Vicarious garden visits

Gardeners enjoy chatting with other plant lovers and seeing the results of their efforts – whether it’s the neighbor who always has something new blooming in her yard or the man who’s in charge of the shrubs at a public garden.

One thing I especially enjoy about the Web is how it lets me take trips – via my keyboard – to gardens around the world. Reading garden blogs maintained by green thumbers in practically every corner of the US and in many other countries is almost as good as visiting in person.

When I “drop in” on these far-flung gardeners several times a week (or month), I begin to feel that I know them and their gardens, even though my visits are vicarious.

If you’re in the mood for some garden travel, start with a handful of sites that I’ve enjoyed:

Bliss is the name of a site maintained by Yolanda Elizabet Dinteloord in Noord Brabant, Netherlands. Yes, it’s in English as Ms. Dinteloord is a translator as well as a garden designer. Earlier this week visitors were treated to a long, photo-filled visit to Monet's garden in France, Giverny. Other times, the blog entries are short and about things all gardeners face – too little rain, plants that aren’t labeled correctly, longing for summer. Cat lovers will especially enjoy the ongoing antics of Ms. Dinteloord’s numerous felines.

Greenforks is an English gardening blog maintained by an easygoing fellow who writes about his gardening day – whether he's sowing seeds in the garage or planting veggies in his allotment (plot in a community garden). It's especially interesting for Anglophiles and those interested in heirloom plants.

Returning to the US, Life on a Southern Farm will take you back to a simpler time -- a donkey named Jack, a goat who thinks she's a person, Polish chickens, constructing a working waterwheel, and, yes, gardening.

I invite you to come back next Thursday to join me on another visit to interesting gardeners around the world.