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Now that you've found your way to Dave's Garden, can you find your way around Dave's Garden? Do you know about all the nooks and crannies here? And how about all those weird acronyms everyone seems to use - SASBE, DH, MIL, and JM? Let me be the first to welcome you and let me give you a brief tour of MY view of Dave's Garden.
Of course, everyone has a different purpose and is looking for something different. A market grower in West Virginia has different wants and needs than a roof-top gardener in New York City. There's an active bunch of people home-schooling their children who share information, whereas I am so very grateful that there's a school to take my children away for a few hours each day.
My point is, we're all welcome at Dave's Garden, an inclusive community that probably has other people just like you. I, myself, don't claim to know all the features of Dave's Garden, and I bet someday soon even Dave (yes, there is a real Dave) himself will start forgetting some of the little faraway corners that are built into this website! But let me show you the way around the ones I have found so far - PlantFiles, the Garden Bookworm, and how to check out a company in the Garden Watchdog. And since this is by gardeners, I'll also show you how to add a plant and how to start a thread. I'll also give you links to some of the most important tidbits of information I've found here.
WARNING! From this point on, any time I refer to a feature at Dave's Garden (or DG, now that you're here), if it's in a different color, it should be a link that will take you straight to that place if you click on it, by opening a new window. To close the new window and come back to this page, click on the tiny red square in the top right-hand corner of the new window, or, just click the 'back' button on your browser.
Member or Subscriber?
Membership in Dave's Garden is FREE! For no money down, no monthly payments and 0% interest, you get to look up mailorder companies in the GardenWatchdog and see how other people felt about them. And, if you've dealt with a company, we encourage you to rate them yourselves, based on your experiences with them. Often, the first "aha! I'm not alone!" warm fuzzy feeling a person gets is from reading through the companies listed in the GardenWatchdog. A similar system exists for the Garden Bookworm, which has already saved me from buying the wrong sort of book.
You also get to do a limited number of searches a day in PlantFiles, the largest plant database in the world. PlantFiles (often abbreviated PF) is so large because there are members literally all over the globe contributing to it. If there's a plant you know about that's not in PlantFiles yet, and you know its botanical name, you can add it! The instructions are on the main PlantFiles page.
As a member, you also have access to our Blog (or Diary) feature and our Journal, where you can keep a record of what's going on in your garden and in most cases, check out what's going on in other people's gardens, if you have any time left.
You get to participate in over 50 chat forums, and there's an Insectipedia, and a Botanary, and oh, all kinds of remarkable stuff here! Before you post anything, whether to the GardenWatchdog or a thread in a forum, please do take a look at our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). It's simple, it's helped keep us out of trouble so far for the most part, and there's a link to it at the bottom of every page. To summarize, no religious or political debate, no advertising (except in the Classified Ads), and no talking dirty. (Not just language you wouldn't want your own kids or grandchildren to hear, but also language you wouldn't want the nice lady at the supermarket to hear you use. Next to the link for the AUP, at the bottom of each page, is a link to a tour of DG.
A subscription costs $19.95 and we hope it will remain there for a while. For that small amount, you get unlimited access to PlantFiles, our amazing database of plants. You also are able to hide the advertisements, and you can do customized searches for plants that fit your specific needs. And there are forums upon forums upon forums, so far, 222, or two-hundred-and-twenty-two! The really good forums! Most of the new forums seem to arise out of popular demand. Since I've been around (2½ years) I've seen the Coneflower forum added, and the Amaryllis/Hippeastrum forum, and several others. However, I'm sure easily 50 of those forums might have been added that I didn't even notice while I've been here, maybe a lot more. There's just so much going on
In addition to these lovely benefits, you get access to other terrific features: "tagging" and seed and plant trading forums (the reason we got started in the first place) and D-mail, a wonderfully secure internal messaging system . There's a twice-a-week live chat and did I mention the forums?
We are DG You may have noticed that I keep saying "we", as if I work here. First of all, there is no "here", although Dave himself lives in Texas. DG is by gardeners. It is us. One member, at 12,500 contributions to PlantFiles, estimated that at one time he, himself, was responsible for 4% of the entries! But of course there are many more entries now; there are more every day, verified by a team of expert volunteers from all over the world.
COMMUNITIES
Some folks find that the forums are where they like to spend their time online. There's a forum for just about everything I can think of, and a whole lot more I hadn't thought of! But when you do think of something new, likely as not, there will already be someone else out there just waiting to discuss it with you. Discussions take place on threads. Join in the discussion! You can lurk, just reading what other people are saying instead of typing anything yourself. We hope that after a while, you'll jump in! Some forums are restricted to subscribers, although every member can read the topic heading. So join the discussion and post at the end of a thread.
