Garden siteseeing the male way

In this week's visits to gardens across the Web, we're dropping in on guys who like to dig in the dirt and write about it.

Robert Kourik's Garden Roots are deep in the soil of a small California garden that's surrounded by wilderness. He writes garden books, so his blog is filled with interesting information that you might not learn any other way.

This week's posting -- complete with chart -- is about how to use drip irrigation so that your total water usage is stingy but your plants receive the optimal amount. I thought I knew all about this, but several of his well-presented conclusions surprised me.

Another helpful chart goes with a discussion of summertime mulching (which is really necessary in his part of the world since temperatures have climbed above 100 degrees F.)

Back on the East Coast, Jeff calls himself the Transitional Gardener because he lives in coastal Virginia, between North and South. If you grew up in the South, as I did, you'll be amused by Jeff's story (on July 22) of his very proper grandmother and the plants known as naked ladies.

A bit farther south, Christopher C -- Outside Clyde -- lives on a mountain in North Carolina. You might find him writing about anything from butterflies to cucumber wilt to building a house, step by step. I love the split-rail fence surrounded by flowers.

Heading northward, Craig Cramer of Cornell University’s horticulture department, lives and gardens in Ellis Hollow near Ithaca, N.Y. It's fun to see all the tropical flowers -- in pots of course -- that he recently visited on campus.

I tend to drool over gorgeous garden photos and the ones of Craig's that really got me going was filipendula, a native known as queen of the prairie. The pretty-in-pink close-ups made me want to rush out and buy a plant or three -- although I have no suitable spot for it, unfortunately.

Still, a garden traveler can dream, can't she? I definitely will -- until next week's Web visits, when I'll may discover something I like even better.

Note: Every Thursday, Diggin' It is devoted to virtual garden travel. Some previous visits can be found here and here.