I love my garden. I love the feeling of the dirt in my hands. I love planting things and watching them grow. I love watching trees I planted as nothing more that twigs grow and bloom. For me, gardening is both rewarding and fun.
I have always been sensitive to environmental issues. I was first introduced toGardens Alive through its catalog. Now I spend a great deal of time at the website.
What's different about Gardens Alive?
Gardens Alive doesn't just sell me products. It teaches me about caring for the plants in my garden. I used to just put my plants in the ground and watch them grow. If they died, I was upset, but I didn't think about learning how to prevent this from happening. The main reason was that I didn't want to load down the soil - and the vegetables - with a lot of chemicals.
With Gardens Alive I have learned how to better care for the plants in my garden in an environmentally responsible way. For instance, with my lawn I used to use a popular dandelion killer that carried all sorts of warning about avoiding contact with skin and keeping people and animals away from the area sprayed. Gardens Alive has a great product called Wow! Plus which controls dandelions, crabgrass, creeping bentgrass, foxtail, lamb's-quarters, purslane, redroot pigweed and many others while delivering nutrients to the lawn.
I have learned a better way for caring for other problems such as fungus and blights that affect my vegetable plants. Gardens Alive also taught me about composting. I use their Tomatoes Alive products on my vegetables now instead of Miracle Grow. I purchase live ladybugs from here as well to control the aphids in my backyard.
Pet owners, take note: there is also an area for natural, organic ways to take car of your pets as well. Flea control, food and treats which don't contain corn, vitamins, and bathing products are available for your pet.
The website is very easy to use. On the first page is a search box. Just type in your problem and it will bring up articles about it. For instance, if I type in dandelions, I am directed to an article on organic lawn care which encompasses getting rid of dandelions.
There are also categories to choose from: Backyard Birds, Beneficial Insects, Composting, Cover Crops, Disease Control, Fertilizers, Flower Gardening, Home Orchards, Household, Lawn Care, Pest Controls, Pet Care, Reference, Row Covers, Tools and Accessories, Vegetable Gardening, and Weed Control.
It is so easy to just go online and find a safe solution here when I see a problem developing with the plants in my garden. The products are displayed nicely and there is good information given. I can look for specific products or browse through disease control, pest control, or weed control to find a solution to my gardening problems. I have also subscribed to the newsletter and receive notices about sales and gardening tips via email.
Prices are a little bit higher when compared to comparable products found at the nursery (such as the Miracle Grow versus Tomatoes Alive!), but the products are safer for the environment, your vegetables, and you. Only you can decide if the extra expense is justified.
Another thing I like is that I can order a product or an insect from them and it is only shipped when it's the right time to use it - when the weather has warmed up sufficiently. The people at Gardens Alive watch the weather reports for the country and only bill and ship the weather-sensitive products when the time is right. This is very important in regards to the insects which could die off in the cold, or also be adversely affected if it's already very hot when they arrive at their destination. I love doing ladybug releases with my kids and a package which covers 1,000 square feet is fairly inexpensive.Gardens Alive also uses a special type of ladybug designed to be free of parasites and stay close to where they are released, rather than flying off quickly.
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