: The Easiest Steps to An Attractive Environmental Asset that features seven short how-to videos and photo galleries plus interactive images and concise directions make understanding the steps to cultivating a healthy lawn that is an attractive environmental asset quick and easy. Details apply to lawns in places with growing conditions comparable to NY state.
http://www.extension.org/mastergardener. Learn more about Extension Master Gardener Programs across the US. Also includes and Ask the Expert FAQ and form for submitting a question.
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/Extension/. Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices that are staffed by experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to a range of audiences including gardeners.
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/. Find flower and vegetable growing guidelines and basics on designing flower gardens.
http://blogs.cornell.edu/horticulture/fruit-2/. Find fruit growing guide and troubleshooting resources.
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/uhi/outreach. Cornell Urban Horticulture Institute has many resources including Woody Shrubs for Storm Water Retention and Recommended Urban Trees.
http://pollinator.org/guides.htm. Ecoregional planting guides are available to help homeowners select plants for pollinators. The planting guides are tailored to specific areas within the United States.
http://pollinator.org/beesmartapp.htm. The Bee Smart Pollinator Gardener app is a free comprehensive guide to selecting plants for pollinators specific to your area. Never get caught wondering what plants to buy again!
http://www.plantnative.org/. "Plant Native" is a website of local nurseries that sell native plants for gardening.
http://pollinator.org/SHARE.htm. Register your pollinator garden on the "S.H.A.R.E. map" to connect all the great habitats, of every size, that support bees, butterflies, and all pollinators.
http://nmnh.typepad.com/the_plant_press/2015/03/guidance-on-pollinator-friendly-practices-on-federal-property.html. An inter-agency Federal working group, including the Smithsonian, prepared a revised guidance that incorporate pollinator-friendly practices in landscaping improvements on Federal lands.
VIDEO: http://nmnh.typepad.com/the_plant_press/2014/08/allies-in-plant-conservation-sign-mou.html. A national seed strategy is being developed to ensure that a seed bank of native plants is available for ecological restoration on Federal lands.
http://botany.si.edu/sbs/. The Smithsonian Botanical Symposium on June 1st, free and open to the public, will feature invited speakers exploring fern research and will cover a variety of topics including fern horticulture and gardening.
http://gardens.si.edu/collections-research/aag.html. The Archives of American Gardens is a historical collection managed by Smithsonian Gardens. The AAG currently documents over 7,500 gardens throughout the United States.
http://gardens.si.edu/collections-research/orchid-collection.html. More information about the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection.
http://plantinfo.umn.edu. Plant Info Online. Information on where to purchase plants and seeds, bibliographic details for more than 350,000 images of wild and cultivated plants from around the world in botanical and horticultural books and magazines from 1982 to the present.
http://herbarium.desu.edu/pubs/files/Cultivar_chklst.pdf. Cultivars Checklist of Ornamental Plants. Bibliography of horticultural literature on cultivar names and descriptions, organized by plant’s Genus name.
http://www.chicagobotanic.org/book. Current Books and Book Reviews (For horticulturally related books) Volunteers and staff at the Chicago Botanic Garden contribute reviews of books, from technical tomes to children's tales about natural history. Ended in 2014 but website is still available and much of the information is relevant.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/opinion/in-your-garden-choose-plants-that-help-the-environment.html. In Your Garden, Choose Plants That Help the Environment. Op/ed by Doug Tallamy (author/professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware) promoting the planting of native plants in home gardening.
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems.aspx. Common Garden Pests and Problems. Index of symptoms and strategies for addressing more than 200 of the most frequently encountered garden plant problems by the Plant Doctors at the William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening.
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/visual-guides.aspx. Kemper Center for Home Gardening Visual Guides. Visual how-to tutorials to help gardeners identify plant problems, learn gardening techniques, and make plant selections.

General Resources

Get more great gardening history, tips, and factoids with BHL’s Garden Stories campaign. Learn more about the Biodiversity Heritage Library.