Years ago someone gave me a book of essays about gardening and the essay that stayed with me the longest was about seed catalogs. They arrive in the bleakest week of January and are full of summer and flowers and hope. In January, anything was possible. None of my gardens ever rose to this pinnacle but in January I could still hope. Imagine ME in this photo for Annie's seed catalog!
Of course at my parents house, this whole process was amplified because, as owners of a nursery, we got nearly every seed catalog produced. Eventually I branched out from the big commercial companies and learned about Jonney's Selected Seeds and that one detailed black-and-white catalog that sold only tomatoes and peppers (I think it was Tomato Growers Supply Company but they're much fancier now).
I only get a few seed catalogs now and I still enjoy them, but I've moved my garden dreaming to YouTube. The world of disease-free vegetables, abundant flowers, and perfect gardens still exists on YouTube. Here are my favorite sites. I visit these two every couple days.
Epic Gardening and Epic Homesteading with Kevin Espiritu. This show comes from San Diego so the plants don't always translate to WV but I love the philosophy and approach. A couple years ago KE bought a larger property (still urban) that he's turning into a giant garden (hence the Homesteading channel). It's been great to watch the transformation over the past year. There are some cooking-related videos too. Why don't we all have a cousin who stops by with fresh fish he just caught? For a dragon fruit alley?
My first visit to EG was his video about growing ginger in containers. It's his most-watched video (over 7 million views). It's a good place to start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mUeNy0rweM
Self Sufficient Me with Mark Valencia out of Australia. Again, not everything translates to my growing zone but I find him very entertaining. I mostly watch his veggie videos but I also enjoy the extras like poisonous snakes in the chicken coop and the videos about his Russian Blue cat Geo (walking the cat, building a fabulous cat run).
My honorable mentions
GrowVeg. From the UK
The Gardening Channel with James Prigioni. I like this this comes from NJ so the plants and temperatures are a good match for me. His dog Tuck is a regular and has proven skills picking carrots.
CaliKim29 Garden & Home DIY. She does a nice job growing veg in a a small space.
The Optimistic Gardener from Nova Scotia.
Do you have a favorite garden channel on YouTube? I'm always looking for new ones. Leave a comment if you do!