If you have a question that isn't being answered or a discussion you'd like to start, from "what's a SASBE" to "what can we do about invasive plants?", it's time to start a thread. There are so many questions about how to act, type, italicize, boldface, post and so forth that there's a whole discussion forum of frequently asked questions, or FAQs. You can find it here.
Please don't be put off by our silly, annoying acronyms - you know, using initials, instead of the actual words. I guess everyone on Dave's Garden remembers the first time they finally asked (gulp) "what is a SASBE, anyway?" And then there's DH, DD, DS, which can get quite involved. It's just that if you're trying to relate a long complicated story involving your Mother-in-Law (MIL), many, many YellowJackets (YJs) and your new Japanese Maple (JM), typing the same words over and over and over again ("...and then my mother-in-law ran to one side of the Japanese maple, and the yellowjackets followed her. So my mother-in-law ran around to the other side of the Japanese maple, and the yellowjackets followed my poor mother-in-law to the other side of the Japanese maple too!"), it gets tedious. (Especially, if you're like me and you don't type so well.) Here's a link to some of the DG acronyms; notice it does not include my favorite acronym, DDWLBH, or Dear, Darling, Wonderful, Loyal, Beloved, Husband. I will put you out of your misery and tell you that a SASBE is a Self-Addressed Stamped Bubble Envelope.
Stop me, please. And then there's BugFiles, and a plentitude of other wonderful spots to explore on DG. How best to look for a plant in PlantFiles if you don't know its name, and how to identify that unusual new weed you've found growing behind the pond, or the strange little tree the town planted on your street... Stay tuned for the answers to these and other questions, as I'm sure your coffee's cold by now. There will be more articles introducing the various fascinating ins and outs of DG in the weeks and months to come. Oh, and that's another exciting aspect of DG I forgot to tell you about! DG is always evolving, growing, changing (like a toddler? like a garden plan?). So, we invite you to stick around to see what the newest features are going to be!
About Carrie Lamont
Carrie has two teenage daughters, which is exhausting all by itself. She has been married for seven delightful years to her husband, who works for an airline, facilitating Carrie's frequent need to travel. She is forever coming up with crazy and irreverent schemes and trying to get others to do it her way, but is learning to be humble as she ages. Carrie has a masters degree in Music, and sings as she gardens a small urban plot from her wheelchair.
Posted by wildvines02 (from Binghamton, NY) on June 8, 2008 at 3:39 PM:
Hello all! I am brand new on here! I am excited to get to know all about DG. I have this burning question about a wild vine that seems to grow rather quickly in my yard. I know it grows grapes but I do not know what kind of grapes it grows! I would like to know if I might be able to either make grape juice or a wine out of them? Please let me know of any ideas, tips or suggestions as I would greatly appreciate it!
Thank you so much!
Jenny aka wildvines02
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on June 8, 2008 at 4:48 PM:
Oh, gosh, Jenny, let me see. . . you're a subscriber not a member . . . hang on, I'll be right back, let me see what I can find out for you. I'm certainly not the person to ask! But I can probably help you find the right place to ask your question. (It took me forever to learn how to post a photo - I'm impressed!!!)
Carrie
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on June 8, 2008 at 4:59 PM:
Jenny, try posting it here. [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
This should link you to the plant id forum - they'll figure out what it is in no time. If you decide to join and become a member, then you can go to the North East Forum (where other people from upstate (and other north east places - we're all nuts) hang out) or the Vines and Creepers Forum or the Edible Landscaping Forum or . . . I don't know if there is a Wine-making Forum but I believe there have been articles about making wine and/or jelly, and there are definitely cooking forums.
I hope this helps! If it doesn't, post back to this thread and I'll get the message.
Carrie
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Subject: membership
Posted by waplummer (from Painted Post, NY) on February 9, 2008 at 4:08 PM:
membership if you are a subscriber is Exclusive.
What is the difference between chat forums which do not require a subscription and forums which do?
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 9, 2008 at 5:43 PM:
waplummer,
I'm not completely sure what your question is, but I'll try to address it. Members are anyone who signs up. Members can add to PlantFiles, participate in some forums, and add to the other member-driven parts of the site like GardenWatchdog, BookWorm, and so on. (I didn't put links in this time.) Subscribers are people who pay to have unlimited access to PlantFiles, and to many many more forums. I'm not precisely sure how the decision is made as to which forums are open to all members and which only to subscribers. I've quoted below from the Frequently Asked Questions about "communities".
Quoted:
Are any forums accessible to non-subscribed members?
Yes. All registered users may fully participate (read and post) in dozens of forums (those that do not have a red asterisk next to them are accessible to all registered members.)
We welcome participation from all our members within these forums, but all posts must remain on-topic. Off-topic posts should be reported, and are subject to removal. Repeated attempts by non-subscribed members to post off-topic comments may result revocation of their membership.
