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Guide to Gardening Resources on the Internet

Plant Finders

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Links are provided in good faith, but Burton Manor cannot be responsible for the content of external websites.)

• The Plant Finder, from the BBC Gardening website, gives information on thousands of plants, including descriptions and tips on growing them.
  Search by name (Common or Latin name) or select features, e.g. flower colour, soil type etc., from the drop-down menus with the search form provided.
  More detailed information on some favourite plants can be found in the BBC Gardening Plant Profiles section including e.g. Recommended varieties, Growing Tips, Problem Solver & Where to See Them.

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/ - BBC Gardening
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/ - Plant Finder

• The Royal Horticultural Society, RHS has two types of 'Plant Finder' as well as a wealth of more general Plant Resources.
  • The RHS Plant Selector describes itself as "a comprehensive database of plants provides immediate access to descriptions, cultivation information as well as advice and photographs of plants. If you are looking for plants to stock a new border, need plants for an awkward area or position in the garden or just need information on a specific plant, RHS Plant Selector is your first port of call."
    It allows you to search for plant information using a very wide range of criteria including plant type, use (e.g. architectural, ground cover etc.), foilage, fragrance, colour, season, size, hardiness etc. also soil type, acidity, aspect, light or shade etc. The information given is extensive including a photograph, botanical name, common name/s and the many criteria listed in the search form, plus links to supplier information.
    
  • The RHS Plant Finder is of a different type to those detailed above - in this case it is a searchable database to help you find your nearest supplier of a particular plant. You can search by any part of a plants name (N.B. some 'Useful Information' including The naming of plants is listed beneath the Plant Finder search box, which may help with your search, there are also more details on how to search). Or you can search the accompanying Nursery Finder, either by entering the Nursery name or RHS Nursery code &/or selecting geographical region &/or plant speciality from the drop-down menus.
    

  http://www.rhs.org.uk/ - Royal Horticultural Society
  http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselector/ - Plant Selector
  http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/ - Plant Finder

• The Plant Press "Publishers of gardening databases, books & CDs" have a number of useful online resources freely available on their site:
  • The Plant Finder's Encyclopedia allows yu to search by common or Latin name, or to browse using the A - Z listing. For each entry there is a photograph, description & some information on height, spread, hardiness and conditions.
    
  • The Dictionary of Common Names "is a free dictionary that lists over 30,000 English language pairs for common and botanical plant names" and allows you to search by either the Common Name or the Latin Name. Although the name pairs do not link to any other information it can provide a useful starting point for further searches.
    
  • If you want to find plants that will attract wild life into your garden, then the Gardening with wildlife in mind from English Nature, via the Plant Press website, is just the thing. You can search for the type of wildlife you want to attract and find information on the wildlife plus plants that are likely to attract them; or search by plant to find plant information plus the wildlife it is likely to attract. There are plenty of hints & tips on wildlife friendly gardening on the site too.
  

  http://www.plantpress.com/ - The Plant Press
  http://www.plantpress.com/plant-encyclopedia - The Plant Finder's Encyclopedia
  http://www.plantpress.com/dictionary.html - Dictionary of Common Names
  http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/home.php - Gardening with Wildlife in Mind
  http://www.englishnature.org.uk/ - English Nature

• Plants by Postcode Database from the Natural History Museum. Entering the first part of your postcode brings up an extensive listing of (wild) plants that have been found in your area. The information for each plant varies but includes a common name and botanical name, often a photograph, whether or not the plant is protected, whether it is considered 'garden worthy' (surely a very subjective judgement!), its family, provenance (native or otherwise) and form (E.g. woody perennial). Some also include details of wildlife that may be commonly associated with it.
  N.B. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, it is an offence intentionally to uproot any wild plant, protected or otherwise. The site provides information on Suppliers of British native-origin seeds and plants

  http://www.nhm.ac.uk/ - The Natural History Museum
  http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/postcode-plants - Postcode Plants Database
  http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/postcode-plants/supplies.html - Suppliers of British native-origin seeds and plants

• World Grass Species – Descriptions, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 

  http://www.kew.org/ - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db.html - World Grass Species

• Every Rose - the Rose Reference Database allows you to search for a rose by e.g. name, classification (Alba, English Rose, Damasck, Floribunda etc - select from drop-down menu), size, colour, growth habit, blooming seaon, fragrance etc., or, using the Advanced Search, select these criteria plus many others such as flower shape, strength, foliage etc. It is also possible to browse by name, by classification or by colour, there are also some listings of name associations, such as Literary: e.g. Brother Cadfael, Emotions: e.g. Baby Love, Cheer Up etc.etc.
  The information availble for each rose varies but may include classification, description of the flower, fragrance and blooming season, size, foliage, thorns, cultivation etc. (the latter is given in terms of U.S. zones) plus comments from gardeners worldwide. About a third of the entries also include a photograph.
  This site includes other useful rose related resources, including Rose Sources (Suppliers) which has a worldwide coverage despite the slight U.S. bias of the site.

  http://www.everyrose.com/ - Rose Reference Database

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Created on ... August 16, 2006, Last Updated October 12th, 2006, Last Checked October 3, 2007