Its also helpful to keep track of who you sent cuttings/bulbs/seeds to. Then when plants mysteriously disappear from the garden, you know where to get starts again. Other useful categories- summer/winter growers, bloom times, when transferred from pot to ground, propagation info, whether poisonous, mature size, watering/fertilizing requirements, observed infestations and treatments, known pathogens, year seed production occurred. I also keep a couple of rich text fields for unexpected things that don't fit other categories. Regards, Phil Andrews >From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> >Reply-To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> >To: Daryl 'Dash' Geoghegan <plants_man@bigpond.com>,Pacific Bulb Society ><pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> >Subject: Re: [pbs] Database research Query 1 >Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 11:38:36 -0700 > >Dash asked for feedback on what should be included in a horticultural >database intended for collections management. Compared to a botanic garden >or major nursery, I have only a small collection (my database has about >1300 entries), but here are some features I would want: > >1. Ability to sort, display, and print in a variety of layouts for >different purposes. And the layouts should be easy to design! > >2. Exportable to a Word document, so the list can be e-mailed to people who >don't have the database program. > >3. In addition to the obvious nomenclature fields, here are those I use: >source, date acquired, location (I have the bulb frames coded in numbered >sections), cost per bulb, price (if I sell bulbs), flowering date, and >comments. Others might want fields such as height and flower description -- >if I want to note these, I put them in "Comment". Another useful field, >which I'll add to my database soon, would be "Authority," for citation of >the books or articles where you have checked the plant against its >published description -- something we all need to do more. [And another >topic entirely is a really good bibliography on bulbs, indexed by genera >and maybe species, which we should put together cooperatively and add to >the PBS website. I will volunteer to coordinate such a project, since >massive bibliographies are one of my specialties.] > >4. Would there be a way to add thumbnail photos, or would that make the >database too big? > >Jane McGary >Northwestern Oregon, USA > >_______________________________________________ >pbs mailing list >pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php _________________________________________________________________ Concerned that messages may bounce because your Hotmail account has exceeded its 2MB storage limit? Get Hotmail Extra Storage! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es