How Instagram Has Made Community Gardens Popular

We don't just turn to Instagram to stalk our favorite celebrities and social influencers to find out what they're wearing, eating or where they hang out. Instagram also has a bevy of great accounts that celebrate and share knowledge about the dirty but glorious world of gardening.

So, for those who've started to dabble in urban gardening during the pandemic lockdowns, we've rounded up a list of 10 gardening accounts to provide you with the ultimate inspiration for plant cultivation. You're welcome!

1. MILKWOOD PERMACULTURE

Milkwood Permaculture goes beyond gardening. They share permaculture techniques and courses on how to live off the land sustainably with ways that can benefit the environment, community and even the economy based on ecological and biological principles.

Before Milkwood Permaculture became a crew of educators, facilitators, designers and builders who teach about the art of permaculture living and gardening, the idea for the business began in Tasmania, Australia with partners Kristen Bradley and Nick Ritar. More than 14 years later delivering lectures and practical courses across Australia, they business now offers online courses such as Holistic Management, Beekeeping, Mushroom Growing and Permaculture Design.

Related Post: Permaculture at a Time of Pandemic

2. HUMANS WHO GROW FOOD

Humans Who Grow Food is an Instagram account that celebrates gardening amateurs and experts from across the world who share their knowledge in growing food without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. It features small-scale gardeners through to farmers who teach us all things gardening, from how to make our own compost, save seeds and how to positively impact our communities with what we grow. Most of the stories that are featured on this account are from nonprofit organizations and activists who are working passionately in making the planet a better place.

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Meet Angelique and Kip @smarterbynature from Tallahassee, Florida,USA "We are farmers who are inspired to create sustainable relationships between people and the natural environment by providing education and fresh food to our local community. We live in a food desert where there is a lack of fresh locally grown food. We founded Smarter by Nature LLC, an urban and rural farming business. Our goal is to provide fresh produce and opportunities for economic sustainability through education, as well as restore the natural environment. The total farm is 5 acres and we are currently growing our market garden area on 1 acre. We grow seasonal annual vegetables to provide to the farmers' market. Some of the crops we are growing for the summer include, squash, tomatoes and peppers. We also grow perennial plants, trees and herbs to add diversity to our farm. To prevent erosion and sequestered water, we cover our soil with spoiled hay as our mulch. Our pest management includes intercropping our vegetables with herbs and flowers. We incorporate hedge rows in our market garden system for birds and other beneficial predators to nest and feed. The biggest hurdle we face is access to resources to sustain a productive and profitable farm. We enjoy helping our customers on their healthy eating journey. We love when people express how they appreciate the service, goods and advice we provide. We love working in nature because the action is healing and the result is nourishing. Nature always provides opportunity for growth so we encourage everyone to grow." Website: www.smarterbynature.org Youtube: www.youtube.com/smarterbynaturetv Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/smarterbynaturedesign/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/smarterbynature?fan_landing=true Twitter: https://twitter.com/Smarterbynatur @humanswhogrowfood features stories of home gardeners, farmers and community gardens across borders and cultures.

A post shared by Humans Who Grow Food (@humanswhogrowfood) on Aug 29, 2020 at 5:54am PDT

3. URBAN FARMSTEAD

Kyle Hagerty of Sacramento, CA aka Urban Farmstead is an urban farmer who shows people how to grow food in small spaces not only on Instagram, but on his YouTube channel. He also grows crops that he then gives away for free at a neighborhood farm stand situated in front of his home (note: this happens every Tuesday).

Follow him as he plants seasonal crops, shows you how to deal with weeds, and teaches you about soil care and growing food that is healthy and produced sustainably.

Aside from giving away their vegetables and crops every Tuesday, he and his team also host a from-farm-to-fork dinner series for a cause called Farmstead Suppers. How great is it to live in this neighborhood?

