The Ideas Genie Community Forum
Our Gardens => My Garden => Topic started by: ideasguy on September 17, 2008, 02:45:41 PM
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Ive made a start!
Heres the link to a WPG project I'm doing to present the photos sent to me by Eric (3 CD's worth 8)).
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris/
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A great set of photos supplied by Eric to you there George, which has enabled you to start a wonderful web set off for him.
Nice one George, and a nicer one Eric :D
Laurie.
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Three CDs worth may take a looooong time George. :) At least you know how to use the program. 8)
But a good start.
Will be interested in seeing Palustris's plants.
Have been adding a few reviews to our web set this afternoon. It also will take a while to do.
Bet you are glad I managed to get ours online with some help from you. ;D
Malcolm
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Thanks for the support, Laurie and Malcolm!
Hope Eric likes it.
Note to Eric:
I'd very much appreciate some text for tbe introduction page (send private message).
e.g. some info about your involvement with the Alpine Garden Society, Pershore etc, etc
I can also change the title for the project etc, so anything you'd like there, please let me know.
Currently its:
The list of plants in my Garden
RE (Malcolm):
Bet you are glad I managed to get ours online with some help from you
Very little help from me, I have to say! Take a bow!!
The WPG development was well worth the effort! Its such a treat to explore the web sites created by our members.
I hope I can encourage others to take up the challenge over winter!
Its a pleasure to woork with Erics photos.
With over 32,000 plants in the database I'm finding some plants in his collection which are not on the Master. Thats how it gets better!
I'm using the Master Database to do my WPG's projects nowadays - both mine and those I do for others.
It means the results of the research I do during each project goes to improving that resource.
I'm constantlly adding, de-duping and making corrections etc
Plants are fascinating!
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Wow!.
What happens next?
One small alteration, if you don't mind. We are not in Wales, just. This is officially the West Midlands, the VERY West Midlands admittedly and we have to drive into Wales to get anywhere except to the South East, but it is still England!
What sort of extra information do you need?
Wow, utterly wow!
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Well - thats a relief! You like it!!! Thats great Eric.
The WOW is all credit to you Eric, believe me.
Sorry about the geographical error. I don't know how far back my understanding goes that you lived in Wales. I'll fix that!
As for info.
To begin with, when you visit the site, the first item (clicked automatically) in the plants list is Introduction.
I'd be very grateful if you would do a little write up for that page.
Whatever you like, really. The intro page is an introduction to what is being presented - e.g. (suggestion only) a page to tell visitors about you, your garden, your projects, your interests, etc, etc.
I normally put a photo there as well, so if you'd like to nominate one from the collection on the CD's, I'll use that.
I'll be including some of your garden photos in that "Plants List" as well.
You've made It very easy for me in that each jpg file bears the name of the plant.
I had to make some minor adjustments to plant names - all part of the fun.
If its an unknown plant (i.e. not in the Master Database) the process is -
Add the plant to the database
In Edit mode, click the RHS button
If it brings up a direct hit, happy days.
If not (heres a tip to other users) I hack a bit - I change the search line in screen GA100S61
(If the plant name included an apostrophe, the RHS web site gives you a warning message)
Try clicking the G button (will search on the entire Genus), the G+S button (will search for all plants in the species) etc.
If you don't have the name spelled EXACTLY right, you don't get a hit!!!
e.g.this one is typically tricky: Camellia × williamsii 'E.G. Waterhouse'
You must have the dots and spaces exactly in the right place to get a hit.
If I don't get a hit, I then use the Google and BBC buttons
You'll notice on each page thereafter that theres a section called "Review".
Laurie has done a really good job with his projects and has very good info on his site.
Malcolm has mentioned above that he has started writing up his reviews (glad you recovered from that headache yesterday, Malcolm ;))
As time allows, if you'd like to do a little writeup to go with some of your favourite plants, that would add even more interest to the visitor.
As you can see, each plant has its own review, so if data was segregated by plant it makes my job very easy.
