Written by Jeff


All pictures (and quote below) courtesy of P. Allen Smith

“’For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.’ – Edwin Way Teale (1899 – 1980)”
P. Allen Smith

The Internet is a wonderful resource, especially for gardeners. One of my favorite places to visit is P. Allen Smith’s Gardening Home web site. Well, if the truth be told, I don’t actually “visit.” I typically stay connected via the weekly newsletter that is freely sent upon subscription.

Before I continue, I need to make a disclaimer here. Admittedly living in the Sonoran Desert places me in the category of niche gardening. That is to say we have situations that are not representative of most of the country so most of the major resources will not be geared toward our conditions. Instead, we need to make use of these resources in a very special way. After all, most gardening businesses are going to target the major markets, hoping to hit some of the niche markets as they go along.

P. Allen Smith’s website is no different, but there is still a lot to learn from it. Once I read what Mr. Smith and his team have to say, I can often modify the information to suit our area. The newsletter usually has a feature article about gardening whether it is highlighting a specific plant or an aspect of container gardening. There is a recipe included in almost every newsletter as well; often showcasing fruits or vegetables that are in season. A question sent to the Gardening Home team might also be answered for the benefit of the readers.

Keep in mind that this is a commercial website and thus there is obviously some advertising and self-promotion. Even with this said, there are numerous resources for all gardeners. If you go to the website, http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1, the feature stories, monthly hints and recent recipes can be seen on display there. This is a place to explore for the latest news.

On the left top banner, there is a graphic display offering features. On a day that I visited the site recently there were articles about planting raised beds [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=892 ], a plant profile of Mexican Sage [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1645&plantid=433&plant=MexicanSage ] the Fall vegetable garen [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=68 ] the butterfly garden [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1505 ] and a media presentation about the Garden Home retreat [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=8&video=1598&cat=Garden%20Home%20Retreat&title=Garden%20Home%20Retreat%20Tour ]. These are worthy of exploration. If these stories do not appeal, then try a few of the other areas of the site.

The tabs across the top of the site:

There are seven tabs across the top of the website, Community, Garden, In The Home, Food & Recipes, Lifestyle, Source Guide and Videos. Let’s take a look at the Garden tab.

Garden

Click on the Garden tab and notice the subcategories on the left (Questions and Answers, Garden Basics, Garden Design, Container Gardens, Weekend Projects, Kitchen Garden, Plant Library).

Questions and Answers – Enter the word hibiscus in the search box and several questions and answers about the care of this desert-hardy perennial are presented. For some information about general care and treating insect pests, see the article under Hibiscus care: http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1646&questionid=792

Garden Basics – Under the Garden Basics tab, the articles are listed alphabetically by topic. Reviewing all of the articles can be quite a treat and will certainly provide hours of gardening fun. One very informative article discusses Gardening Zones and Frost Dates ( http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=895 ). Understanding these concepts can be a significant benefit to the gardening enthusiast, but don’t stop there…explore many of the other interesting articles as well.

Garden Design – This area is for those who want to learn about landscaping and generating style in a garden. There are so many interesting articles such as outstanding plant picks for the various years. The plant picks will be a good source for new plant ideas and is a good place to start the spring search for planting. Other articles describe how to install hardscape and features. The how-to explanation of building a dry-stack wall will be helpful to gardeners who need to deal with hills. http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=16126

P. Allen Smith with red poppies

Container Gardens – These are always interesting to me because I view them as gardens in a pot. Each container can have its own color theme and style allowing the gardener to easily highlight various places in and around the home and garden. One container garden of particular interest to the desert dwellers is the Succulent Dish Garden (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1309)

A further exploration of the Garden Home website will continue with Part II

Read Part II of the P. Allen Smith Garden Home website tour here – http://www.gardeningonthemoon.com/2008/10/15/p-allen-smith-garden-home-website-part-ii/

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post