Online Gardening Resources You Should Bookmark...
- lesannsa
- Aug 14, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 8
August 14, 2024
You begin by typing a simple gardening question like "what IS matrix planting?" You land on one page, then you "hop, skip and jump" from site to site. Time passes as you free-fall down the rabbit hole. Finally your attention is snagged by something worthwhile - a site, video, or newsletter that is both informative and inspirational. Skip the surfing, below is a collection of internet resources that are worth bookmarking.
Bookmark these resources if... you are trying to pass a RHS exam.
Crash Course Videos on Biology (2012). Each fast-paced video is approximately 10 minutes. Short is great because there is so much information in each video, you will need to watch it multiple times! Grab a coffee before you start a video. You will need the buzz to keep up with Hank.
Watch any of these videos -
This is another great YouTube video on the nitrogen cycle
Leafy Learning Blog. Ann Gunning prepared these blogs specifically for students studying for the Level 2 RHS exam. Blogs are categorized under Unit 1 or Unit 2 topics. She is now an approved Level 2 RHS Distance Learning Provider. If her blog is anything to go by, I am sure her online course is excellent. She also has many helpful YouTube videos.
Try these blogs -
Wikipedia. I found Wikipedia an excellent source of information about plant science. I was also really impressed with the entries about
Last, but not least, in this section, is the RHS website. It can be pretty confusing when different sources do not agree upon what is a hardy annual and what is not... so take the guess work out of it and refer to the RHS. I also found useful information about Unit 2 topics like "Horticulture and Society" - in particular, the sections on wellbeing (eg. "what is Social Prescribing?") and Community Gardening (eg. Britain in Bloom)
Bookmark these resources if... you are a 'plant geek'.
Ok some of us don't need to pass an exam, we just love reading about and talking about plants. Try these online resources.
Newsletter - "Grow Like Wild" by Rebecca McMackin. Her monthly newsletter will blow you away. She collects, analyzes and synthesizes the latest news, gossip and research in the field of ecological landscaping. Subscribe now - you are in for a real treat.
Online magazine - Dig Delve. "A magazine about gardening, growing, cooking and making" by Dan Pearson and Huw Morgan. Reflections on their garden and garden plants, lovely photos and tempting recipes. You can look at all the issues on the website and/or enter your email to receive the newsletter to your inbox.
Podcasts - In Defense of Plants by Matt Candeias. Interviews with experts in ecology and botany about very specific topics! For something lighter try Fine Gardening's "Let's Argue about Plants".
Bookmark these resources if... you dream about garden design.
Garden Masterclass. Free public recording every Thursday. Annie Guilfoyle and Noel Kingsbury interview a diverse group of practitioners - landscapers, garden designers, and botanists. You can access the free lectures for a few months after each taped session through their YouTube site. The lectures are then moved over to their website which contains a larger catalogue of pay per view webinar recordings .
Try a taster of their recordings here.
The Art of the Garden. Season 1 and Season 2...Wow! This series on Sky UK TV features some of the most impressive garden projects of renowned garden designers. For example, Season 1 explores the gardens at Gresgarth Hall (by designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd), Hepworth Wakefield Gallery (by designer Tom Stuart-Smith), and Lowther Castle, Cumbria (by designer Dan Pearson).
In North America, I am unable to access Sky TV, but was able to find some of the episodes for free on YouTube.
Other interesting free online lectures and films -
The Beth Chatto Symposium 2022 - Experts from around the world discuss the best practices of ecological and sustainable gardening.
Piet Oudolf - Paradise within Arm's Reach - This film follows Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf on various projects around the world.
Roy Diblik free YouTube videos. A treasure trove of online no-nonsense educational videos. Playlists include videos of: planting patterns and designs (75 videos); planting projects (49 videos); and plant propagation and production (15 videos).
Bookmark these resources if ... you would like to take an online garden course but don't know where to start.
Online courses vary greatly in price and quality. Major differences between courses include the quality of the "presentations" and the opportunity to interact with the material, classmates and/or the teacher. There are a growing number of "educational" opportunities online. I've created a table comparing a few of these options for learning about 'plant design' with notes about the course providers below. This is an independent review.
