The National Home Gardening Club is a membership organization dedicated to sharing a love for gardening. Members receive six issues of Gardening How-To Magazine and gain special privileges to enter contests, receive gardening advice, post in forums, trade seeds, test new garden products and gain special members-only discounts. The best way to know if a membership is worth your while is to visit www.gardeningclub.com and take it for a one-month free test drive, which will give you full access to the site, as well as a free issue of their informative magazine.

Regular members of the National Home Gardening Club receive the Gardening How To Magazine, the ability to test new (free) gardening products, full access to the club website, a chance to win club giveaways, gardening tips from other members, professional answers to your gardening questions, free gifts, newsletters, books and videos. Life members of the gardening club receive all the same things as regular members, but with lifetime access. They’ll also get a Life Member ID card, key-ring, gardening mat, gloves and gifts valued at $165. Premier Life Members receive all the benefits of regular life members, plus get a $45 gift certificate to www.createmycookbook.com, discounts from retailers, a free hotline with answers from a gardening expert, discounts on club seminars and garden events, free online vegetable/herb garden planning service for one year and travel discounts.

Some members love the National Home Gardening Club for its members-only garden contests. For instance, their Photo Contest asked members to send in three of their best garden photo shots (plant portraits, borders, beds, garden structures and scenes). Winners could receive a pair of Swift 825 Eaglet Binoculars from Swift Sport Optics (valued at $530), The AeroGarden (valued at $209), a $100 gift card from Lee Valley Tools, or Terra Cycle fertilizers, wild bird seed, deer repellent and flower pots (valued at $75). The “Pruned to Perfection” contest asked members to send in their best pruning photos and stories. Three winners won a $289 Fiskers prize package that included a Power Gear Bypass Pruner, Power Gear Hedge Shears, Telescoping Pruning Stick, Power Gear Bypass Lopper, Gardening Multi Tool, Power-Pivot Grass Shears, Garden Knife, 10 Gallon Kangaroo and a 3-piece Scratch Tool set.

However, most life members of the National Home Gardening Club will tell you they joined for the friendships. “Honestly, it is the people that make the site,” one member writes. Some avid gardeners talk about sharing their gardening experiences with people they met on the site over ten years ago. There are many active members from around the country on the club’s website, especially in places like Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma and Texas, which have from 137 to 646 topics each. The “Seed Swap” section in the forum is pretty hopping too, with over 2,009 topics. Whether you’re looking for orange cosmos, cotton, red yucca, tropical hibiscus, cacti, sweet pea, peter peppers, pink columbine or roses, you will find them here for free! Just send some of your extra seeds in return! This club has its rewards if you are interested in these activities.