Bluestone's 1/2 off sale....

Becky - if you havent' already...ya really need to upload those to plantfiles....

Chantell, your right about the plant files. Some plants have no pictures at all. I try to make a note of the ones that need pixs so I make an effort to take pictures. Also there is a place in DG where they list the 10 most photographed plants and they don't change much. I think Lantana and Moon Flower and been in the top ten since I started hanging around DG. They are lovely flowers but would like to see some others in the running. :^ )
I need to also add all my Bluestone plants to my journal, but today is a nice sunny day so I need to get planting instead before it gets too hot.

Becky: WOW and double WOW on that photo. I love seeing plant photos like this. It like being able to be right there and reach out and touch,,,, only to come up disapointed as I'm not there after all.....lol

thanks for sharing that amazing photo.

I keep saying I'm going to upload some more photos in plant files too. I did a bunch a few months ago but could do a bunch more.

There are lots of plants with no photos, there are also a bunch with photos that are obviously not the plant that's listed. I also want to do something I find frustrating - post photos of the whole plant in the bed and not just pretty closeups of the blooms.

I'd like to see what a plant looks like in context, not just 32 bloom closeups. I was looking for a photo of what the leaves looked like on something the other day and there wasn't a single photo that showed even a bit of the foliage of that plant.

Nevertheless, that is one awesome closeup, Bec. LOL

Diane - funny how everyone has a different perspective eh? You make a valid point - it certainly would assist mentally in where to place a certain plant. Sadly...my "photography eye" always heads for the macro shots. I'm going to have to keep in mind what you've said when taking pics for plantfiles, though.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is so wonderful to have a gardening family that is so talented and multifaceted. I'll probably order from the internet rather than go around trying them out. I didn't mean to hijack the thread, but certainly am glad for all the good advice. Look for my pictures to accompany my DG postings soon!

I think that's natural, Chantell. I'm just trying to remind myself to take some whole plant, plant in the bed photos too.

Do you have a WalMart near you, Pam? They have a lot of the popular digicams including the Canons. I know they have the one I have and Chantell's model as well as some of the more point and shoot ones. They're out in a display where it's easy to play with them and get a feel for how they work.

Hey, Bec, Costco has a really good buy on a SanDisk SD card that was rated really highly for speed in professional photographers' testing. Has a nice amount of memory too without going overboard. And it comes with 50 free prints from Costco too and the price includes shipping.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11072434&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US

I completely agree about the need to post photos of the whole plant in plantfiles. Sometimes I go to plantfiles to identify a plant that is not in bloom, and it is impossible to do if you can't see the foliage.

Foliage...another good point...gotta remember these things...

That always drives me crazy even with companies catalogs, they zoom in on the 1 blossom and you have no idea what the plant itself really looks like. Esp with seeds I have no idea sometimes what the new leaves are going to look like so your thinking "ok weed or what I planted???"

Oh Amen to that, Jen!! Becky will tell you...I was growing all kinds of weeds in my front yard...goofy me thinking it was Nicotiana that had reseeded...luckily SHE remember the leaves being rounded not pointed.

I planted an area with wildflower seeds and had to go on line and draw what the leaves looked like for each flower so I didn't pull them up thinking it was a weed. I wasn't about to print every pic but it took forever trying to find a good enough pic to recognize the leaf.

Jen, there are a couple of databases on the internet of plant seedling pictures. Very, very helpful when you're sowing seeds or weeding. Here's one:

http://theseedsite.co.uk/seedlings.html

Thanks!

Hart:

Excellent site, as I too am trying to figure out some of the things that have popped up in my one flower bed that I started last year. After seeing the deer having a fest in that bed, out when what I had planted cause I figured I would have to start all over this year.... Well, I learned my lesson as a lot of the plants came back but I did have several things that I wasn't sure of so I've let them grown to see what comes of them.... it just bothers me thinking I'm giving space to possible weeds...LOL

thanks again for sharing such a wonderful site.

Janet

It is really helpful, isn't it? Maybe we should ask for a seedling database here on DG.

I have made an effort to take pixs of my seedlings that I have started in my basement and post to plantfiles, but sometimes get so busy I forget.
When it comes to weeding, get to know your weeds well, then go for the familiar weed seedlings first when weeding. That has been my way.
Hart, I think you can report a missed named photo in plantfiles, so DG moderators can review and correct.

You know, I have never been able to find a simple way to report errors in plant files. Is it there and I'm not seeing it?

In some cases, it's obviously not the right plant. In others, the photo quality is so bad you can't tell if the color is just off or it's the wrong plant or cultivar.

Did a quick search and came up with this thread from 2003, Maybe this will help. I have never reported an error as I have not seen one where I was really sure of the plant, I have see some colors that were way off but it could be the camera used.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/395095/

Hart, There is a W-Mart in Charlottesville. Next time I'm there I'll try the models out. The seedlings identification is just one more thing for which a camera would be so valuable. I have something (actually quite a few items) that have vounteered in my garden from seeds I got from Beckygardener, and I haven't a clue what they are. One I thought was a chrysanthemum (does DG have a spell check?) appears to be something else now, familiar, but can't place it. If I had that camera, you all could tell me. Another looked like a poison ivy baby, so i pulled that one. I'm off to the UK seedsiteright now. TY Hart.