Example course | Cost* | Presentation Style | Materials | Interactivity |
An Expert Guide to Planting Design by Dan Pearson on Create Academy | $259 for this course or $422 for access to ALL courses on site. | Beautiful, dynamic videos. Garden and landscape settings. | 6 hours of instruction over 31 lessons, lesson outlines, and workbooks. | No |
Planting Design with Perennials by Noel Kingsbury on Learning with Experts | $85 (peer) or $300 (expert access) | Video of a lecturer with powerpoint. Studio setting. | 1 hour and 20 min of instruction over 4 lesson, lesson notes, assignments. | Yes, peer and if paid for tutor feedback to assignments. |
$878 per year. | Live zoom meetings with powerpoint. Garden setting for course videos. | 18 hours of live instruction, plus over 50 hours of online video instruction (6 courses). | Yes, live monthly session with a Q & A. Members can interact within a Facebook group. |
*Canadian dollars as advertised on the respective websites August 14, 2024
Notes on the Course Providers:
Create Academy. Beautiful photography, stylish and entertaining videos. Pay for access to an individual course; or pay for an annual subscription which allows you to access all courses. Each "course" consists of a series of video lessons. You can access the lesson "plans" and "workbook" material for free online. Only the video is locked. While each lesson often ends with an "assignment" - the assignment is optional. There is no classroom to upload your assignment to, and no opportunity to interact with other people and/or the teacher.
Learning with Experts (LWE) offers individual garden courses, a "Garden Design Diploma", and/or the "RHS Level 2 Certificate for Plant Growth and Development" course. You have two pay options. Pay for access to the course lectures and material only (peer option); or pay extra for tutor feedback (expert option). Courses can be expensive - keep an eye out for promotions. Courses vary greatly in the quality of the presentations. In general, they are not up to the quality of the videos in Create Academy. For example, in many older courses the material is presented by a "talking head" in a studio accompanied by a powerpoint presentation. Newer courses are better, as the videotaping is done outside the studio. For example, in the courses by Tom Stuart-Smith, Jimi Blake, and Piet Oudolf, the speakers are videotaped in their respective gardens.
What LWE offers is the opportunity to interact with the material (through assignments), other classmates (through an online classroom format) and with a tutor. In general, the assignments are interesting and sometimes challenging. You can upload your completed assignment to the classroom and wait for feedback from other students and/or your tutor. While each classroom can hold up to 20 students - sometimes there are only a couple of students in a course. Even if the classroom is full, peer to peer feedback is rare. I took over a dozen courses with LWE and 95% of the time there was no peer to peer classroom interaction. What about tutor feedback? Is it worthwhile? Yes and no. I received some invaluable feedback from the tutors in the garden design courses. It was really helpful having an expert review your design. Whereas, for the RHS Level 2 courses, the assignments were mostly fact-based questions about plant knowledge. Thus, tutor feedback was basically that your answers were "correct" or "incorrect". However, with expert access you do have the opportunity to ask your tutor questions. I found this helpful.
Jimi Blake's Unlimited Garden Membership. The membership includes -
Monthly Masterclass: Jimi Blake starts each live class with a one hour overview (accompanied by a powerpoint) of what is happening in his garden, what plants are performing well, what gardening tasks need to be done and plant propagation tips. There is an opportunity to ask questions during his live presentation - he also sets aside 30 minutes at the end of each session for Q & A. The recording is available to view online after the class.
Plant courses: Once you join up you also have access to other plant courses. Seasonally themed courses (spring, summer, fall) focus on how to keep your garden looking great in every season. There is a specific course on plant propagation techniques (where he demonstrates the different propagation methods), container gardening and plant combinations. Jimi advertises his Membership as the "most in-depth plant course on the internet". I agree. Try his free online masterclass or take advantage of his live instagram feeds.
Ok, time to get back to the garden! Feel free to drop your recommendations into the comments.
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