4. NIGEL DUNNETT

A Professor of Planting Design and Urban Horticulture in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield, Nigel Dunnett's Instagram account captures his adventures and gardening work across the UK where work he brings landscapes to life through his ingenious planting designs.

5. HOME GARDENING WITH PETE

Home Gardening with Pete is an educational space on Insta where practical tips and tricks for growing a variety of crops is shared. This is not a Photoshopped social media account, rather Pete provides step-by-step updates and hands-on gardening advice on growing edibles.

He has also written a couple of ebooks which contains a compilation of his diary notes, tips and experiences on container gardening and home gardening.

6. GARDENARY

Founded by Nicole Burke, Gardenary is a one-stop Insta account for gardening advice and know-how. The name 'Gardenary' is a combination of the words garden and ordinary because Gardenary was created to make gardening ordinary again.

This account offer lectures and courses to give home gardeners an opportunity to make gardening a profitable profession. You'll also find garden consultants, designs, courses, books and other educational resources to help you become a better gardener.

From growing herbs to setting up your own kitchen garden with raised beds and trellises to becoming a Gardenary Certified Garden Coach, they've got your gardening needs covered.

7. GOOD LIFE GARDEN

Diana's organic garden in her backyard in Lincolnshire, UK is a dream! And she shares her gardening journey via her Good Life Garden Instagram account. Follow her to learn all about growing a multitude of vegetables and crops, planting flowers, building a backyard plant nursery, making mushroom totems, managing a wildlife pond and tending to an orchard. She also runs some awesome giveaways!

8. GARDENING KNOW HOW

Gardening Know How is built on community and the sharing of gardening knowledge. The account offers its community the opportunity to ask questions about crop raising, flower growing and general gardening and offers a plethora of tips to help you cultivate a better green thumb. Whether you're keen to learn about traditional lawn care, discover some gardening hacks, which plants are best to plant this season or interested in permaculture gardening, you'll learn the know how with Gardening Know How.

9. CHICKS AND VEG

Learn all about growing vegetables and raising chickens at Amy's cottage garden in West Norfolk, England. You'll be inspired to grow your own fruit and vegetables and you'll learn to cook the vegetables and crops you've harvested yourself as Amy shares wonderful recipes such as lavender shortbread, shooting chutney, beetroot brownies and more!

10. THE HAPPY GARDENING LIFE

Jason Miles is the gardener behind the Instagram account The Happy Gardening Life which launched in 2015 simply to celebrate the joys of gardening. He and his wife Cinnamon own and manage a 10-acre farm in Lusaka, Zambia with the mission to feed the hungry kids of The Needs Care Orphan Day Centre School by growing clean, healthy and sustainable crops.

Because this is a community for happy gardeners, their followers of over 200,000 get the chance to be featured on their Instagram page by using the #thehappygardeninglife in their posts. Check them out and prepare to be wowed and inspired by the other gardeners' ideas posted on this Insta feed.

No matter where you are on your horticultural journey, you can still take away a lot of awesome ideas from these passionate growers. So go and give these accounts a follow and be inspired to nurture life on the land, whether you're tending an urban garden, community garden plot or rural farm acreage.

Keen for more plant inspiration? Check out our post #Plantstagram: 10 Green Instagram Accounts to Follow for Plant Inspiration.

Recommending reading:

If You Took to Growing Veggies in the Coronavirus Pandemic, Then Keep it up When Lockdown Ends
13 Stylish Ways to Decorate Your Home and Office with Plants
7 Reasons Why Your Veggie Scraps Won't Regrow
8 Low-Maintenance Indoor Plants for Your Office
12 Useful Edible Flowers Sustainable Gardeners Should Plant Instead of Ornamentals
How My Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Saves Me Over $7,000 a Year
20 Eco-Friendly Things To Do During Self-Quarantine and Pandemic Lockdown
4 Ways You Can Strengthen Your Mental Resilience Today

Cover image by SofikoS.

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