Crasulady (Norma Lewis)

I don't know if Norma is still a member of Dave's Garden. She was for many years. I just read in the Cactus and Succulent Journal (CSSA Journal) that a new 2015 Echinopsis introduction (a beautiful 5" orangish-pink flower) by Bob Schick is named 'For Norma.' It is in honor of Norma Lewis who volunteers at the Huntington. Congratulations to her!

Thats a nice tribute. I remember Norma commenting on a regular basis and then complaining how caring for so many plants was getting difficult. And then I remember checking her name and it indicating she was not longer a subscriber. That was maybe 5 years ago. So one would imagine she was getting old awhile ago. Where ever she is I hope she in comfortable.

The member I wondered the most about was faeden. She too use to volunteer/work at the Huntington Garden and was very active here on C&S/Dave'sGarden. She was a wealth of information and exceptionally polite and kind. She even sent me a personal Christmas wish. And then she seemed to drop off the forum's wo a word. She disappeared.

You could contact Huntington Gardens and ask about them.

Daisy

You might ask Kell (who still regularly posts pictures to PF) what is happening with faeden. She (faeden) volunteered at the UC Berkeley bot garden if I remember right. For a while she was handling PF error reports for succulents and making good things happen there. Of course she was also most kind and helpful here on the forums. This will probably be my last year at DG. Things are kind of drying up so it's time to move on.

Well that would be too bad if you left Baja. I would definitely miss your knowledge and pictures.
:-( I do agree there isn't as much going on as there use to be on the C&S and caudiciform forums. Decorative gourds is dead. I do still chat about water gardens and occasionally have a question for the handyman or about vegetable gardening. I doubt I'll be leaving soon.

Baja please don't leave us. I lurk a lot, but rarely have much to share. I really like everyone's posts here, both the info and the photos.

My problem is that my club Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society has a page on Facebook and I get involved with that. It is open to the public so take a look at it. Of course, it is aimed at people living in the Southwest, but there is lots of good info no matter where you live.
Baja: I wish you would not leave DG. You have such wonderful information and help me a lot (I'm selfish)! Unless you want to come over to CACSS on Facebook, of course!

This message was edited Jun 13, 2015 9:43 AM

This message was edited Jun 13, 2015 9:44 AM

If Baja leaves, there will be even less going on.

You and Palmbob are the anchors for this site. If you leave, this site will come to an end.

So lets figure out how to make it come alive again instead of just letting it die.

Baja, you have come to my defense more than once and I consider you a friend. What can we do to save this site?

Daisy

Daisy,
More postings and pictures are what it would take to save this forum. I just wonder where are the former participates have gone. Other sites? Fading interest, not necessarily in plants but in posting and keeping up with all the threads here. Who knows?
I am about to update my laptop and that should make it a lot easier for me to post pictures. My old MacBook has gotten so slow it takes for ever to upload and download my pictures. That inhibits me from doing more here. But as I said thats about to change. The new Macbook is on back order and delivery date is 2-3 weeks. Geez, it never use to take so long to get an Apple!
I will be doing my best to be a more active participant soon. :-)
Helen

You guys are so sweet. :) Palmbob is the real anchor here, I'm just a buoy. The decrease in activity continues year after year. The problem is top down. The tipping point for me came when it became really hard to make PF fixes happen, and the few people who were able to do it were going away. I plan to make my last year here as active as possible, and always enjoy seeing and hearing about your plants.

Sorry but what is a PF fix?
I haven't seen Palmbob much lately (2-3 years maybe) though he use to be very active. When Dave sold the site a few years back a lot of regulars weren't happy with some of the changes with the new owners and left for another site (xeric world maybe). I wasn't a big participant in those discussions and had little opinion about the changes.
I joined xeric world but couldn't get use to the different format.
There you have it, some old news.
One thing you can always count on is things will change. :-)

PF fix = Plant Files fix (database constantly needs adjusting). The people who left went to a site that Dave started up after DG (not xeric world). As long as I tracked it, that place was never very active.

Last week I signed up for 1 more year which will be #6. When I joined in 2010, I was doing a major overhaul of my succulent garden. My garden was 31 years old in 2010 but the overhaul brought in lots of new plants hence I was absorbed with cactus and succulents 24/7.
Even after 30 years, there was soooo much to learn and Dave's Garden was a lifeline for me.
Now my garden is more in sustaining mode and most of the plants consider me to be a pest
so I am less involved. But I still find DG to be a wonderful resource. I do miss faeden and Kell and Palm Bob and Germanstar plus many others. But the new folks add excitement as they struggle with the same challenges we have all faced. Onward and Upward.
PS: I did join the CACSS facebook page today

I am with you 48flash. (in some ways) I find DG a great resource and enjoy just poking around some other forums too. I too miss the old members you mentioned above but there have been some great new ones too.
Facebook page? Must go check that out. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm relatively new to DG and so don't remember the good old days. I do enjoy seeing your photos, getting your advice and connecting with people as crazy about cactus (and all things green) as I am.