That is the longest part of doing each one of those web pages.
That, and researching plants for the basic properties:
Colour, height, spread, Plant Type, AGM
I plan to extend the fields generated by the WPG to include other facts like:
Propagation, Plant Care
As you can see from that, it can get very long winded!
I usually cant wait to do all that. I get it published and work on the finer elements later
Its only when you've done a web site yourself that you appreciate how much effort goes into some of he terrific resources found on the internet.
Enough for now!
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Will do something when I get time, we are out all day tomorrow.
Writing up on plants is a bit more difficult. I keep thinking I ought to do it, but time defeats me always.
One question bothers me. Surely hosting Webpages costs money? Now that is something that I just do not have. sad aint it? ;D
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Thanks for the additional info Eric. Its now included in the latest version of your web site:
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris/
Ive added more plants, and some of your garden photos.
Ive also "relocated" you back in England!
Please read the review text on each photo. You'll find a few questions from me to you, and any other members who wish to comment.
Let me know if you need anything changed.
RE:
Surely hosting Webpages costs money?
Ive dedicated that server free for members of the forum to get on-line with their gardens.
I pay the hosting bill. The web sites published there attract visitors and will hopefully make the world aware of ideasforgardens web sites and Ideas Genie Pro.
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Eric, I've just re-visited your web site and seen some photos I've not seen before.
The general garden photos are new to me, and I never realised how big a garden you have. It occurred to me that you could have some 'secret' garden areas in there, where you could hide away from everyone and just enjoy the peace and tranquility to your heart's content.
I love gardens that have these little hide-away areas. Sadly, ours are smaller than yours so we can't do that. Ho hum. :(
The more I see of these new photos of your plants, through your web site, the more I appreciate just what a fantastic collection you have. And well-maintained, and stocked with numerous varieties. Brilliant effort.
I'm so glad you sent George that Photo CD. It's now letting everyone else fully appreciate what you have achieved.
Great job.
Laurie.
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I am utterly speechless!
Laurie, there are indeed parts of the garden which are more secluded. If you get the chance to look at the Hidden Garden where the raised Lily pond is, then that is a 20 foot square section seperate from the rest of the garden by Clematis covered trellis. We used to take our lunch in there, once upon a time, the seat is now in need of replacing.
I think that in many ways it is easier to garden on the large scale than it is in a smaller area. We can have plants which perform for a short period as there is always something else to take its place elsewhere, whereas in a smaller garden every plant has to be on its best behaviour all the time so to speak.
Mind after cutting about a third of the grass this evening I am beginning to wonder if it is worth the effort!
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George. I will go through the plants and look at the comments, but at present the ISP is on go slow again. Solidaster linifolia is the name on the label but I reckon that is a mistake, it is more likely to be S. luteus. My fault for not looking on Google.
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Mind after cutting about a third of the grass this evening I am beginning to wonder if it is worth the effort!
It is definitely worth the effort Eric.
We would gladly swap your garden for ours any day. ;D
I can usually cut our back grass in under 10 minutes. ::)
We'll be looking out for your 'Hidden Garden'.
Keep up the good work.
Laurie.
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The photos are also a bit bigger than you'd normally get on the web, Eric. Are they slow to appear with your dial-up?
One thing is for certain, Eric. That Solidaster is a very nice plant!
Please excuse me for being so pernickity. I like to double check on each plant I work with in the Master Database. Its become almost an obsession! You've probably guessed (quite rightly) that I'm fascinated by plant names!
Ive just checked one of my reliable reference books and it informs me that there is only one species in the Genus.
Shall we go with luteus?
From the book:
x S. luteus is 1m tall, by 45cm spread and has canary yellow flowers held in rounded branching clusters.
x S. luteus 'Lemore' (syn Solidago 'Lemore') has the AGM, and is shorter and has lemon-yellow blooms.
Pick one?
Tell me a little about that one. Its new to me.
Incidentally, did you buy it or grow from seed?
