The Cottage Garden is pretty active and the people very encouraging. There have even been some cool plant and seed trades initiated by that bunch. It's a good forum. Lawns is rather serious. Ponds too. Accouterments and Garden Junk are pretty friendly if a bit eccentric. Good luck.

Gosh, there are so many! I am very excited there is one on ponds, who knew.

Thanks --- there was no way I could tell from that long list that Cottage Garden might be a good bet. It so happens my home is casual and so that is a good fit anyway.

Take a look at the activity on the page. I live in Maine but the Maine Gardening forum is super slow. New England gardening is a lot more chatty. I usually post in a forum specific to my question (i.e. Landscape Design for help figuring out a walkway plan, Maples for tree questions, etc.) For general chatting, try a few that appeal to you and see what clicks. I agree, there are very specific tones and timbers to the various forums.

I would do either your state garden forum or at least one that is in the same zone. Regional garden forum would be third choice. That way you will get to see and ask questions about plants that grow best in your area and give you the correct time for planting if you ask that sort of question. Plus you might even find people in your same town that you can share plants and seeds with.

Another option is to look for the forums that deal with your favorite type of plants - say bromelids or perrenials.
However that limits you and since you feel you are a beginner than more general plant info may be what you are looking for.

Our Florida forum is very friendly, although recently it has leaned more towards vegetable gardening than flowers.
Even in Florida we have areas of the state that are more tropical and then the center is a combo of both the northern types of plants and the southern. Looking for people in your same zone or even by town (we have more or less agreed to put our town in our user name) helps alot.
Check it out to see what I mean at the Florida Forum under the Garden Forum.

Good luck.