Palmbob and Baja are the backbones of this Forum. Without our resident cactus geeks, this sight will die. I'm not sure I'm understanding Baja's reasons for bailing on DG. It seems to me that it doesn't take a lot of effort to stay.

Daisy

Helen: Go to Facebook and type in Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society. Lots of great info and people there on cactus & succulents.
I just think there are so many gardening sites now that the competition is great for those viewing eyes! Years ago, DG was one of the few games in town!

Daisy, I have decided the annual fee required for participation here is better spent on pumice and pots (money being limited)... it would be a different story if there was not a pay wall.

I have started to lean towards Baja's point of view recently, regarding the cost of being a member of Dave's Garden, especially since there are other forums available that are free.

For those who miss GermanStar, he started his own website, called Agaveville. It initially focused on Agaves, but has expanded to include photo galleries on many different xeric and associated plants. Palmbob has contributed to those galleries tremendously as have others who used to post on places like Xeric World a lot.

I still enjoy the exchanges here a lot, but do not get to post as often as I would want on any of the sites I frequent, too much going at work, and too much going on in the yard - which may calm down some now that real summer has arrive... 114F today...

I had a barrel cactus, a haystack cactus and a bunny ear cactus when I started Dave's garden. . Now I have Echinopsis, Notocactus, Euphorbias, etc. I have learned so much from everyone on Dave's garden. Thanks to everyone! I have over 300 C&S, A vegetable garden and working 60+ hours a week. I try to check the C&S thread daily but little time to post. I hope to retire soon and get more involved. Epiphyllum achermanii.

I had a barrel cactus, a haystack cactus and a bunny ear cactus when I started Dave's garden. . Now I have Echinopsis, Notocactus, Euphorbias, etc. I have learned so much from everyone on Dave's garden. Thanks to everyone! I have over 300 C&S, A vegetable garden and working 60+ hours a week. I try to check the C&S thread daily but little time to post. I hope to retire soon and get more involved. Epiphyllum achermanii. Woops. Double post.

This message was edited Jun 19, 2015 6:30 PM

Gary, I retired in 2012 and it has been great. Actually find I spend less time with my C&S than I thought I would but am doing lots more art work. So you never know. Just stay healthy. :-)

Thanks! Helen. I plan on getting back into woodworking when I retire. I haven't been able to fora while. Blooming today. Two Echinopsis subdenudanta, an a peanut.

Here is my sorry Echinopsis subdenudata because of the heat right now. This is as far as it would open. But my Mammillaria sphaerica seems to love the heat!

Wow! Lots of blooms on your M sphareica. Mine just bloomed and has a couple more coming on. And my E subdenudanta has two blooms that should open tomorrow. It's kind of strange. Mine usually are a month later than yours.

Sorry! It kept saying upload failed. It didn't show any pictures before I posted.

Sorry! It kept saying upload failed. It didn't show any pictures before I posted.

Wow! Lots of blooms on your M sphareica. Mine just bloomed and has a couple more coming on. And my E subdenudanta has two blooms that should open tomorrow. It's kind of strange. Mine usually are a month later than yours. Sorry! It kept saying upload failed. I didn't think it was loading the pictures.

This message was edited Jul 12, 2015 9:24 PM

So before we all leave, we have to exchange email addresses so we can send mass mailings to eachother. I am corresponding with someone formerly on DG who is starting to grow orchids and cactus - my two main passions and, amazingly enough, with similar needs.

Pen-pals! Don't think I've had one for 50 or 60 years.

Daisy

Well, I hope no one leaves !

It has slowed down. People have left for different reasons,
but we need new blood.

I was very frustrated when the website overhaul here occurred,
but after visiting the other site, I felt like although this site was not
"user friendly" from a technical standpoint, it is much more helpful
and friendly HERE, while "THAT OTHER" one is less people friendly.

The data base here is more detailed and extensive.

Yes, Gary, my M. sphaerica is a great one! I just love it probably more than any other Mamm. I also have M. longimamma which blooms with similar flowers in the spring. I planted it in the ground next to a shrub to shade it and it is very happy.

Is that the one with pink blooms?

I'm not sure if you were asking me, Gary, but M. longimamma and sphaerica are both yellow. I actually find that somewhat unusually for Mamms because they usually are pink flowers.

I thought I saw a Mamm. with large pink flowers a while back. Thought maybe you had that one. My M. sphaerica is getting ready to bloom again.