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Rock Gardens??????

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Skeeter  Send Skeeter a private message!


Posted on Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 01:02 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

hi everyone, I just joined gardenbuddies a few days ago. I'm finiding it very interesting. I'm wondering......has there ever been or could there be a rock gardening forum? To deal with such items as: low-growing groundcovers, alpines, sedums, cascading plants, short or dwarf varieties of plants suitable for rock gardens, etc. This would really be helpful for me as I have 2 Huge rock gardens and I'm always looking for new ideas for suitable plantings. I garden professionally at a large senior's nursing home, the gardens are enjoyed by the residents from April to Sept. and I'm always looking for ways to keep things interesting and beautiful and to supply a whole season of bloom. Is there a procedure to follow for suggesting a new forum topic? thanks all.....

Skeeter - Sask, Zone "3b"
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Terryk  Send Terryk a private message!




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Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 08:25 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Welcome to gardenbuddies! I bet your idea will be well received.

Terryk - NY, Zone "6"
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Gardenfiend  Send Gardenfiend a private message!




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Posted on Thursday, March 08, 2007 - 10:58 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I think the idea is very good. What worries me is the general proliferation of forums. There are already too many, and some are hardly ever used. Perhaps their number could also be reduced by combining several into one forum.

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Sunnyday2day  Send Sunnyday2day a private message!




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Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 08:51 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I just came across this thread...I would love to see a rock garden forum too...perhaps combined with alpines, and fairy gardens? What say you E.J?

Sunnyday2day - Tanya-Michigan, Zone "5"
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Karalyn  Send Karalyn a private message!




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Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - 11:29 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

That sounds like a neat idea, maybe we could combine it with Japanese Gardens, mosses, grasses,groundcovers, and cacti thread we already have. Something like that.
I just checked to see some of the forums. There is Dryzone gardening, Bamboo, and Succulents.
They all could be combined to add rock gardening.

Oh, I forgot, there is also Bonsai forum also that could be combined as well.

Karalyn Idaho Zone 6
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Nanny56  Send Nanny56 a private message!




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Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - 10:46 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I enjoy GB's very much & have to agree there are way to many forums & some really could be combined together.

Nanny56 - Indiana, Zone "5b"
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Skeeter  Send Skeeter a private message!


Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2007 - 04:04 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

yes perhaps there are too many forums. but i didn treally see one that was about rock gardens, i didnt notice the groundcover category though, perhaps the rock garden could be combined with that one like Karalyn suggested

Skeeter - Sask, Zone "3b"
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Ej  Send Ej a private message!




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Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 11:33 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

New forums are very easy to create but they are not alway successful. Before creating any new forums lets create guidelines for minimum participation. Any ideas?

Ej So.Cal. Zone 10a Click to hear a voice greeting from Ej
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Sunnyday2day  Send Sunnyday2day a private message!




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Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 09:45 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Ej wrote on Monday, March 26, 2007 - 09:37 pm:

Before creating any new forums lets create guidelines for minimum participation. Any ideas?


Would this eliminate some that we already have with very little activity? It might be nice to have a forum called "Specialty Gardens" that could include rock, Japanese, Alpine, cactus, butterfly, fairy, etc. Also, I'm not sure why the tree and shrub forum couldn't be combined, for example. ??

Sunnyday2day - Tanya-Michigan, Zone "5"
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Gardenfiend  Send Gardenfiend a private message!




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Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 01:38 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Here are some suggestions:

Make one forum of:

Ferns & Grasses & Bamboo

Assignments & Challenges

Herbs & Edibles

Birds & Nature (?)

Beds and Borders & Advice and Makeovers (?)

Dry Zone & Rocky Mountain & any others that might come along under the new name of Regional

Crafts and Hobbies & Home Repairs


Eliminate these altogether and put contents into another forum:

Aquiligias - Perennials
Campanula - Perennials
Delphiniums - Perennials
Euphorbias - Perennials
Irises - Perennials
Penstemons - Perennials
Salvias - Perennials
Starters - Advice
House and Town - Social
Meeting Gardenbuddies - Social
Vacation - Social
Lifestyle - Social
Favourite Book etc. - Social

Perhaps rearrange things a little, removing the non-garden things from the In the Garden Forums section.

Shorten forum descriptions.

These are just suggestions based on my own experience at GardenBuddies. I'm sure other people will have other ideas. Just wanted to get the ball rolling.

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Plantynut  Send Plantynut a private message!




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Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 02:57 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Mara I am in full agreement with a lot of your suggestions. I think a lot of good stuff:advice, questions and answers and pictures goes un-noticed because things are so scattered. When time is short I'll head to my favorites.

The first 7 I agree completely with the exception of Birds and Nature. Birds has a huge following and there's a lot of great photography there. Maybe do a separate forum on Nature and Pets. Just a thought.

I would keep House and Town as is. It's a place to showcase and discuss things going on around your home (decorating, new construction) and local events others may find interesting.

Maybe combine Vacation and Lifestyle

I like Books and Movies as is.

Gardenbuddy Meetings are such special events. It deserves it's own space.

I would shake up the Photography, et al section and maybe call it Technology and Photography. Or even make 2 separate forums. I'd like to see software changed to post processing: tutorials (and archive the tutorials if possible), resources, samples, etc. I'm not looking to change this to an area that competes with established photo sites. But a lot of what I learned or discovered I want to learn more about in this area has it's roots in Gardenbuddies.