Additionally, non-subscribed members can read (but not post) to the Dave's Garden FAQ forum, where many other site-related questions are answered.
Non-subscribed members can read only the first post of the threads in forums that are noted as subscribers-only. A few other forums are visible only to subscribers.
I hope this helps - let me know!
x, Carrie
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Subject: acronyms?
Posted by Dollykat (from Lucasville, OH) on February 4, 2008 at 8:33 PM:
Initials are not necessarily acronyms. Initials that spell a pronounceable word make an acronym. SASBE might be an acronym because its combination of consonants and vowels are pronounceable as a word , but DH and JM are not. Some well-known acronyms are CARE, UNICEF, radar, sonar, and scuba. For example, the letters in scuba stand for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus."
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 9:57 PM:
I stand reminded, Dolly, I just think of them as acronyms because in my head they sound like words, but of course you're quite right, most of them are just initials. SASBE can be pronounced, saze-bee, but it certainly was not designed to be combined into a word. I think CARE might have been deliberately picked to end up with the word care - do you know? As for the military acronyms, well, the military does love its acronyms, and then they pass into general usage and even metaphoric usage, like radar, Radio Detection and Ranging. Who would ever have guessed that a main character on one of the longest running TV series would be named after a military acronym? LOL. x, Carrie
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Subject: Delete The Ads
Posted by Indynannyof8 (from Brownstown, IN) on February 4, 2008 at 4:30 PM:
Carrie
Enjoyed the article tremendously. I am still finding new things for instance I have never checked out the Bookworm and I am an avid reader. Really don't know why I just have not done it yet.
Did I unerstand you to say we can delete the ads if we are a subscriber? Please tell me more.
Veronica
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 4:38 PM:
Glad you enjoyed it, Veronica, we aim to please! Yes, if you are a subscriber, go to "my preferences", scroll down to "advertisements" click on that tab, then uncheck the appropriate boxes, and voila, they're gone. (At least that's what I remember from explaining it earlier today - if that doesn't work, look at the other threads answering this article. PrimroseSue asked the same question and I think I explained it better that time. Have fun exploring. Leave a trail of breadcrumbs for your family. x, Carrie
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Subject: Good job!!
Posted by roadrunner (from Hereford, AZ) on February 4, 2008 at 10:44 AM:
...and much needed...even by this "oldie". Jo
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 2:21 PM:
Glad to be of help. xx, Carrie
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Subject: Well done!
Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 4, 2008 at 6:45 AM:
Excellent article, Carrie. Well done and a very easy "read". Thanks for sharing!
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 9:16 AM:
Thank you, friend. xxx, Carrie
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on February 4, 2008 at 11:08 AM:
Super read-able and fun :) Thanks Carrie !
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Posted by beckygardener (from Sebastian, FL) on February 4, 2008 at 5:56 PM:
Awesome Carrie! I didn't know you were into writing! And what a good topic for newbies or some of us oldies who never get out (of the forum we are dedicated to!) LOL! I look forward to more articles by you!
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 6:05 PM:
Check any writer's member page, right under their local time zone and birthday and PlantFiles contributions it lists their articles. How did you possibly miss my others? They were better!!!!! (Hi, Becky. It's me.)
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Posted by beckygardener (from Sebastian, FL) on February 4, 2008 at 8:51 PM:
LOL! I will have to go and read the others you wrote! I don't always see the daily articles. It's usually a topic or a particular writer that grabs my attention! :-)
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Subject: Journaling
Posted by cedarcrone (from Rockport, TX) on February 4, 2008 at 5:07 AM:
Can you help me figure out how to journal? I am a paid member, but am having trouble navigating.
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 9:15 AM:
Have you read Terry's tutorial? [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
I'm not good at it either, mostly because I don't do it consistently. I know I understood it once at least, because there's a lot of organized information in mine - but I don't remember exactly what I did to get it in there. The journal feature, for me at least, is a little like another language, or math, once you get it, you get it, but it's easy to get rusty when you're away from it. Hope this helps - oh, also, read other people's journals. When you find one you like, ask the person how they did it, especially if they're a DG friend. x, Carrie
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 4, 2008 at 11:59 AM:
Ask questions, we will help if we can. I have struggled to do mine and maybe don't know all the tricks but am still willing to learn. [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 2:19 PM:
Exactly!
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Posted by Lindawalkabout (from Holden, MO) on February 4, 2008 at 8:59 PM:
Hi everyone, I figured mine out and havin fun putting all my garden plans and plants in journals, its a big organizer. Think outlining ,
Name your journal, say Fruit,
then you'll need to add categories like apples, peaches, pears, cherries, etc.
Then you'll want to add subcategories , say on the Apple, add McIntosh, Jonathan, Winesaps, etc. Its about breaking down each subject and adding more detail. Then when you need to look up something real fast, your facts are there in outlined form.