Wandering off on a tangent (always do when I look at a book)
In looking for the above, I found a plant with lovely unusual flowers:
Soldanella carpatica AGM, and Soldanella hungarica. Theres also a Soldanella alpina!!
The book says they do well in Northern Ireland. Ive never seen that in a book before, so must investigate further.
Does any of our members grow them?
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I like to be accurate myself, so I am a bit annoyed that I did not pursue the Solidaster name more thoroughly. The plant came from a normally very reliable source. As far as I can see, this is the standard xSolidaster luteus. It needs no speciial treatment, except reasonable soil in sun.
I have tried to grow a few of the Soldanella (got pictures somewhere) before now, but the slugs wipe them out long before they reach a decent size. In the wild they push their flowers up through the snow, so all you see are those lovely blue bells on a bed of white.
They are failry easy to get hold of, Aberconwy Nursery sells at least one of them and I think I have seen them on sale from other nurseries at AGS shows.
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Ah, the dreaded slugs!
I think that Soldnella is one for the Apline house! The top of the staging would probably be the best aspect to enjoy their very unique and pretty flowers.
Thanks for the info on the Solidaster. Gosh Eric, no need to be annoyed!
We've raised the awareness of this plant in the process.
Would you recommend it to others?
A yellow "Aster" would be valuable. What is its flowering period with you? I can see its from your September folder. Any flowers before or after that normally?
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This being an odd year Slidaster began flowering in late August, but normally it begins in September and goes on until first really hard frost, say mid October. It is a pretty plant without being spectacular. I would imagine a big clump of it would make an impact. I must propagate it and add some more plants to the clump we have to see what happens.
Also think we have found another misnaming. I thihnk I did a pictuire of a Euonymus which I said was alatus.....well looking at it again we now think it is Euonymus phellomanus. The flowers are exactly the same, but the bark on the latter has corky wings.
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RE: Euonymus phellomanus
I'd never have picked up on that! Thats where your expertise and experience shines through Eric.
I'll fix that in the next update.
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While we are at it. the Gentian labelled G. sino-ornata is actually G. Silken Giant and the Sedum is just Sedum Purple Emperor, not a form of Sedum purdyi, more like a form of Sedum telephium.
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My mistake on that one!
You can try the following exercise in Flower Genie Eric (same process in IG or IG Pro).
Use FG037 to add the plant:
Sedum 'Purple Emperor'
Now edit the plant.
In screen FG100S40 (the edit plant ptofile screen), click the RHS button.
The RHS site brings up the name:
Sedum telephium (Atropurpureum Group) 'Purple Emperor'
It also tells us that that plant has the AGM.
Shall we go with the RHS name?
RE: Gentiana 'Silken Giant'
Nice one (and will make that change).
I found this page, for all Gentian lovers (and I'm definitely one!)
http://www.srgc.org.uk/shows/newcastle/report.html
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Ive published a new update to this web site Eric.
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris/
Ive corrected the items discussed above in this topic.
In the new plants added to the WPG site, theres some names that Ive looked up on the RHS website, based on the name of your photo file names.
Let me know what you see that needs fixed.
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I just do not know what to say. It is staggering. Perhaps one day I will be able to add the pages to this for myelf, but for the moment we can only marvel at the mastery of computing being displayed.
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I'm delighted you are pleased with the WPG website effort using your fantastic photos.
Eric, please feel free to correct me if you see errors. Ive had to go with some names from the RHS website which I believe are synonyms etc of the names on your image files.
e.g. Campanula carpatica 'Blaue Clips'
On your CD, its Blue Clips
Entering that name (try it with FG and IG) and doing an RHS button test, you get Blaue Clips - seemingly the accepted name by the RHS.
It appears that that plant is also known as Blue Clips
Heres a web site which mentions both as the same plant
http://www.hort.net/gallery/view/cam/camcabc/
On this site, has both names linked.
http://www.horticlick.com/sc/campanula1.html
Also, matter of interest, White Clips= 'Weisse Clips'
Thats typical of the research I do on most of the names for the Master Database.
