© 1999 by Robert Sanchez

You've dug yourself out of winter, and the world is coming to life again. If you are a gardener, your hands are probably dirty already. Perhaps you've started digging, or maybe you are still digging through the seed catalogs, conjuring visions of a perfect rose or a succulent cucumber. Or maybe you want to outgrow the small tomato patch you've grown for the last three years. 

It's time for a change, but you need inspiration.

An evening at the computer may give you all the ideas you need. Gardening sites grow profusely, blooming all over the Web--or all over the blooming Web. So if you need something new for your vegetable or flower garden, if you need help with a gardening question, or if you simply want to while away a few hours on a rainy day, why not check out this collection of web sites? This list is just a beginning, but it should hold you until you can get back outside with that trowel.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a good place to start. This well-organized site offers an excellent tour of one of the bright spots of Metropolitan New York City. Even though most of the information is geared toward the immediate environs, it has some wonderful general-interest material. Readers living in northern climes will want to look for the "Gardening, Naturally" section with such articles as "Year-round Windowsill Splendor."

Commercial, non-commercial, and personal sites are all worth looking at, especially since so many contain spectacular photos. You can visit nurseries all the way across the country, and of course they will be delighted to ship their wares to you. Many have zone charts, showing what and when you can safely plant in your region. Burpee, one of many important commercial resources, gives you the choice of ordering its catalog or viewing it online. It's one of many sites where you can post your vexing gardening questions ("What is the easiest rose to grow?" or "What's eating my carrot roots?") and receive answers from the experts.

That's a nice discovery. Of the commercial sites that I visited, nearly all offer something of value besides the wares they want to sell you. For example, Garden.com offers planting advice by region -- what should you be doing this time of year? Regional columnists offer advice that's relevant to your planting zone.

You may find the online catalogs just as attractive as the print versions, but easier to use. See what I mean at Jackson & Perkins. If you are looking for a particular rose, you can search by name, category, color, or fragrance. There is even a rose with a licorice scent, which you can locate with the click of a button.

Naturally, there is room on the Web for more than standbys like Burpee and J & P. Many businesses clearly show their recent origins in their names. Johnny Cyberseed of Wenatchee, Washington, markets a wide range of seeds, including "rare and exotic" plants. One of their imaginative offerings is their "Bible garden," featuring "a list plants that are mentioned in the Bible that will do well in a wide variety of climates and conditions." A few of these are anise, Christ thorn, coriander, and rue. Personally, I don't think I'll buy the stinging nettle, but that's also available.

Or stop by the Tea Herb Farm, where you can choose from an impressive variety of herbs and even beneficial insects. (St. John's wort seeds by the package; ladybugs by the gallon!)

A small sampling of other good places to look:

The Home & Garden Showplace has tips on composting and "Mowing 101," a short course in proper lawn mowing. I'd have recommended hiring a teenager, but their ideas are more constructive, such as "Mow at full throttle for best performance."

The Vermont-based Gardener's Supply Company offers a helpful set of nine "Better Gardening Bulletins," that cover composting, container gardening, and more.

The Garden Club has lots of heart and promise. This amateur effort has a number of non-working links, apparently because it is new. But a lot of work and imagination has gone into this site, and as it grows, it's going to be great.

Virtual Garden not only offers plenty of gardening basics, but a "Kids' Gardening Camp" that has month-by-month special gardening projects you can do with your children.

So begin this year's planting pleasures with a visit to the World Wide Web; if you're looking for gardening ideas, it's fertile territory indeed. 

(Comments? Ideas for future topics? Write bobsanchez@mediaone.net)