Coming soon: Daveaceae PlantScouticus pdb X gwd

Last January I took pollen from the Plants Database and fertilized a Garden Watchdog flower with it. The resulting seed germinated a couple weeks ago. I expect this new plant to flower sometime during the next couple weeks. The name of this new flower is the PlantScout.

The PlantScout is a hybrid of the Plants Database with the Garden Watchdog. By merging plants data with company data, we can product a database of plants, seeds, and bulbs that are available for sale. Anyone will be able to use PlantScout to locate a (reputable!) vendor for that hard-to-find plant. No more digging around through dozens of catalogs and websites, looking for Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Cherokee Purple'! You'll use PlantScout to find a vendor for this seed in seconds.

Think, RHS Plant Finder, except international and done DG-style. :-)

Of all the people who contact us for help, about 10% of them are asking us where they can purchase a particular seed or plant. This feature is created specifically for those people. The gardening companies benefit also, because they will get to inform consumers of their products, and DG wins because the participating companies will be financially supporting DG by being a part of this feature.

Of course, the Plants Database and the Garden Watchdog will remain as their are, with no modifications. The PlantScout simply borrows data from them in order to provide users with the ability to match plants with the companies that sell them.

The Garden Watchdog is one of a kind, and the only place to find out which companies are reputable.

The Plants Database is among the best plant databases in the world.

PlantScout will be the best plant finder in the world.

best,
dave

And the juggernaut rolls on!

Good move Dave!

What a great new tool - can't wait !

Dave, you continue to amaze me with all these new projects that you have created. This new Plant Scout will be so helpful, as many times I see a picture and have to scout through several sites looking for a vendor to buy it.

I also haven't posted anything regarding the new look on this site. I wanted to see how I could get around and the new feel. Well, it is so much easier and well done. I love it. I do miss our old DG logo though. lol

I have belonged to DG for over 3 1/2 yrs. now and can't believe the change in this site. I am so proud of what you have accomplised and how you RUN this site.

Thank you for ALL you do for us.

Donna

And in case some of you were still sitting on pins and needles from this thread: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/417332/ now you know the second feature Dave alluded to wayyyy back in February ;o)

Can hardly wait!

Me too, that sounds great!!
Curious, will you list positive vendors or all vendors?

OMG! It'll be a "best seller" for sure!!

Sounds fantastic, to me, Dave! I can't wait!

~julie~

Great idea, Dave! This will be an excellent resource! So, are you hoping that the vendors will send you a copy of their online catalog in a format that you can load into the database? Otherwise it's going to be a huge undertaking to text-mine all that data or enter it manually. Will we (subscribers) be able to add entries and/or comments based on our own shopping experience?

Cool, sounds great Dave. You've done it again!

The RHS Plantfinder is a step in the right direction - International & DG style sounds even better ;o)

I love it. Dave you continue to amaze me. You keep going and I will never have to leave DG to look up anything. lol I am wondering also, that with the companies that decide to participate, if those companies might be more willing to give us more co-op opportunities. That would sure be another added bonus.

This will be such a GREAT feature, and a natural fit. Yay!

All right, now tell us about this "quoted" text box thing you're doing. Is that available to anyone? *drool*

Awesome idea!!!!!!!!! You are the greatest.

You know...you are turning DG into an addiction!!

I think this new addition is GREAT!

gardenwife...I saw that too. Hope the "quote" WILL be something to be added. But for now, I just do a copy of the text I want to use, type in the writer's name add the first ", paste in the text, and close the ". :-)

Thanks for all the GREAT STUFF already here, Dave. I *like* your style!

~julie~

I have only been a member since April and have already gotten addicted. Such great ideas, information, and such nice people.

Very Cool! I can't wait to use it. Thanks Dave!

Great, Dave. Tell Admin I'll have some time later this fall and winter to enter data, if needed. I buy lots of seeds and shop from several catalogs every year, so I have some good info already.

Once we launch PlantScout, two of the most helpful activities that our user community here can do to make this successful would be to:

1) buy from companies who participate in PlantScout (and be sure to tell them if this feature made it easier to find what you were looking for); and

2) once you see who is participating, gently (politely) nudge your favorite companies to join. We'll do our best to effectively market PlantScout to all reputable mailorder plant/seed/bulb suppliers, but one of the most effective marketing channels sometimes is a company's own customer base.

on thing tho with manual entering.

I've run a watchdog search on ferns (as I am a freak for greenery) and come up with ALOT of places. As far as I can tell 90% of them sell one type of fern.
Kinda worthless, places listing themselves in a catagory for one thing.

on another note, my own page on the watchdog, I don't know if I can edit it... there are many types of plants I really do not offer anymore, and I'd like to trim/slim it a bit to make the page more factual.

drew

drew, tell me which ones need to be eliminated and I'll take care of it.

PlantScout will cut through the clutter of the categories. If a company sells just one fern, the only time their name will be displayed is when someone searches for that exact fern.

Which should be nice for the smaller businesses to be on the same footing as the larger ones. If you're looking for one specific plant, PlantScout will show you all participating companies that list it, without regard to how extensive or limited their inventory list is.

Oh, wow. What a great opportunity for this site. Financial backing with a great benefit to buyers of plants, seeds, etc. Awesome idea. When's the last time I mentioned you're a genius? Gracious, but you're a genius.

Genius!!!! If you let the companies know which format you are going to work in...many of us can supply listing that will make it easier for you.

Will there be a senior discount?.....HEHEHEHEHEHE!

Great idea Dave...you really know how to make this forum user friendly!!!

Aloha,

Carol

you miss my point Terry....
I don't want to bother you.
I have a password and am the owner of the company.
I'd prefer to edit it myself as needed.

I do the same thing with my page.... when something sells out, it's gone... Not on the page until I grow more.

dp

Drew, if you participate in PlantScout, your product list will be entirely up to you to do with as you wish - you can add or delete items whenever you want to.

The Garden Watchdog has never been edit-able by anyone other than an editor. Dave may wish to change that, but in the meantime, you can send us any changes to your listing and we'll happily make them for you. (I REALLY appreciate the companies that keep their info updated; it's sad that so many won't, even when we send out an annual request for them to review and send us updates. ;o)

I'm interested in the answer to Gardenwife's question on how you are doing that quote thing??

May I send the "Advertising" tab link to an advertiser who has an all positive rating on GWD? He does not often look at DG. Or, have you already contacted everyone? Thank you.

dave/terry... all I have to say is cool.

soo err, whats all this gonna cost?
At the moment, I get 3.47% of my sessions off of GardenWatchdog...

Sounds good to me. Thanks so much!!!!

langbr says: "I'm interested in the answer to Gardenwife's question on how you are doing that quote thing?? " And for obvious reasons...:-D...I'd like to know too. (Thanks for saying that Brenda & Gardenwife.)

~juile~

Hopefully Dave will be the only one who can use that red because everytime I scroll down and see it, I think "TORNADO WARNING!!" lol

I can see the potential of this being overused.......

Now you gave me scare, Terry! : )

Its like that red pen that the teacher would use and just go nuts on your essay exams in school. I keep thinking that I have done something wrong!

This message was edited Aug 29, 2004 6:55 PM

You did! "Thing" is spelt 'thang.'

LOL! Have to edit my spelling before Terry gets in there with that red pen!

:-)