It can take a while in some instances!!
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Another update posted today folk:
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris/
Enjoy!
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Great job George at helping out Eric to get his web site constructed and online.
Eric, you've provided some wonderful photos of your plants which makes your web site look even more spectacular.
I can't help but be continually amazed at the diversity of plants you've actually got in your garden. You must be so proud of your gardening achievement.
It's a never ending joy to see what else you have to offer.
The icing on the cake would be to see a virtual tour of your garden, a video walk-through of all your little nooks and crannies and 'secret areas'. You may not have the equipment to do that, but it was just a thought. ;)
It would be nice for our members to know what sort of camera equipment you use, and any special techniques you have developed (pre-digital camera pun intended) to get your results. If you get time, let us know in the Photography / Equipment section of the Forum. ;D
This is fascinating stuff, looking forward to more of the same. 8)
Laurie.
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Another update, folk
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris/
More very nice plants and photos for you to enjoy!
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I'm sitting here agog. Ive just received another CD in the post from Eric.
Its in the computer and Ive had a look, totally in awe.
Just when I thought I'd seen all kinds of plants (LOL)
Two folders fiull of photos on the CD.
One contains photos taken at shows (WOW!!!!) and the other folder is called NewNamedFlowers (WOW! WOW!!)
What a treat!
The WPG project I did for Eric:
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris/
is just about to just about double in size.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to work on the WPG next week. What a pleasure that is going to be!
Eric, your photography is fantastic. Thank you ever so much for sharing those photos. Believe me, they are very much appreciated.
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Thanks. The annoying thing is that I have at least as many pictures still as have been sent, but without names! My own stupidity really, should name them when I take the shots. Another nice thing is that the Show season is coming up, and knowing that the picutres are useful I will take ones of everything rather than just the First prize ones and those which I would like to gorw myself. First show is Feb 7th. We are hoping the weather will be kind so we can go, eldest daughter and youngest live near the venue so we an added incentive to go. Watch this space eh?
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paulustris you have a really fantastic site there and so many plants, on your intro page you say you have about 3/4 of an acre it must be one fantastic garden, we have about the same amount of land but at the moment its just grass for the 3 goats, rushes and horses hoof prints ::), we moved in saturday before xmass 2007, last year we spent clearing brambles, cutting hedges back, fencing parts off and putting the decking up out back, will hopefully start on doing something this year my first job i would like to do is continue the drive infront of the cottage, digger play time ;D, will have to take some pics and upload sometime
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Thanks Phil. The garden is/was pretty full of plants, but not all the ones I have photographed have survived. 14 years ago this was a rubbish strewn, weed infested field. Very worthwhile keeping a photgraphic record of what you do, as you do it. We did not own a camera at first and then got a cheap one, so most of the early work is poorly graphically recorded, pity, but we did not have the money then.
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A wonderful garden indeed there Eric, magnificently portrayed on your WPG project.
I can see more easily now how you have so many photos you're able to send George. Such an abundant amount of plants covering an enormous garden.
I wish we had a garden as big. Could spent hours and hours tending something like that.
As you know, our gardens are quite small in comparison, so we don't have as much work to do in them. Still, Kathy has managed to achieve wonders in ours, and we both enjoy the show when the flowers are blooming.
Laurie.
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Going WAY back to my posting on Jan 23rd 09
...received two folders full of photos on the CD. One contains photos taken at shows (WOW!!!!) and the other folder is called NewNamedFlowers (WOW! WOW!!)
Finally, Ive plodded through that NewNamedFlowers folder, and published the update today:
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris/
282 plants have just grown to 416!
Lots of work to be done on the details about the plants.
All the plants listed , and the originals to the photos are in the Master Database.
I use the Master Database to generate my WPG projects.
Lots of questions for Eric, some in relation to the plants published, and some in relation to plant names I had problems with. :-\ I'll send tyou a PM Eric.