The Catalogs Program
(From a user point of view)

Our objectives:

• Fast search for plants in a Catalog Read More
• Better visibility of the plants in a Catalog Read More
• Photos, photos, photos (not just one tiny photo per plant) Read More
• Fast Google search for more information on plants of interest Read More
• Automated email enquiries (availablity and quotations for shipping ) Read More
• Ability to copy plants from the Catalog into our Gardening Software Read More
  
  Back to Download Catalogs
   

Fast access to the plants in a Catalog:
Falling asleep waiting for on-line catalogs to show pages? Forgot what you searched for by the time a page comes up?

Forget all that.

Having the software and Catalog database installed on your computer means rapid manipulation of the Catalog Contents.
Browse (lets make that Whoosh) through the catalog.
Add plants you like to a Mail Order (use it initially as a Wish list)
Print the Mail Order and mull over your selection.
Add more, delete, change quantity (shopping cart style) and when you are ready, Order on Line, or post that Mail Order by snail mail with your payment.

Back to Download Catalogs
 

Better visibility of the plants in a Catalog
Searching for plants by name is fine if you know what you are looking for.
Our objective is to provide lists of plants so you can see at a glance the list of plants available from the supplier.

• Plants can be categorised in logical groupings
• Browse through lists of plants, click for more info
• ALL plants are listed, not “locked up” in the database.
   

Photos, photos, photos
On our user forum the decision is unanimous. Photos sell plants.
Our objective is to provide not just one one tiny photo per plant, but as many photos as can be mustered by people who have actually grown the plants.

Its a massive project to put photos to every plant, but its entirely do-able (anything to a gardener is do-able!)

Having obtained approval from our Forum members, and other users of our Gardening Software, to link plants in Catalogs to Web Sites created using Ideas genie Pro Ive developed the Catalog software to:
 

• Link to DISC photos (for Nurseries to distribute a high quality Catalog on CD)
• Link plants to WEB photos
   

Disc photos are best, obviously, but a Downloadable database with 1000’s of photos is impractical at present.

Web photos are an entirely different proposition. They are merely text links in a database.
This approach allows numerous Web photos per plant, so we can give you a much better coverage. At least one of each of the following would be ideal:
 

• A close up of a flower
• A close up of a number of flowers
• A view of the foliage
• A view of the plant as a whole
• A view of the plant in a garden setting
   

A photo can speak a thousand words. As a co-ordinated group sharing our resources, we can speak volumes!

Back to Download Catalogs
 

Fast Google search for more information on plants of interest
Need more info on the plants in the catalog?
Easy
We’ve provided a Google button to enhance the user experience!
Click a plant, click the Google button. Program does a Google search and returns results in your web browser.
Helps you research the properties of the plant, its requirements and allows you to make wise decisions

Heres a nice trick.
You can use the software
a) to open the Catalog (any one of a number of catalogs)
-or-
 b) to open the database supplied with the software (your OWN database).

In mode (b) you get to play with the plants more.
You can copy plants from any Catalog into your own database.
You can create Wish Lists for plants in each catalog in one place, link to internet or disc photos, copy and paste data and much more.
You can transport the database on a Flash drive and play with it on another computer.

A whole new experience!
 

Automated email enquiries
Need to check availability or shipping?
Simple.
Click the email button!
All the plants you selected are composed into an email (you dont have to type them up).
 

• Add plants to basket (Mail Order style)
• Click the e-mail button
• Compose your enquiry to go with the email
• Send email
  
  Back to Download Catalogs
   

Ability to copy plants from the Catalog into our Gardening Software
Once selected plants are added to our Gardening Software database you can:
 

• Search for Cultivation data
• Print labels
• Plan tasks (sowing, re-potting, planting out etc)
• Record supplier info, cost etc
• Record events (Buy dates, Supplier info, Sow dates, Planted dates etc)
• Record planting locations in your garden
  
  Complete the circle?
  Yes of course
   
• Take photos of the plants youve grown
• Make Web pages using Ideas Genie Pro
  
  Back to Download Catalogs