In the Northeast, many of us just can’t wait to get our hands in the dirt and play in the garden when spring rolls around. But landscaping and gardening are activities that can be done throughout the year, from planting annuals in the spring to making sure your shrubs are secure for the chilly winter months.
Whether you’re the kind of gardener who starts with seeds or you just dabble in the occasional potted plant, we’ve got great gardening resources to help you cultivate your green thumb all year through.
Landscaping and Gardening Websites
One of our best virtual landscaping and gardening friends is the Vermont-based Gardener’s Supply Company. The site is packed with tons of articles about organic gardening and landscaping, controlling pests naturally, composting and planning a garden.
Connecticut-based White Flower Farm is another great resource. Sign up for a free catalog and you’ll be tempted year-round. The site sells and gives advice on perennials, annuals, flowering shrubs – including more than 40 varieties of hydrangeas – roses, bulbs and vegetables.
Visit HGTV’s website for project ideas that can be completed in just a few hours or a few days. The site breaks down gardening and landscaping projects into steps, so you can clearly see what kind of commitment you’re getting yourself into. Ever wanted to build a potting bench? You’ll find it here, as well as a guide to what to plant in the fall, how to make a raised garden bed and much, much more.
Having a beautiful garden doesn’t have to be a seasonal endeavor in the Northeast.
If you swoon when the latest issue of Better Homes & Gardens hits your mailbox, the website is just as inspiring, filled with tips, plans and projects that you can tackle on your own. The site’s garden plans feature is especially useful. You’ll find hundreds of illustrated gardens for every scenario – shady, long-blooming and beginner gardens, for example – as well as a list of plants you’ll need and a handy chart showing where they should go. It’s sort of like paint-by-numbers, but with plants!
Every gardener in the Northeast should be acquainted with the name Henry Homeyer. The self-proclaimed “Gardening Guy” – an organic gardener and author who lives in Cornish Flat, N.H. – is known for his weekly gardening columns that run in newspapers throughout New England. If you want practical, down-home tips about when to prune your rose bushes, plant those daffodil bulbs and make the most of your tomato harvest, Henry’s your man.
Landscaping and Gardening Apps
The Home Outside app is an amazing landscaping and gardening resource that can help bring your dream backyard to life. You can drop and drag more than 700 outdoor elements onto a map or photo of your property, so you can see what your designs will look like. Free, but currently only available on iOS.
Is there a beautiful tree, shrub or plant in your neighborhood that you’d love to see on your lawn, but you don’t know what kind it is? LeafSnap uses AI technology to identify it. Just take a picture and the free app will tell you what it is, plus details like peak season, how much sun and water it needs to thrive and more.
New and seasoned gardeners alike can benefit from a garden managing app. From care instructions and reminders to watering schedules, Planta supplies the tools you need to keep every kind of plant alive. The app is free to download but a range of upgrades are available for purchase.
Specifically for vegetable gardens, From Seed to Spoon is another free app you can use to plan and track your garden’s growth, providing planting dates, pest identifiers, tips, how-to videos and even recipes to make with your homegrown harvest.
Have any other landscaping or gardening tips you’d like to add? Share it with us in the comments!