Rumors about changes at Dave's Garden

I am so happy with the newest update. Looks like there might be a light at the end of the tunnel after all. Crossing my fingers and toes that this will all turn out to be a good thing.

Me too. I'm still a member of GW and have been since way back in the 90's, but it's nothing like DG. No Dave = NO DG for me. But I truly believe no company in its right mind would let Dave, Trish, Terry, or any of the admin staff go.

Dave is the air of Dave's Garden and Trish, Melody and Terry and his staff are his right 'hands'. We are the heart, we are the fiber, Dave let's us be, we are one. No Dave=NO Dave's Garden.

Whew, I'm feeling better after hearing from both Dave and Michael.
Welcome to Dave's Garden Michael. I hope you find a home here with us and accept that we are all already a family here. Dave is our family, you can be too. Losing Dave would be like losing the family patriarch though. Just couldn't stand it.
Looking forward to things getting only better......
Michelle (up for renewal in July)

Thank you Micheal. I'm new here at Daves and if he's gone so am I. This is a great site and I'm so happy your'e
keeping THE DAVE!!!!!!

It was good to get word for you, Michael. Just pass the word on that Dave has a ton of support behind him and that we want him to retain a key role in Dave's Garden. We love this site and want to see it continue to be the excellent resource that it has been in the past.

I am so glad Daves' Garden is here, and I hope it continues to be the place I go to when I wake up, and the place I go to before I go to bed. Thanks to all who has helped me in all ways. Daves' Garden has been a source of knowledge, friends, and beautiful pictures of beautiful things. Listening to Dave talk on his recent interview on the radio made me feel good knowing he was real and loved to garden. I have met some really wonderful people here, and hope this site remains to grow as a result of this new change. I can only echo what everyone else has said about Dave and his Daves Garden. I welcome you, Michael to this wonderful community of gardeners, and, if you browse around enough, you will not want it to do anything but continue on as it has been. Which, according to what I see in the newsletter, is growth.
Dave and staff.. if there is anything I can do, I am here for you. This is the best site I have ever been to.
Debra

Gives new meaning to the Cheech and Chong memorable line "Dave's Not Here".
Maybe he and staff will be ... but it has to be seamless to be meaningful.

This message was edited Jan 21, 2010 9:57 PM

Dave, thank you for beginning this thread and giving us facts rather than leaving us speculating. You are the best!

Michael, welcome. We can't wait to find out what kind of gardening you do.

Just got here, too. Well...there is an old saying, "The more things change the more they stay the same". I never quite understood it but hope it rings true now!!!

I'll bet it was rough on you Dave, to have DG sold again... But no matter who "owns" DG...it is and will be Dave's Garden!

Carol

This is very good news Dave, we love you and we want you here where you belong.

Oh, man, what a roller coaster of a day. I am so happy to read that the info you originally received was wrong, Dave. As others have said here, no Dave, no Dave's Garden. I wouldn't have renewed.

Michael, thank you for introducing yourself. As you can see, both oldtimers and newer members alike are fiercely loyal to SuperDave (this is an oldie, but we all feel the same way still!).

Gosh, where have I been all day today? LOL I frantically followed the links and I've never read so fast in my life. :) I'm so glad that you posted Dave. It let me breath again. You always have a way of calming your family down. LOL Surely you must have known how much we all love you. We all realize that this site is .....YOU.
Please let us know if you need anything and we will all be there for you.

Michael, thanks so much for posting. And I am super glad you are a gardener. Gardeners are a tight knit family and we welcome you. You will love it. It's like no other website in the world. Your company is very fortunate to have someone with Daves knowledge and heart. He will be a tremendous asset to your company as he has been to all of our life's. We also thank you and your company for purchasing Daves from NM, especially if they were downsizing. Without your purchase, there may not have been Daves Garden.

Debbie

Gardenwife - is that really a picture of our DG Dave????

what a cutie! ^_^

♫♪~§usan~♪♫

Dave - Whew! I heard the rumor before I found this thread and was concerned. I have to agree with everyone here, without you ... this would NOT be Dave's Garden. You have a strong following that you have earned, so where you go we will follow! :-) Glad to hear you are staying here!

Michael - Welcome to DG! I hope you will allow the success of DG to continue ...

Just curious ...