Then General Photography could focus (no pun) on various basics members may have questions about: techniques, equipment, etc.

Technology can be all things related to computers and related items.

Plantynut - New York, Zone "7"
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Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 03:43 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Agree about Birds needing their own forum. How about Nature & Pets as one forum called Animals, or Fauna (since the flora part of nature is covered in the other forums).

How about House and Town & Home Repairs combined, then? Either including Crafts and Hobbies or not.

As Tanya suggested: Tree & Shrubs should be combined, too.

I'm sure your suggestions for Photography and Technical Stuff are good, so I second them, too.

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Nanny56  Send Nanny56 a private message!




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Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 08:52 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

How about combing Clematis & Vines..
I agree with Mara on her first #'s 1,2,3,5&7.

I would suggest a general forum where people can share information & pictures of whats going on in their lives.

Trees & shrubs should be together.

My other suggestion would be to have a 2 perennial forums one for Sunny and one for Shady garden.

Pretty easy to check which ones get little or no activity

Nanny56 - Indiana, Zone "5b"
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Ej  Send Ej a private message!




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Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 10:47 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I would like to see guidelines in place to be applied evenly to all forums. This way ones preferences don't become the way a forum is chosen to remove.

How about X number of posts made within three months. If a forum did not meet this requirement then it would merge. Now how many posts should define X?

Ej So.Cal. Zone 10a Click to hear a voice greeting from Ej
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Skeeter  Send Skeeter a private message!


Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 01:40 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

yes, I must admit that when i first joined, i was overwhelmed by the number of forums. I think its a bit much when individual plants have their own forum. I totally agree that their should be a general perrenial forum. I dont think there should be any forum that has just one plant as its focus, because these forums tend to be very seasonal-specific. I like the idea of a forum called "specialty gardens" which would have as its subjects xeriscapes, rock/alpine, wildflower, english/cottage,aquatic/pond, etc.
I havent been a member too long, but i agree with the suggestion that those forums which have seen very little activity should be eliminated so that a newcomer to the site does not feel overwhelmed by the proliferation.
for instance, I personally dont know why there is a forum for birds and pets, but i notice that it seems to be quite popular among the gardenbuddies so i guess thats why its included here. the suggestion to include clematis with vines is a good one, as is the idea of combining shrubs and trees, as there is a fine line between the large shrubs and the small trees.I wonder if we couldnt also create a single category called "bulbs, tubers, corms, and rhizomes" it could combine a lot of plants which currently each have their own forum.

Skeeter - Sask, Zone "3b"
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Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 03:12 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Ej, the only problem I can see with your suggestion is that some important forums are seasonal - so a three-month period might be misleading. Perhaps the number of posts over a year would be a better guideline.

Actually, that was what I was trying to do: my suggestions didn't reflect personal preferences, just my observation of which forums receive attention. I also agree that the separation of trees and shrubs doesn't make too much botanical sense.

For those of you who are new to GardenBuddies: the Clematis Forum is an area of international specialisation, so it has to be on its own. The same is true of the Helleborus, and also the Cyclamen Forum. Maybe some others too. We shouldn't touch them.

Gardenfiend - Germany, Zone "7a"
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Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 06:18 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I've come back to this thread a few times, and didn't comment. Last night I wrote down all the forums and spent some time trying to figure out which ones I thought would be suited to being combined. Some, like Mara stated, need to stand alone. The Bird forum is one of gardenbuddies shining stars, and the Clematis forum is so well known. I checked out the activity in the Tree forum and the Shrub forum, and I don't think it's a good idea to combine them just because they are so busy as they are.
I know we have a Perennial and Annual forum ... and we're talking about combining perennials into the Perennial forum. However, some perennials are actually annuals for me, so this is a little confusing.
I spent a little time elsewhere on the internet, checking out gardening forums, and came back to gardenbuddies. Now I'm wondering why we need to change anything. Some forums are a little slow. New members are coming in all the time and I think those forums will continue to build interest.
So, I'm saying that I don't think we actually have too many forums.
How do we decide which forums stay and which are merged? How do we measure interest in a site that is still evolving?
Okay, I have no answers and my comments are definitely based on personal preference. I like the idea of being able to scan the forums and see which have new interest. I check them all out, and just don't comment enough!

Diane British Columbia Zone 7b
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Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2007 - 06:33 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Gardenfiend wrote on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 01:15 am:

the Clematis Forum is an area of international specialisation, so it has to be on its own.

I totally agree. It would be wrong to combine it with another forum. However I do think there are too many forums. One of the risks of having too many forums is that the website as a whole could start to seem less personal and friendly. That would be a shame. I agree with a lot of the ideas so far. Is there some way that a short list of these ideas could be drawn up and presented for a members' vote? Just a suggestion.

Heathergirl - County Durham, Zone "8"
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Posted on Monday, April 02, 2007 - 11:20 pm EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Since you are talking about Forums, can you point me to where I would find posts about Asiatic and other Lilies?

Clayton

Cmmwiebe - Saskatchewan, Zone "3a"
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Posted on Tuesday, April 03, 2007 - 11:07 am EST :   Last Buddysize PhotosCopy highlighted text to new message Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Annual evaluations are a good idea.

Would it be difficult to have