Hello Alison

[ideasguy]

Hello and welcome Alison

I'm delighted you have joined us here, and I hope you are going to enjoy the friendship of your new friends in the Ideas Genie Community!

Ive just had a peep at our email corespondence,and GOSH! we havent been in touch since Dec 2004.
I hope you are as enthusiastic as ever, and look forward to your company here.

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[Aylee]

Thanks for the welcome, I am delighted to have joined!

Yes, it is such a long time since I reported progress on the database (apologies)
that I can't even remember what I had told you.  It was 'all systems go' for
the first half of 2005, as I managed to rearrange all my photos in new
albums (indexed to correspond with IG), scan in everything I needed and
enter all the relevant information (418 records).  The keyboard was red-hot,
as I am still trying to add details in all the record fields.  Since then I
have just been entering new acquisitions, and scanning in the latest photos
as they come back from the photo-lab, so things have calmed down. 

Being new to forums I shan't post anything else until I find out if I have done this properly!

[ideasguy]

You've done it perfectly Alison. Easy... wasnt it?

RE: scanning your photos...
Do you prefer the traditional camera to digital?
Do you keep hard copy photographs of all your plants and garden?

I'll be announcing a new project on the forum soon, asking members to list their favourite plants. I'm sure you'll be able to pull a few from your impressive list of 418. Oh... go on with just a few... whats your favourites?

[Aylee]

I can't really say I  'prefer' traditional cameras, because I don't yet have a digital one!
For close-ups (most of the plant photos in IG) I use the thirty year old Canon SLR  I inherited from my father, complete with telephoto lens.  It's a bit clumsy, difficult to control, and depth of field is a nightmare - but you can uncouple everything and 'fiddle' so I am happy with it.  I also have a Minolta Riva Zoom for slipping in the pocket while travelling, and I use it for the garden area photos.  Very easy, but you can't fit on filters or lens hood - still nothing is perfect!  One day I will treat myself to a digital.

I like to keep hard copies, so I still have the films printed.  I put all the acceptable ones in indexed albums, and scan in the 'best' (or sometimes the only) photos for the IG records.  I still have a long list of plants with no portraits to be photographed next summer.

My favourite plant - oh dear, what a question ? my long-term favourite for its colour, form, perfume and long flowering season must be the rose 'Joey' - I just love her.   My  newest passion is the genus Hemerocallis.  I keep squashing in more and more ? and the excitement when the first bloom opens!

[ideasguy]

You'd find it very frustrating to make the change to digital, Alison. You have a lot of experience wioth that Canon and the Minolta.

Can you get good accurate colour in the photos you take? Some colours are VERY difficult to capture precisely with a digital camera.

However, when you consider that you dont have to pay for development, you'd soon save the cost of an investment in a digi.
They are improving all the time.Thats evident by the quality of the photos on the internet nowadays compared to a few years ago.

OK.. Joey! Is he a he or is she a she? LOL
Is it one and the same 'Just Joey'?
I read about how it got that name once.
As I recall, they were thinking of a name and someone said call it just 'Joey', then they decided ah... ''Just Joey'
Better google that story up again!

Hemerocallis. Great performers, and one of THE most popular plants in the US now.

They self seed with me. I cant believe they did that. Theres Day Lillies popping up in quite a lot of places where I didnt plant them!
And, my varieties seem to have cross polinated, as the seedlings differ from the ones I bought.
I had a lovely yellow one given to me by a friend to start me off, and bought a couple of "fancy" ones.
I'll dig out some piccies.
I read that they are good for semi shade. Are yours in full sun or shade?


 

[Aylee]

You?re right about the rose ? I feel I know her so well I just call her Joey (and I?m afraid I tend to call all plants ?she? ? well they do that to ships don?t they?!)
The first day lilies were planted in full sun, then ? the old, old story ? I ran out of room and started planting in semi-shade; they seemed perfectly happy, so last year I tried a couple in almost complete shade.  They survived until the autumn, but watch this space!

[ideasguy]

Its hard to get good bright colour in shady areas, so its good to hear the day lilies did well in shade for you!
If they are happy, they will do much better after they have established.
Yes, I'm watching this space with interest.

RE: The ships
Yes indeed you are correct... "and all who sail in her" comes to mind!

RE: I ran out of room
Dont we all! I find fast growing Shrubs are worst for that. Lots of nice neighbous can get smothered if not careful.

What plans for the garden this year? Do you grow things from seed?

[Aylee]

RE: What plans for the garden this year?
Redesigning the bottom of the garden, replacing the old vegetable patch (now overshadowed by new-build next door) with a ?mini spinney?, and constructing a couple of raised beds for the veg.
I no longer sow annuals, (except beans, lettuce, maize etc), but usually treat myself to something fancy for a challenge (this year Cyperus papyrus).  Of course I am not above begging the odd seed-head when visiting gardens!