Is this the Internet Brands that bought DG?

http://investors.internetbrands.com/index.cfm

Michael, Thank You for introducing yourself to us! Welcome to Dave's Garden!

It definately would not be DG if it were not for Dave and his staff. We love them dearly! Please do everything to keep them on board! They have done a wonderful job here, and it just wouldn't be the same without them.

Again, Thanks for introducing yourself to us! Dave's Garden has been a blessing to me. I have been ill for many years and do not get out of the house much, so this place has been a lifesaver at times! It is sincerely appreciated!

Thanks!

Jeanne

Thanks, Michael, for checking in and welcome. Dave's garden is my Home Page and not a day goes by that I don't check in. I have just started getting more involved with swaps and d-mailing as well as depending on other DGers for great advice. It would create a big hole in my life if I had to leave because of negative changes. I hope you and your staff will get to know the inner workings and dynamics of this amazing site before making any rash decisions. See for yourselves what makes this site really tick before risking a stampede away. I am not comfortable giving out private information and communicating with unknown people on other sites but here I feel comfortable and have not been disappointed. So please, move slowly and deliberately till you are sure that any changes you wish to make will not destroy the really positive aspects of this site!! Thank you and glad to hear you will still be on board, Dave!!

Dave I haven't talked to you personally, but really appreciate all the hard work that you have put in to make Dave's Garden a success. This site has been an enormous blessing to me, I have met wonderful people that know plants, but mostly have found friends that have shown fun and respect for other cultures and customs from around the world and we have learned from each other the art of friendship and knowledge from our home turf Thanks so much! I hope you will continue being a part of your idea and will be with us for years to come.

I am new to gardening and to Dave's garden community. I am glad that the new parent company has the wisdom to keep Dave involved in Dave's garden.

I'm glad I missed this whole drama today until now, but do want to echo my most sincere accolades for all Dave Whitinger, all the dedicated Admins, Uber gardeners and thousands of DG members have created and enjoyed here to keep this site informative, fun, family-friendly, and free from dreaded advertising.

I'm a bit miffed that Victor stole my thunder as I was going to say "Don't let them 'Conanize' you, Dave!" (It'll be a verb, like "Google," wait and see, IMHO.) You deserve nothing but the highest regard, respectful treatment, and secure future from a newly managing company for all you have developed and accomplished to date, Dave.

This place is positively tops as an online gardening venue and if it changes in the wrong direction, my subscription will lapse as well.

It's tough being the new guys in town, so I do appreciate your introductory post, Michael, and hope that your company is half as savvy as Dave, then Namedia with Dave's hand also at the helm, was in managing this vast expanse and varied inhabitants with a firm and fair hand. Many, many dedicated DGers will be watching and waiting to see how this future unfolds. No pressure :) Be decent, be fair, be true to the community, and don't clutter us up with ads or interest, subscriptions, and site satisfaction will wane as fast as an aphid spritzed from a stem with a firm jet of water from the hose. We'll all be watching.... and hoping Dave gets a rightful place in his garden.

That was well stated Poochella!

Welcome to Dave's Garden Michael! We're glad to have you aboard the absolute best website on the internet.

When I tell people I meet about Dave's Garden, they ask me Who is this Dave? I just smile and tell them that he's one of the most down to earth folks you'll ever meet who does an awesome job of running an incredible site with integrity in spades!

Dave's has been my homepage since the first day I logged on and subscribed. I saw right away that it was a place I could hang my hat and be comfortable, learning about gardening from folks just like myself. I've met some truly incredible folks here and have been to several roundups to swap plants and enjoy the fellowship with other gardeners. I've checked out other gardening sites but always come back to Dave's because it's a family friendly site that has a wonderful sense of harmony and that was sorely missing from the other sites.

This site is what ALL other sites (regardless of their purpose) ought to strive to be like. Dave and his team have all gone above and beyond to keep this site user friendly. His expertise with the technological aspect of this site is enough to baffle the majority of us. Over the past several years I've seen folks suggest something that would improve things and BAM! It's a done deal!

I love that I have the choice to not be bombarded with advertising, though I know deep down that the ads are what pays the bills.

While I haven't ventured into EVERY forum, the many that I've checked out are filled with real folks that love to share their love of gardening. Questions are asked and answered by such generous folks in a positive way that encourage folks to expand their gardens.

