Looking for a good binge watch? But do you want to support black gardeners on YouTube at the same time? Look no further because I’ve scoured the internet for some of the best gardening YouTube channels for ornamental gardeners but with a twist, the only gardeners on this list are black.
Now if that made you uncomfortable, this video is not for you. Don’t worry, my channel is not a political one, but my existence is political and it’s my channel and my rules. Let’s get real for a minute:
If you’re tempted to tell me you’re not racist or that you don’t discriminate, don’t worry, you haven’t been implicated in anything.
There is a great deal of quality gardening content on YouTube that was once unavailable to me because the YouTube algorithm just didn’t show it to me. The algorithm learns from our behavior, so, I investigated why that was.
A search for “gardening” (or similar terms) on YouTube presented me with a library of gardening videos that, I believe did not represent the diversity of the gardening community. We were there, I just had to dig through a thicket of “typical” gardeners to find us.
I learned pretty quickly to teach my algorithm to show me everything, and the only way to do that IS to choose my content through a racial lens and I’m sorry that I’m not sorry. I had to resist the urge to click on the first few videos that appear in a “gardening” search, as those videos are homogenous, the same familiar faces, whose videos I also enjoy but let’s just be honest, made me feel left out.
I have seen lists of the best gardening channels on YouTube but they didn’t mention any gardeners of colors, specifically black gardeners. I wanted to change that.
Art should represent life. Life is diverse. So why weren’t there any gardeners of colors in those initial searches? Or in those lists? Why aren’t gardeners of colors with large libraries of content shooting to the top of my search results or my home page? Because you know who was.
I mean, if you’re not interested in the why, again, this video is not for you.
Representation matters. Just think how good gardening has been to you. It’s the representation of people of color in this space that will encourage other people of color to garden. Representation could even encourage a larger number of knowledgeable, talented creative gardeners of color to share their work on YouTube, which just makes this platform a more interesting place for people who enjoy gardening and gardening content, no matter their race.
This video recognizes the time, energy and effort that these gardeners of color put into their content, to provide quality content and a diversity of perspectives. This video is a resource.
More gardening content to come!
Garden channels mentioned in this video:
Kreative Gardenista @KreatyveGardenista
Red soil gardener @redsoilgardener
Garden Addictz @GardenAddictz
A beautiful nest @abeautifulnest
Jays Garden Journal @jaysgardenjournal
Gardening Queen @GardenQueen
My therapy garden @mytherapygarden3909
Rick’s garden diary @ricksgardendiary
Garden Marcus @choiceforward
Cloud Gardner@CloudGardenerUK
Gardening on Purpose @gardeningonpurpose3334
Becoming a farm girl @BecomingaFarmGirl
DIY by Carolina @diysbycarolina8622
Outdoor Living by Daphne @daphnesoutdoorliving6146 or
Gardenscapes by Kae @GardenscapesbyKae
Finding Joy in the garden @FindingJoyintheGarden
Growing out the box @growingoutthebox