[dan deutekom]

I noticed in the small print on the bottom of the home page that Jeff has a link to a plant data base. When did you start this up Jeff? I think this is a great idea. With all of the expertise on this site (as shown by the POTW) I think the members of this site could build an excellent resource over a period of time. I like the format Jeff has designed as it has pictures, and the essential information about the plant. What is the best way to make this database grow. Is there a way that members can make a data page to add to it without it being to much work for you?

[Stonehenge]

lol - Shhh! It's supposed to be a secret....

I was going to unveil this later in the winter after I'd had a chance to build the content a bit. I started it sometime around June, I think. As a bit of a joke and wink to Voodoo and Spiderlily (and the other self-professed plant snobs), Goldflame Spirea was the first plant page I created. Right now there's only 40 or so plants in the database.

Truth be told, over the course of this season I've taken a couple thousand photos for use in this database - just need the time to tinker with the images and write some copy for each plant.

I'd love to have members provide pics and data/reviews for more plants - it can be as easy as just sending me the pictures and about 150-300 words about the plant. I'll do the rest. And I'll give credit to that person or their business at the bottom of that plant page. If you do write a review, I'd ask that you keep in mind that these pages are intended for use as a reference for people like us to present to potential clients; for that reason I was trying to stick to the positive attributes of the plant (read the one about Goldflame Spirea to see what I mean - "overused" can be spun into a positive ).

If anyone's interested and has questions, please feel free to reply post your questions in this thread.

Kudos to Dan for the eagle-eye, catching the link at the bottom of the page.

[HardDaysKnight]

Nice work Jef!!! That's a fantastic addition to an already
incredible site. Thanks!!

[4seasons]

Didnt catch this thread when it was going earlier.
very nice Jeff!
I just happened to stumble upon it last night, and searched for anything said about it.
so I'll bring this back to life.

Bruce

[Stonehenge]

I'm just plugging away at it - still have thousands of photos, but not the time to write as much as I would like - so it remains pretty small. But I've improved the layout on new plants to include a single graphic file you can download and use to present to clients - you can see an example here of the new layout. Any thorough reviews of plants are welcome, and can be submitted here.

[Greensmith]

Wow, the new layout is lightyears better Jeff! Nice job!

[Busy Bee]

I am unable to locate the data base.How can someone access it?

[Greensmith]

http://www.groundtradesxchange.com/p..._directory.htm

[VoodooChile]

I completely missed this thread the first time round. The layout is very impressive. Better-- more efficient-- than Horticopia's multiple tab approach for sure.

Stone,
This hits me as a ton of work. If you don't mind me asking, how does it pay off?

[Busy Bee]

Looks good. Nice layout. But a ton of work left. How will you find the time?

[Stonehenge]

@ Busy - You'll notice in my previous post I mention that others can submit plant reviews and photos, too. My hope is that once a few people join in, the thing will grow on it's own, without me having to push that rock uphill by myself. But if I have to, so be it. And you don't even have to have pictures - like I said, I literally have thousands of photos - I probably already have pictures of plants you might want to write a review about. And I'll give you credit for it to boot.

@ Voodoo - There are several ways that I get 'payback' for this - I've always wanted to create my own plant DB, as I've thought other existing software pkgs, though useful, didn't have the photography I wanted, and didn't perform the way I wanted. Next, it will be something useful for members, hopefully making the site a bit more sticky. It also forces me to learn a good deal more about these plants than I did before, which only improves my ability as a landscaper, a designer and a salesman.

[Busy Bee]

Jeff, I would like to assist you in any way possible. I do not have extensive knowledge of plants or computer operations but I am always williong to learn. Tell me how I can be of assistance.

[groundwork]

I've been taking some plant ID classes and have all my notes and photos on my comp. If you want to pm me your address, I could send you a cd with the info. It would be too large to attach each file as an email. The only catch is I did not take all of the pics myself, some I got off the internet. I'd try to ween those out before I sent you the cd.

[Busy Bee]

Groundwork I would not mind entering data into the plant data base manually if you could send a copy of your cd to me.

[Stonehenge]

Thank you very much for the offers of help. I don't want to risk infringing on someone's copyright by using their pictures of plants, so the photos would all have to be original.

But the thing I need the most help with is writing plant reviews. That's what takes the biggest chunk of time - coding a page and editing photos only takes 10-15 minutes.

So if there are plants you have experience with (lots, I would imagine, if you're a dyed in the wool hort person), write about those and send them over. Don't worry if you don't have photos - I probably already have shots of that plant.

Thanks again.