There are two things that you have to know about me. First of all, I am a huge fan of nature and I utterly love wildlife. And secondly… I am a truly terrible gardener. Frankly, just awful. If I were born a Hobbit, I’d have been kicked out of the Shire to wander the lonely trails of Middle Earth long, long ago. However, I hope to get better.

One of the most inspiring places online for gardeners everywhere, both amateur and veteran alike, is the r/gardening subreddit. It’s a community that has sunk its roots deep into the internet, having grown to nearly 4 million members since being planted all the way back in the spring of 2008.

We’ve collected some of the most impressive photos from gardens, as shared by the friendly folks of r/gardening, all to make you smile and inspire you to give gardening a shot as well, dear Pandas. These pics would make any Hobbit proud, that’s for sure. Be sure to pick out your fave photos and give them an upvote as you’re climbing down this long vine of a list. Oh, and if you’ve got a green thumb (or two!), you can tell us all about your love of gardening in the comments.

Bored Panda reached out to the moderators of r/gardening to learn a bit more about the community and its popularity. One of them, with over a decade of experience moderating the subreddit, had some great news for those of us who have trouble with plants. “There is no such thing as a green thumb or a black thumb. Anybody can grow plants. Just a little bit of attention paid will yield results,” they said that everyone is fully capable of becoming a gardener. And the subreddit is there to help in case you need it.

#1 I’ve Been Playing Words With Friends With A 75 Year Old Great Grandma From Idaho For Over Three Years But Have Never Met Her In Person. She Sent Me The Most Amazing Wedding Gift!

Image credits: trifling_fo_sho

The moderator, who preferred to remain anonymous, was kind enough to share with Bored Panda how they first got started helping manage the community. “I started modding on /r/gardening after I asked the [head] moderator (u/moultano) about a post not appearing or something, and he offered me a moderator position,” they opened up about how the founder of the online group got them involved further.

At the time, more than a decade ago, the subreddit was but a seedling, having around 50k members. “We’ve had a constant stream of great contributors, along with dedicated moderators over the years, which has served the sub well,” the mod praised their colleagues and community members.

According to the moderator, the vast popularity of r/gardening is all down to the wholesome members of the online community. The mod was very humble and said that the huge number of subscribers isn’t their achievement, “it’s the good nature of the gardening community that makes people sub and stick around.”

#2 I Want To Play! How It Started vs. How It’s Going (5 Years)

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#3 Current View From My Sewing Studio

Image credits: Jessicasews

Despite all the popularity, the subreddit chooses not to be in the limelight. “We have, by choice, never been a front-page (default) subreddit, so subs here are not accidental,” the moderator explained that most of those joining the community have an active interest in gardening. “As mods, we’ve always had a tough but fair policy on user conduct—like all gardeners have to keep the weeds at bay from time to time.”

If you’re ever in need of some help, you can always make a post on r/gardening with some pictures, asking for advice. Or you can tune into the weekly ‘Friendly Friday’ threads with a question or two.

The ‘Gardening’ subreddit has just three simple rules that you’ll need to abide by if you want to grow into a fully-fledged member of their community. Firstly, they’re very tough when it comes to advertising and self-promotions: they won’t tolerate any of that business, so remember to stay humble. It’s not about you, or your business, it’s about the gardens, the plants, the agriculture.

#4 A Local Gardener And Her Massive Rhododendron!

Image credits: kentuckycc

#5 Dragon Fruits On My Rooftop Garden

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#6 My Mouth Was Agape When I Drove Past. This Picture Doesn’t Do It Justice

Image credits: Mirorcurious

I really love how they phrased their second rule: “No Trolls in the Garden.” It’s all self-explanatory. Be a decent human being. Don’t harass others. And don’t post any abusive or offensive content.

Their third and final rule is about avoiding reposts. You shouldn’t be farming karma on Reddit, you should be posting quality content for its own sake. “ If you are going to repost something, it should be for the sake of learning new things, cross-posting, or bringing up a question asked previously on this sub for advice,” the subreddit’s moderators point out that education should be at the forefront of their members’ minds, not giving their social reputation a boost.

