Digital literacy for gardeners and all our other friends

Jill Severn portrait

On the way through the Bitterroot Mountain’s Lolo Pass, there’s a tree (probably many trees) with a lobed leaf that is green on top and white and fuzzy underneath. What could it be? A smartphone had the answer: populus alba, a member of the poplar family. Its common name is white poplar. An all-too-brief internet search identified it as invasive.

But a discerning look at the source of that information revealed it was a website focused on New England, with no mention of whether white alder is invasive in states other than Maine and Pennsylvania. It is a popular European tree with many uses.

This, happily, points to the sources of misinformation about gardening on the internet: It’s not about politics, it’s not about hate and division, and it’s not coming from Russia or Iran. It’s about geography, science versus folklore, selling plants, seeds and garden gear, and the infinite variation in gardeners’ – and even botanists’ – experiences and quirky opinions.

Thus, finding reliable information online about our most perplexing gardening questions is rarely a one-stop journey. And even a deeper dive into internet searches doesn’t always produce one right answer. More likely, it will give you options to choose from.

However, as frost threatens and winter looms, the internet offers oodles of hours of entertainment and garden education for the rainy days and long dark nights ahead.

For instance, according to Wikipedia’s entry on populus alba, “It was the most commonly used wood for panel paintings in Italy throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance . . . Most earlier Italian Renaissance paintings are painted on poplar panels, the Mona Lisa being but one example.” Then canvas came along. Still, white alder is a favorite wood for sculptors.

Perhaps you never thought about what Leonardo DaVinci painted the Mona Lisa on, but you can impress your friends by knowing these fun facts.

So here is a beginner’s guide to getting the best and avoiding the worst Auntie Google has to offer to gardeners and our fellow travelers:

The first principle of digital literacy is to always ask, “Says who?” about everything.

• Start with paying attention to the URL – that’s Uniform Resource Locator, or address (example: https://www.youtube.com). If it ends in .com, it’s nearly always a for-profit business; if it ends in .org, it’s an organization, most likely non-profit; if it’s .gov, it’s a government agency. If it’s .edu it’s an educational institution. URLs tell you, in very broad strokes, something about the website’s motivations. (There are other URL .endings for sites from other countries.)
  
  
• Most websites have a menu that includes an “about us” section. That will tell you more about who’s in charge and what their interests are. If that information isn’t available, think twice.
  
  
• Pay attention to geography. States usually have Extension Services for farmers and gardeners staffed by botanists and Invasive Species Councils that have websites. Sometimes it’s interesting to see how their recommendations compare; there is a surprising amount of variation in what they advise, often but not always based on different climate conditions and topography. Sometimes it’s also based on an individual botanist’s opinion, and it’s surprising how variable they are. Botanists, it seems, are very opinionated people.
  
  Opinionated people who are not botanists are even more plentiful, more fanciful, and also occasionally have clever ideas.
• Sites from other countries with similar climates are fun. There are many from the UK, notably the Royal Horticulture Society and Great Dixter, a biodiversity-minded public estate once owned by the renowned garden writer Christoper Lloyd. People who are fluent in Japanese, French, Urdu, or any other language in the range of YouTube have other online gardening worlds open to them.
  
  
• Screen time is a multi-media phenomenon. On YouTube, you could probably spend 24/7 watching garden videos, from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the end of time.
  
  Social media sites like TikTok, X and Instagram are proliferating wildly. They are subject to a lot of fake news from Iran, Russia and China, but I’m guessing none of those countries would invest in gardening disinformation. It will all be home-grown.
  
  A growing number of garden websites, Instagram, YouTube channels, and TikTok are devoted to Black, Latino, South Asian, Native American and other culturally distinct traditions in the U.S.A. These media open our eyes to new plants and new ways of thinking.
  
  There is also an abundance of cultural diversity on good old-fashioned Facebook, and some of it will make you wish you were multilingual too.

• Play around with search terms. For instance, “Biodiversity in the garden” turns up many sites offering analysis, advice and information. “Cold frames” provides a nice list of products and ideas for making your own. “Problem with my zinnias” will reveal a list of websites offering (often contradictory) diagnoses and cures for your zinnias’ maladies.
  
  You can even get long lists of garden jokes. They are, like everything else online, of varying quality.

The first principle: Never stop asking “Says who?”

Sample many websites, video services and social media. Exercise skepticism. Don’t rush it. Most important, know when it’s time to step away from the screen and go have a life.

Jill Severn writes from her home in Olympia, where she grows vegetables, flowers, and a small flock of chickens. She loves conversation among gardeners. Start one by emailing her at  jill@theJOLTnews.com