The Garden (Royal Horticultural Society)

The Garden, magazine is full of practical advice, ideas and inspiration. RHS members receive free entry with a guest to RHS Gardens: Wisley, Rosemoor, Harlow Carr and Hyde Hall. Members may apply for seeds harvested from RHS Gardens. Their Garden Shop is fascinating and includes UK property rentals and sales; - nonetheless, it may be easier for most gardeners to bypass their seed purchases due to the USDA-APHIS import certificate requirements.

We have loved membership in the Royal Horticultural Society and they have a great publication "The Garden" which I believe is worth the membership cost. We have participated in their seed sharing program for at least 10 years but this year it simply became too complicated. I jumped through hoops attempting to get a USDA-APHIS import certificate, some of which could be done online but they then require you to physically go to a USDA location during business hours with a photo ID plus a list of seeds (with proper Latin names) that you want to import. This is complicated because you have to list alternates on the RHS application, so there's no guarantee that you'll get what you sign up for. Unfortunately the membership belongs to my employer and I couldn't sign up on his/her behalf. Even so, it's a lot of work for 20 packets of seeds.

Membership in the RHS isn't cheap, but for the cost (about $ 80.00 a year), you get the monthly publication "The Garden" which is worth the cost alone. You also get free access to hundreds of gardens in the UK, and a handful in other countries, plus up to 25 packets of seed harvested from RHS gardens (e.g. Wisley, Harlow Carr).