You're welcome.

If I'm not sure what something is, I tend to let it grow until I can figure out what it is. Like Chris said, after a while you'll get to know the seedlings from the weeds that are common in your garden.

I've pulled too many things that turned out to be flower seedlings by mistake in the past.

I had one batch of mystery seedlings this spring, thought they might be evening primrose but they kept getting taller and bigger and taller and bigger. They're now about three and half feet tall and finally bloomed and they are a tall evening primrose that self sowed from one I planted a couple of years ago. I had forgotten about it. Glad I waited.

Hart, Evening primrose, how sunny. I went to the seedling site, but wasn't successful in finding my mystery plant, which is now about a foot tall. Except for the suspect 'baby poison ivy' I am letting other volunteers grow to flower (or weed as the case may be). There is something very familiar about this plant that is lurking in back of my brain--just can't get at it. The farmer came today and baled hay. We have 13 big round bales that I hope to get a picture of showing house and hay bales. I'll be using my grocery store camera. See, just one more reason to get that point and click.

Try here. Keep in mind some of the "weeds" listed here are wildflowers.
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/genusindex.htm

hart

another great link.... I went through most of those pictures, it was very helpful.

thanks for listing it.

Janet

Pam. I use the spell checker on my Google tool bar. DG doesn't have one that I know of.

Thanks for that LINK hart!!! I can now ID what's growing in my in herited garden alongside the veggies! None of those amaranths are edible though I don't think...are they? Seems I have a lot of those, various kinds too :P)

I got my camera. It's a Canon A590 IS. It has 8 megapixals and a 32 mb memory card, 4X zoom, and stabilization. I also got a charger and extra batteries and a separate memory card that holds another 200? pictures. Last night I installed the batteries, the memory card, set the date and put it away. I am totally intimidated by the instructions. However, I'm going to put it on easy mode and actually try taking a picture later! Then try downloading to the computer with the software, and then try to get it on here. I got the less expensive camera thinking that if I really enjoy this and get any good at it, I'll upgrade, but having had only grocery store cameras previously, it felt like it was a real leap forward. Hart, the VT weed website is very good. As I looked at the pictures, I kept saying, oh, yeah, got that one. In fact, this morning I think I cut the flowering stalk off a chicory. I'm kind of sorry I did now. It might have been pretty, but it looked strange out there all by itself in the middle of what we call a lawn. Wish me luck. I'm about to install the software and take my first picture.

Have fun, Pam! Just remember not to move the camera when you push the button - that's the most common mistake. Push a bit slow, that will make it easier to steady the camera and allow it time to focus. Try to hold your arms as steady as you can. Prop your elbows on something if that helps. These new cameras are really easy. They do pretty much everything for you.

Oh, and I'd pick up a case for it too. They have some nice ones at WalMart in the $15 range. It's the best way to make sure your camera is protected and keeps dust away when you're not using it.

Here's the Steve's Digicams tour of your camera. It will probably help a lot because he goes through everything step by step.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/canon_a590is.html

For goodness sakes, don't let that chicory go to seed!! They self sow like crazy and are a royal pain to pull up. I usually have to dig them up.

What fun Pam!!! Don't let it scare ya...have fun. If you want close ups of flowers and such you can always pic up a cheapo tripod or monopod at Walmart. I'm lazy and don't like to take the time with them but for "important" shots, I do. Following up on Hart's "just don't move the camera" - exceptions to that would be if you what the "in focus" subject to "frame" one of the borders of the pictures. See back lit Glads below

Even with that, you don't want to move the camera while you're actually taking the photo... but most point-and-shoot cameras that focus on a subject that's in the middle of the frame will let you push the button halfway down to focus, then you can move the subject so it's off-center if you want before pushing the button the rest of the way down to take the photo.

Thank you, Jill...better explanation for what I was trying to explain.

I tried to load a picture onto DG by putting the name of the image in the little box below, but then it won't let me send it.

Pam, you have to hit the browse button and search in your files for the pic you want, then hit open in your file, it should then appear in the box

I also discovered you can't post a photo unless you add an accompanying message.

Nor can you delete a photo (w/o asking help from Admin) when you're a doo-doo head and post it twice in error...not that I'd know about this first hand, mind you...LOL

Ok, I still haven't figured it out too well, but here is my kitty, Meiko.

Oh, Meiko is purrrrrrty! I'd say you figured out how to post a photo just fine. The "preview" option is helpful before sending a post... lets you make sure it's really a photo of the lovely Meiko and not some gross slug you were intending to post in the "garden pests" forum. :-)

Thank you ladies for your help. This isnt't the photography or computer help line thread, so I doubly appreciate your assistance in getting me started.

Pam - believe me when I say - "we" don't get pressed about things like that. I'm probably even more guilty then the rest at going OT (off topic) so please don't worry about things like that. Everyone's here to help

Pam, you did good girl ! Pretty kitty too.