You can add all kinds of info and pictures . Even have a journal on the pest that attack your apples , etc.
I even have one journal on the critters on our homestead.
You can journal on projects as well , the sky's the limit.
Yep its like math , once you got it its very easy to do and fun
Great article, thank you
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 9:22 PM:
Thanks, Linda, I think I'll "tag" your explanation, if you don't mind. :>)
xxx, Carrie
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Posted by Lindawalkabout (from Holden, MO) on February 4, 2008 at 9:24 PM:
OH my gosh, I'm being tagged,, ok tag away , lol if you need any help give me a hollar : )
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 4, 2008 at 9:52 PM:
Math? fun? Hmmmm... lol
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Posted by Lindawalkabout (from Holden, MO) on February 4, 2008 at 9:57 PM:
podster
Quoted:
Math? fun? Hmmmm...
I sorta fib there : /
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 10:12 PM:
But I know what you mean. I can NEVER figure out how to do percents, or how to convert percents into fractions. I'll have it all on a piece of paper but I won't be able to figure out what numbers to punch in! On the other hand, it's very easy for me to figure out the area of any polygon. I don't know why, but I guess I was paying attention in geometry that day. LOL
xx, Carrie
typed by the marvelous DD#2
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 4, 2008 at 10:40 PM:
Oh now you are really talking over my head... polygon ~ a polyester flower?
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 11:07 PM:
No, it's a new fabric made by ironing polyester and nylon together at high temperatures - or at temps that are just a little too high, heh heh. LOL.
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 4, 2008 at 11:28 PM:
LOL ~ good one!
I do hope Cedarcrone doesn't give up on us or the journal. Seriously be glad to help...
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Subject: Working our way around daves garden
Posted by chrissy100 (from Sydney
(Australia)) on February 3, 2008 at 8:14 PM:
Wow Carrie thanks so much for this how to guide ...I am still stumbling through this wonderful place ... your article is a big help
chrissy
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 3, 2008 at 8:35 PM:
Chrissy, I, myself, was amazed at the places I found that I didn't know about, while I was poking around trying to write this article! Glad I could help a little. We're going to attempt to have more 'finding your way around' type articles coming up.
xx, Carrie
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Posted by debilu (from Fingerlakes Region, NY) on February 4, 2008 at 5:13 AM:
Nice job Carrie!
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Posted by pixie62560 (from South China, ME) on February 4, 2008 at 7:56 AM:
Great article Carrie, should help lots of people.
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Posted by Seandor (from Springfield, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 8:51 AM:
Excellent! written with wit :-)
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Posted by Starzz (from Newcastle, ON) on February 4, 2008 at 8:53 AM:
Great article Carrie.
Good refresher for we who have been around for a long time..and get "tunnel vision".
I'm going to go exploring more. Thanks to you.
Cheers,
Carol
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 9:03 AM:
Thank you, I learned a lot doing the article, too. Carrie
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Posted by Terry (from Murfreesboro, TN) on February 4, 2008 at 9:53 AM:
Kudos, Carrie! DG is a big - and ever growing - place; you did a really nice job bringing everything to a manageable size for new(er) members or those who haven't gotten out and explored all those nooks and crannies yet ;o)
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 10:08 AM:
Thanks; coming from you, that means a lot! xxx, Carrie
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Posted by sanannie (from White Lake, ON) on February 4, 2008 at 11:58 AM:
What a great idea for an article and very well done!
Sandy
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Posted by podster (from Deep East Texas, TX) on February 4, 2008 at 12:02 PM:
Boo hoo hoo, where were you when I started... LOL I could have used this info. 8 ))
Great article and informative links. So easy to use. Thanks much, Ms. Carrie! pod
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 2:17 PM:
You're very welcome, and where was I when I started? Were there all these FAQs all over the place? Now that I know they're there, it seems like I'm never very far away from help, LOL. Hi, Ms. Poddie! xxxx, Carrie
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Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on February 4, 2008 at 7:08 PM:
I joined in August 2006 and it took me 6 months before I made my first post as I am computer challenged and it was more than i could understand. Maybe your article can be kept where all newcomers can find it on any given day they join.
Thanks so much, Carrie, for lots of clarity and I am not new!
gail
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Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on February 4, 2008 at 7:15 PM:
Great job Carrie - and fun to boot!!
Yokwe,
Shari
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 4, 2008 at 7:33 PM:
Thank you, and thank you. Gessiegail, my article is extremely rudimentary and there are FAQs at the top of every page. I don't know, but I don't think it's been that way forever. xxx, Carrie
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Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on February 5, 2008 at 11:20 PM:
Some of us aren't as bright as others. I didn't even know that there FAQs at the top of the page!
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 5, 2008 at 11:27 PM:
I didn't either until I wrote the article, gessie! x, Carrie