#7 My Grandpa Built A Teepee For His Bean Plant And Planted Wildflowers On The Sides, He’s Really Proud Of It And I Wanted To Share It With All Of You

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#8 My Mother’s Orangery In Denmark

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#9 This Was Just A Pile Of Dirt When We Moved Here 2 Years Ago

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The subreddit’s moderators have also done a wonderful job when it comes to sharing resources. For example, in their sidebar they’ve listed the plant hardiness zone maps for every major region in the world. Plant hardiness helps determine how well plants tolerate the coldest temperatures in each zone. It’s incredibly useful for gardeners the world over.

#10 I Found A Surprise In My Rose Bush!

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#11 This Beautiful Two Toned Rose In My Garden

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#12 I Guess I Mistakenly Planted My Tomato Right Next To Where I’d Sown Some Bunny Seeds

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What’s more, the online community has links to all the other subreddits, large and small, that are related to gardening. From Reddit’s edible and indoor gardening communities to plant-specific subreddits, advice-focused groups, and ones specifically for buying, trading, and selling plants and seeds. It might sound overwhelming at first, but think of it as a library that has separate sections for everything gardening-related. Or as good friends referring to their pals for specific advice.

#13 My Grammy’s Stunning Hydrangea Bush She’s So Proud Of

Image credits: ChestDumper

#14 My Garden Is My Happy Place

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#15 The Grandparents Garden Is Looking Amazing

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Some time ago, I had an in-depth chat about protecting frogs and other amphibians in our gardens with Dr. John W. Wilkinson from the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) charity in the United Kingdom. According to him, people sharing photos of critters and herpetofauna (i.e. reptiles and amphibians) online can encourage others to care more about them.

#16 My Grandpa Says We “Need To Get The Word Out” About How Beautiful His Crepe Myrtle Is

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#17 I Scarred A Pumpkin

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#18 I Was Walking In My Neighborhood And This Camellia Literally Stopped Me In My Tracks

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“It’s great to see photos of frogs in people’s gardens or that they’ve seen on a walk. We know this often creates a deeper interest in amphibians and their conservation and we love to see them—so long as the animals aren’t disturbed too much of course!” Dr. Wilkinson told Bored Panda.

#19 Welcome To My Secret Garden

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#20 What A Difference One Year Makes!

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#21 My Boyfriend’s Mother’s Garden

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According to the expert from ARC, some of the main things that we can do in our gardens to make them more friendly for the local wildlife include setting up a garden pond and not using chemicals. The pond, especially, is the “single most important thing you can do for garden life.”

#22 Incorporating The Rain Into Your Garden

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#23 The Guy In The Image Collects Lost Apple Varieties

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#24 Thank Me. Appreciate Me. Respect My Authoritree!

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What’s more, a large yard isn’t everything. You can get quite a lot of good done for the local wildlife even with limited space. You just have to get creative. “In a small garden, even an upturned dustbin lid or bowl will provide a place for animals to drink,” Dr. Wilkinson from ARC told Bored Panda.

#25 What A Difference A Few Years Can Make. Idea 2017 vs. Established Garden 2020

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#26 Update: I’m In Love. Can I Keep Them Year Round?!

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#27 This House Around The Corner From Me Takes My Breath Away Every Time I Walk By

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Something else that critters love is if we set up compost heaps and log piles in our gardens. They can be magnificent habitats for frogs, amphibians, and reptiles. Again, these don’t have to be massive in size: even small habitats will make our local critters happy.

#28 The Spoils Of Months Of Hard Work And Tender Care

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#29 Found Out Why My Strawberries Are Doing Bad This Year

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#30 My Dad’s (74yo) Garden Is Looking Particularly Lovely This Morning. He Does All The Planning And Gardening Himself

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“Climate change can be a very negative factor for frogs, toads, and newts. Ponds can dry up too quickly, meaning their tadpoles don’t have enough time to develop. Also, warmer winters affect hibernating frogs. They use more energy during hibernation and partially wake up, meaning they are in poorer condition for breeding. This is particularly hard on the females who put a lot of energy into making eggs (spawn),” Dr. Wilkinson warned how climate change is affecting various animals, stressing the need for all of us with gardens to give them a helping hand.