Thanks Dave for being YOU! We love ya!

Janet
UniQue Treasures

Few. So thankful! That was a close one! Hope nothing changes too much. This is an amazing website as it is - with Dave and Terry and others working so diligently to make it so. I would follow Dave wherever he went. He does seem to set the tone wonderfully.

Oh, my heart! What a roller coaster it went on today. DG is my homepage. First in the morning. Last at night.

I agree with Chocolatemoose. Dave's Garden ain't broke. Needs no fixing.

I have always felt that DG is the most user-friendly "community" site there is. And what a database we have!!! It is a perfect, well oiled machine. Only Dave himself can make it better. Thank you also to Trish, Terry, Melody, Joan... eek! I know I'm forgetting some.

Well put bsavage, SingingWolf, defoecat, plantladylin, poochella, UniQueTreasures oh, so many!

Wow, Mekos!

Dave surely is real, joeswife. He's a sweetheart, too. I met him at Kassia's RU in '07.

Welcome Michael! Dave has quite a following.

Dave, you deserve all the praise. You earned it.

Dave and Michael, thank you for relieving some of the fear I felt when I first read that Dave's Garden might soon be missing Dave. It was almost like I'd heard that a dear family member had a terminal illness. Dave's Garden which includes Dave and all the members here has been a part of my family since 2003. This is the first place I come if a beloved pet dies or if I see a strange bug in my garden and wonder what it is or if I feel the need to share my excitement about ordering a new daylily or want to just relax by reading the latest antics of Heidi the racoon or share in a family's joy of adopting a new baby. I love being able to discuss what camera to buy with someone in England or learn about a new craft from someone in Japan. Gardening is just a very small part of this community. Please let Daves continue to be just want it is and that includes letting Dave and the other admin. continue in their roles.

I've got to have my DG fix, just as it is. No other site can even come close. I'm very relieved to hear Dave stays and I still need to hear the remainder of the admin and ubers stay as well. They're all treasures we can't part with.

Welcome Miguel. I just renewed my subscription for the 6th year last week and I sincerely hope I don't come to regret it. Please just let us slide along as we are, comfortable as old shoes. Join us, you'll love it.

I have been here only 9 months, but it feels like I have always been here. It only took 2 weeks & 2 days after I found Dave's Garden to decide that this is where I wanted to be. My new home, garden, family. I agree Dave's Garden would not BE without Dave & his staff. Thank you all for making this site what it is.

Welcome Michael :)

ants

The good folks here at Dave's have even let me stay and play; and I am a seriously cranky old man who sometimes flames out of control. I even received my copy of the DG Calendar just the other day, with my own photo and DG name on September!

I check in on Dave's Garden even when I am away, buying computer time if necessary. What a gap it would be in my life if I did not have DG and all of the friends I have made here!

I'm looking forward to DG continuing as it is.

~Potagere

If it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT, PLEASE!

Suffice to say, no Dave, no renewal.

The family is a haven in a heartless world. ~Attributed to Christopher Lasch

I joined in 2004 and if there is no Dave I will not renew.

Hello Michael,
Good decision to keep Dave!!

I suspect that without Dave and other current admin, lots of folks would not renew membership because changes would be too drastic. If the new owners have brains they will realize that. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Everyone wants you here, Dave.

Karen

I "stumbled" upon Dave's Garden last May while searching for ideas and answers on gardening procedures and "how-to" methods. I've learned more about botony and horticulture since then than the last 5or6 years put together.
Its more like talking to your neighbors who share some common bonds than just someone"out there" with answers for a price.
Its more like a family who share personal info as well as how to grow stuff.
I know we live in an ever-changing world, but we need some anchors in our life, and Dave's it definately one of them for me.........

Wow - so much traffic overnight. I'm afraid I don't have time to read it all, but Welcome, Michael. Thank you for posting and clearing the air. I, along with so many above, fell much better now.

Ann

Samigal,

Here's "I will follow you"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXPwdD_svf8

It was also a song on Sister Act

As many have said, the net is a big place and a place built by people is easily remade by the people and Dave :).



This message was edited Jan 22, 2010 6:55 AM

Leaving Dave out would be like not giving my Daylilies "Sunshine." Please keep Dave here cause he's the reason for so much joy in so many people's life's here.
April