I see that many of us are still in withdrawal from gardening TV shows. I can't begin to fathom why HGTV would ignore a large segment of their viewing audience, but I hope everyone read my earlier post about our favorite Gardener Guy setting up shop online. He's able to chat freely in his blog and there's the wonderful GGTV - yes, that's Gardener Guy TV. We can still get advice and a few laughs watching new episodes of GGTV.

There's another internet television station I've mentioned before and I'm sure you'll want to check out. Garden World Report launched last fall and it's catching on big time. It's the brain child of the always ebullient Shirley Bovshow, she of "Garden Police" and "Edenmaker" fame, and she's pulled in a tech crew of HGTV, DIY, Discovery and network pros. Shirley and her far flung contributors span the globe bringing us news of plants, design, products, break through - just everything you'd expect a garden obsessed girl to talk about. No spokespersons here - these are diehard, hands in the dirt people. Why in the first episode, we get a Latin lesson from Nicholas Staddon of Monrovia Nursery, tips on spring and winter gardening, a review of hand-blown garden glass ornaments, a Hollywood party with Garden Design magazine , video tips from our own Yolanda Vanveen and a tour of Australian TV gardening expert Trevor Cochrane's own garden, with a vegetable garden to die for.

The show is still evolving and I hope many of you will tune in and consider sending some video clips from your own gardening corner of the world. I hope this is the beginning of a new trend.

Photo: © Marie Iannott

The National Garden Bureau (NGB) has announced that 2010 is the Year of the Marigold. Yay for the marigold. Marigolds are one of the most popular plants grown and sold, but they are also one of the least respected. They rank right down there with petunias and red geraniums, in the hierarchy of garden snobs. Isn't that always the way? The plants that deliver season after season are the ones we take for granted.

So kudos to the NGB for singling out marigolds. This isn't the first time marigolds have been honored. According to the NGB, "... the Aztec people ... attributed magical, religious and medicinal properties to marigolds."

Marigolds are native to the western Americas, from Argentina to Arizona. Seeds traveled to Spain and from there to Northern Africa, where they became naturalized, giving us the popular Tagetes erecta, the tall African marigold.

Their Latin name, Tagetes, goes back to the Italian god, Tages. "A grandson of Jupiter, Tages came forth from a clod of earth as a wise and handsome boy." So let's all show marigolds the respect they deserve. Use them along borders, in containers and even hanging baskets. I still love marigolds in my vegetable garden, where they seem to deter the rabbits.

You won't have to look far to find marigold plants. Every garden center sells a couple of varieties as seedlings. But for the best selection, grown your own. The large seeds are quick and easy to grow. And if you want to make them a little more impressive, call them by their proper name, Tagetes, (tah-JEE-deez). It's one of those names we've all seen written, but only 1 in 100 knows how to pronounce.

• Marigold Growing Tips
• The Different Types of Marigolds
• Companion Planting

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

It's about that time of year; the time of year when you kick yourself for not planting more tulips. Unless you've surrendered to the deer or live somewhere perpetually warm, you've probably got a clump or two of tulips. Their bright, cherry colors bridge the gap between daffodils and a fully awakened garden. They do get eaten on occasion and they have an annoying habit of disappearing after a year or two, but how much effort does it take to pop a few more in the ground, in the fall?

I was surprised to see that garden centers are now selling sprouted spring bulbs for transplanting. I guess they anticipate our regrets for not planting our own last fall. Of course, there are plenty of cut tulips and potted tulip plants available, if you just want to enjoy them for the season. I always like to pick up a bunch of red tulips, as soon as they're out in the spring. I only learned recently that tulips continue to grow after they are cut. That's why they twist and bend in the vase.

My favorite tulip planting tip from a reader was to plant your tulips in your fenced vegetable garden. The deer can't reach them, but you can enjoy them as you're getting your vegetable garden going or you can cut them and bring them indoors. Here are more tips for enjoying your tulips and caring for them once they're up.

• Growing Tulips
• Video - Tulips in Pots
• Feeding Bulbs
• Tulips as Cut Flowers
• Are Tulips Perennial?
• Spring Bulb FAQ

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

A garden designer once told me that good garden design was a lot like pornography: You can't define it, but you know it when you see it. Certainly good garden design is subjective. My tastes seem to change daily, so my garden's design is constantly evolving. I do favor a certain sense of order, but my plants usually have their own way, despite my best efforts.

I was at a garden talk recently and the speaker was a garden designer who specializes in naturalistic garden design. He feels that a successful garden design is one where you don't even realize the space has been designed. I'm not sure that's ever going to be my aesthetic. I like natural areas, but I love billowing boarders and flowering hedges. David Beaulieu has an interesting piece on the evolution of garden design, from geometric order to cottage gardens, sweeping lawns and minimalism. Do you think you're garden aesthetic can be categorized, or do you find yourself constantly experimenting.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti