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New Free amazing garden site
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Posted by charlielondon London UK (My Page) on Wed, Mar 22, 06 at 6:18
Have you seen this amazing new garden site? Nicola the owner and inspiration behind it has bent over backwards to help and find every plant I have. It is basically a calendar which gives you hints and tips on your garden and plants as the year goes by. You have to input all your plants first of all, The database is huge and if your plant isnt there all you have to do is email using the link provided and it will be added very quickly. Nicola tells me that soon she will be testing a virtual garden which you can use to either plan your own or simply make a plan of what you have already. When this arrives I will definately be using it and hope to help in the beta testing. At the moment the membership is free but obviously Nicola wants to make some money out of it and quite reasonably she argues that it costs and has already cost a lot of money. She could generate revenue from advertising however we all know how aggravating it is to have adverts popping up everywhere and filling up useful gardening page space. She has therefore decided to charge a membership fee which I am sure will not be much and certainly will be very good value for money. You have to remember that this site is not only a gardening calender which automatically gives you tips and instructions as to what to do with your particular plants at certain times of the year. It is also a very useful reference library with articles from recent gardening magazines and lists of landscapers, tree surgeons, garden designers, retailers etc. The whole site has a very user friendly attitude and Nicola encourages member feedback and participation.If you havent done so already I urge you to sign on during this period of free membership, have a look around and use it and I almost guarantee that you will agree with me http://www.shootgardening.co.uk
Incidentally for those of you who may think that I have a financial interest I can assure you that I dont - I discovered it via another forum I'm a mamber of called gardeners corner - have a look there and you will see it has caused a huge amount of interest.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: New Free amazing garden site
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| Mm, interesting site. It does actually say that if you register now, you get free lifetime membership. Which may be worth it, if it becomes a big community/useful resource. Personally, I'd prefer her to make money from sticking a few text-based Adwords on there. She'd rake the cash in, and it wouldn't look nearly as tacky as what Gardenweb's done.. Melanie |
RE: New Free amazing garden site
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| I think it's free only during the beta period which is a shame as it does sound very good. The more they get to sign up now, the more will eventually subscribe I think is the general plan. I won't pay membership fees for any site but I'd click on ads as often as possible to help one. A real shame the site is choosing that route imho. |
RE: New Free amazing garden site
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| Yes, I think it's a real shame. I liked the site enough to create an account, and have been busy inputting every plant I can think of in my garden. However, there are very few sites I would pay a subscription for, and I don't think I'd pay for it, so I hope they don't renege on the lifetime membership. I hope they put a forum on there some time. |
RE: New Free amazing garden site
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| Not *quite* lifetime free membership for the first users - I just logged in after only 24 hours and got a comment coming up saying my subscription lasts until 2036! I don't plan on kicking the bucket in 30 years time, but who knows... |
RE: New Free amazing garden site
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Register now and use shoot for life FREE *
* During final few days of BETA testing I read that to mean free until the end of beta testing but I read it wrong.
Might be worth opening 2 or 3 accounts that you can give to friends at a later date (or even put in your seed swap list :D)
I still think ads is the way to go to get a decent sized community there. |
RE: New Free amazing garden site
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| I think it's too late now - just had an email from them which said they have gone live. Thanks, Charlie, for the tip, though. I got in just in time: yesterday! |
RE: New Free amazing garden site
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| There has been a huge amount of work gone into this site and its very different to the others in as much as you can input your plants - there will be the virtual garden coming soon as well. The subscription will be very small and worth every penny - Nicola has to make money out of this and I completely agree with her however she took the view that adverts would ruin the whole feel of it. If you have any questions about it - email Nicola and ask because she is very helpful and never afraid of criticsm - talk to her about the subscription issues you have and ask her how the site will be developed in the future. I have a feeling about this site I think its very different and here to stay - If you're interested ask if you can be involved with the beta testing of the new developments. I intend to get on the train and get settled before it gets properly under way! |
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