OT: Gardening magazine

[Leanne]

For all of you gardeners - what's your favorite gardening magazine (or book for that matter.)? I just started getting Better Homes & Gardens - haven't read the first issue yet, so I don't have an opinion.

I love flowers - mostly perennials. & I'm almost all shade. (Not that that mattered - just thought I'd share.)

[lsdesign]

I used to rely on Marth S. Living to get my gardening juices going until I let the subscription lapse. I am a herb person. And I need to report the 4 lady slippers growing in my backyard! A real suprise since we haven't been here for a year yet. Leanne, I am 99% all shade and wonder what kind of flowers do well in shade? I have one area beside my home that has absolutely nothing growing in it, not even a weed!

[funnybone]

There are some websites that can help answer garden questions.
www.rebeccasgarden.com (http://www.rebeccasgarden.com)

www.garden.com (http://www.garden.com)

www.hgtv.com (http://www.hgtv.com)


[This message has been edited by funnybone (edited 05-30-2001).]

[SandyM]

I really like Better Homes & Gardens. I've been getting it for about 7 years now, I think. They have a website too - www.bhg.com (http://www.bhg.com) . I subscribed to Garden Design for a year a few years back, but that was just big glossy photographs of exotic things that I could never grow in my lifetime. It was pretty to look at, but not very practical to me.

I am a 100% sun gardener. W have trees all around the back yard, but they're huge pine trees. The house provides morning shade in back and afternoon shade in front. I love impatiens, but they don't do well. Hostas are supposed to be shade plants, but mine are flourishing, and I think I have every variety known to man -- the previous owners of our house were into low maintenance - hostas and groundcover!

[Leanne]

LSdesign -

There are actually alot of shade flowering perenials - unfortunately, I don't know the names of some of the best. I'm in Georgia - so that will play some part in what comes back every year.

There's a beautiful calla lilly I planted that has returned every year. It grows about 1 foot tall & has green leaves with white speckles & it has a white flower.

Another one that has been great is helebore roses (they aren't really a rose.) They are the first to flower & the leaves are evergreen. They are just starting to quit blooming & they've been blooming since Jan!

St John's wort is a short, speclekd, fuzzy-leafed plant that has pretty purple flowers.

Yellow bishop has done allright for me - likes shade & no water (you can't beat that!). It turns into a ground cover & has tiny yellow buttercup-looking flowers. I just planyted it this year though.

Bleeding heart has done OK in some spots. (white & pink flowers) I can't make Lily of the Valley grow at all.

My 2 favorites, I can't think of the name.


Hostas are fabulous. So many varieties & very hardy. White & purple flowers.

Evergreen ferns are nice too - but no flowers.

Caladiums don't really get a flower - but they have such pretty leaves, in various colors - great in the shade, but mine never come back.

Another annual is Impatients. They have great color & bloom forever. They need alot of water though (not good when there's a watering ban like there is here in GA). For some people, they re-seed themselves. I have never been so lucky.

Primrose are nice annuals too - in some places they are perenials. Vivid colors, flowers in summer. Short, small plant that is good for a border.

I also have wild roses growing in the back - they love the shade. They were there when I bought the house though.

One last shade plant - no flower, but pretty & you can't kill it - varigated ivy.

That's my scoop on shade-loving flowers. If I can find the names of my two favorites, I'll let you know.


Sandy - Then I'll look forward to my BH&G magazine. Everything I know is from experience the last few years - I'm just looking for some more professional advice & new things that I don't know about. Currently, my info comes from going to Pike's nursery & seeing what they have.


[This message has been edited by Leanne (edited 05-30-2001).]

[Anne]

I like Rhodales (sp?) organic gardening. It has a lot of very practical advice.

[csmcnamara]

lsdesign:
Hostas grow great in the shade and there are several varieites you can get. The difference will be in the color of the leaves. The flowers are purple, except I have one (I think it is a Royal Standard) that has white flowers. Impatiens are annuals but I usually plant some among my Hostas for a little bit of color. The bleeding hearts only bloom in spring--atleast in Michigan they do!

[cjm]

My favorite gardening magazine is GARDEN GATE. They have such good gardening tips and also layouts for all kinds of flowering/landscape gardens. The subscription price isn't very much...their Web sight is www.GardenGateMagazine.com. (http://www.GardenGateMagazine.com.)

Two years ago one of my planting projects was 4 Clematis vines. I want to RAVE about how well they are doing now and have so many blooms on them already - I can't count them all! One of my favorite gardening things is container planting. My daughter & I have started a spring ritual of going to a local garden center each spring and indulging in their "flat sale"...what good times we have had.

[JillC]

Ah, gardening...what a great topic. I just spent my lunch at the weekly Farmer's Market that happens to be located right outside the building I work in. I bought (another!) tomato plant and a few more perennials.
I second Anne's recommendation of Organic Gardening. I get BH&G, but really like OG's emphasis on healthy soil/healthy environment and it's always chock full of lots of useful gardening tips.
As for shade plants...I have a lot of shade in my yard, too. I have to say that my favorite shade plant is astilbe (late-summer blooming). I love the foliage and they're so beautiful in the fall. I also recently planted woodland phlox which bloom in the spring and smell good. There are some campanula and dianthus that can tolerate shade. Lilies of the valley do well in full shade. That's all I can think of for now.
Happy gardening everyone!
Jill

[Leanne]

Thanks everyone - I'll check out organic gardening & Garden gate.
Happy Planting!

[DmOrtega]

I like Fine Gardening. The magazine is put out every other month 6 per year). I've gotten it for the last 5 years and have not been disappointed with any issue. Here's a link:


http://www.taunton.com/fg/

[This message has been edited by DmOrtega (edited 05-31-2001).]

[sneezles]

Well, I just discovered Texas Gardener and can't believe it's been around for 19 years and I never knew about it! It's really great to have one that is more specific for where I live. And I have purchased 4 books from them about perrenials, and herbs specific to Texas weather!