News from Dave - June 25, 2005 New server leads to different newsletter delivery As many of you know, we recently upgraded to new, larger and much faster servers in order to meet the needs of our ever-growing population of members, along with additional postings and images we serve. This server change has definitely helped speed up Dave's Garden for viewers, but it had one small downside - the nightly newsletter began to double up on itself and many users were reporting duplicate newsletters each day.  We're now experimenting with hosting it online, rather than sending it out.  On the bright side, that change also led me to implement this new Dave's Garden News link, where - along with the daily newsletter - I can regularly share news and updates about Dave's Garden. Blog-style garden journal now available Over the years, thousands of Dave's Garden members have used the free personal garden journal I created soon after DG was up and running.  Recently more users began requesting a diary or blog format, and the new DG Diary was introduced for user testing.  For added flexibility, users can create as many different diaries/tabs as they want, and they can make some entries public while keeping other entries private. A DG Journals forum is also available for users to ask questions and share tips on using the original journal or the new diary. Several new forums join the lineup Our forums continue to evolve with the growth of Dave's Garden; a few have gone on hiatus, while some new forums have been introduced.  Most recently, we've added forums for Orchid Cactus, Dahlias, Coleus, Peppers and Plumerias.  Garden Products is another new forum, where users can ask about a particular product, or share their opinions on the best (and worst) garden products on the market.  The  landscaping forum got a makeover, and is now called Curb Appeal. Finding a plant has never been easier For those of you who haven't heard about PlantScout, it is our newest feature and proving highly popular with users since its introduction last fall.  You can easily browse and search for a plant from among the 20,000-plus items now listed by participating vendors. T-shirts are running out fast! At last count, we have around 200 t-shirts left, which I'll continue to offer until we run out. It's very unlikely that we'll re-order t-shirts for a while, so if you want one, please order quickly!  The last time we offered shirts was in 2001, and it will probably be 2009 when we do it again.  :)  Annual photo contest coming soon As in year's past, we'll be providing a photo contest later this year.  Be sure to keep track of those extra-great shots so you can submit them for the voting.  We'll have a special announcement when we're ready for submissions, along with the schedule for submission and voting deadlines. A new feature planned for DG We have a pretty good track record of launching a major new feature each year.  PlantScout was last year's addition, and we are in the planning stage of a new feature for DG.  Hint: it's not gardening related, per se, but home-related.  :)  More details will be coming, perhaps in late July or August. In closing Thanks for letting me fill you in on all the new happenings at DG.  I'll bring additional updates to you regularly, although I haven't settled on a set schedule just yet.  As always, please let us know if you have questions or suggestions to improve the site, and until next time, happy gardening! Dave Daily news: Today's Dave's Garden Newsletter Today's PlantFiles Newsletter Today's BugFiles Newsletter Past DG Newsletters Anniversaries Past news: May 15, 2008 November 03, 2006 January 21, 2006 January 10, 2006 January 07, 2006 November 16, 2005 November 04, 2005 October 12, 2005 September 13, 2005 August 18, 2005 July 17, 2005 June 30, 2005 June 25, 2005