#31 Of All The Watermelon Flowers The Bees Could Have Pollinated, They Chose One That Bloomed Inside A Crack On Our Wall

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#32 My Grandpa With His Cantaloupes In His Garden

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#33 I Heard This Is Where We’re Putting Our Overachieving Lemon Trees

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#34 Move Over Coachella, No One Does A Flower Crown Like A Cactus!

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#35 Four Years Of Hard Work Later

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#36 Yes, And I Am Fine With That

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#37 My Mom Planted These Climbing Roses Around A Patio In Her Yard When I Got Married There 7 Years Ago. The Marriage Is In Shambles But Roses Going Strong

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#38 My Dad Was Extremely Proud Of His Monster Tomatoes This Season

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#39 My Mother Tried To Plant Something And A Demogorgon Was Born Instead

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#40 My Gfs Window Box That She Said Nobody On Reddit Would Care About

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#41 Hubs Deployed And Said I Could Build A Garden To Keep Me Busy. Never Built Anything Before, Did My Best And Can’t Wait To Show Him

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#42 Who Says You Can’t Have A Garden If You Live In An Apartment?

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#43 Some Guys Have A Man Cave. I Have A Garden Balcony

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#44 After Clearing Out A Wheelchair, Three Mismatched Shoes, A Deflated Ball And A Buried Chunk Of Brick Wall, I Finally Have My Very First Garden!

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#45 I Thought I’d Show Off My Mom’s Pride And Joy

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#46 Greetings From The Navajo Nation. Here’s Today’s Haul

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#47 This Was My First Time Ever Growing Sunflowers

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#48 First Mango From A Tree That Was Grown From Seed!!!

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#49 After Battling The Courts, My Uncle Has Regained My Great-Grandparents And Grandparents Farmstead And Revitalized It Into Working Condition. Buffalo, NY

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#50 My Three Year Old Beaming With Pride At Her First Ever Harvest Of Beans Which She Helped To Sow, Water, Plant Out And Build The Support For

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#51 I Know It’s Nothing Too Spectacular, But I Am In Love With How My Deck Flowers Turned Out

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#52 Took 3 Years, But You Can Grow A Pineapple In Ohio

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#53 Summer Is Here

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#54 My Plum Harvest, From One Tree

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#55 Some Of You Thought I Wouldn’t Go Thru With A Maternity Shoot For Our Mutant Baby Zucchini But Here’s The Thing Fam, We’re Pretty Weird And We Hate To Disappoint The Internet. 5lbs 6oz Of Delicious

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#56 My Dad Is Growing An Avacado Tree At His Office

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#57 My Cactus Had 7 Blooms!

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#58 My Melons Needed Some Support

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#59 I Used To Sit In The Desert Of Afghanistan Eating MRE’s Daydreaming About Having A Home With A Garden With Fresh Food. Years Later, Dream Achieved

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#60 After 2 Years Of Nurturing My First Passion Flower Bloomed Today

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#61 An Ancient White Oak Sadly Fell In A Storm Last Year. I Saved Three Acorns But Only This One Germinated

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#62 An Excellent Australian Finger Lime I Grew

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#63 My Dad’s Garden. He Has Gotten To The Point Where He Now Has To Sneak In New Plants And Little Statues So My Mum Doesn’t Tell Him Off For Hoarding!

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#64 Lettuce From Our Garden

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#65 My Husband And I Built A 10x30ft Greenhouse During Our 1 Year Old’s Naps!

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#66 View From The Backyard

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#67 I Ate An Avocado 2,5 Years Ago, And Kept The Seed. This Is My Avocado Seed Today!

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#68 I Love It When There Is Many Flowers And You Can’t See The Basket Anymore.

Source: boredpanda.com